At Long Last Love

As a Cole Porter afficianato I wanted to like this film. It boasts some of Porter's greatst,but least known gems such as But in The Morning No","Alpha To Omega' and "Find Me A Primative Man". Unfortunately it also boasts Cybil Shepard and Burt Reynolds!This couple team up to massacre the wit and musicality of Porter's songs. The plot is standard fare for an homage to 1930s musical films but in order to disguise the fact that Shepard and Reynolds can't sing Bogdonovich makes sure the characters are always drunk when they break into song! The film does have some strong points,namely Madeline Kahn's wonderful performance of her songs,and her quirky actress character,and John Hillerman's uptight servant. But Cole Porter deserves a better tribute than this!

There were experiments involved in the making of AT LONG LAST LOVE that have not been adequately appreciated and there were also talents on display that have been trashed. The most powerful experiment was the recording of the vocals as they were filmed. This led, more than any other single item, to the critical trashing the film received. If the critics had tuned in on the intention of that technique, they might have appreciated the spontaneity in the performances. I love Cole Porter's music so was no doubt inclined to love this movie on that basis alone - and it DOES assemble a pretty wonderful selection of his songs and place them in memorable scenes. But more than anything else - more than the techniques and the music, more than the fine use of color - is the affection that is felt throughout the film - not only for Cybill although primarily for her - but in fact for all the players. The problem ultimately is that it is a film that needs to be seen more than once to really "get the feel" of it - and who will have that opportunity, as it is not out on video and is rarely shown? There are, by the way, alternate versions - after the trashing, Bogdanovich re-edited, reduced Cybill's role slightly and substituted a couple of songs. I didn't feel it was an improvement or a reduction - too bad both versions aren't around. When it does, rarely, make it to tv, it's always the second version - which the director prepared prior to ABC broadcasting it, long after its limited theatrical release. Preceded by all that explanation, I'm not at all embarrassed to say - AT LONG LAST LOVE is my favorite movie.

To make up for the sound trashing this film has received in many quarters since its release, some cult fans go to the opposite extreme. This is neither a neglected gem nor a piece of crap, but an interesting experiment. Using actors who aren't singers must have been a conscious choice (although we can't help wondering what Cybill Shepard thinks of a strategy that nearly finished her career) in the manner of Woody Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You" (but Allen's film DOES achieve true glories, such as Hawn's dance along the Seine, that Bogdanovich does not). Most worthwhile element: extensive use of alternate Cole Porter lyrics that one rarely hears. It's greatest sin upon its release was probably in being itself: an off-kilter experiment with "tradition" during a time that didn't care for musicals much in the first place. I'm becoming increasingly interested in 70s musical "disasters" b/c they're worth seeing.

This is a wonderful, fun musical featuring a superb cast. It was made before I was born, so I know nothing apart from what I've read about the critical panning it received on release but it surprises me that there was no real love for it at the time. I'm amazed this has never made it to a VHS / DVD release, and it's a real shame that it won't be seen by a wider audience. The cast singing live definitely sets this apart from other musicals of the time but I think that's what sets this movie out from other musicals of the era. Bogdannovich should be commended for trying something different and the cast are all great singers A true cult classic with a career defining performance from the fabulous Madeline Kahn. Eileen Brennan is also superb as the coarse, sex-starved, man-eating maid! This is well worth the effort seeking it out if you're a fan of any of the cast, and if you enjoy light-hearted, good natured musicals.

Just because you put some popular stars in a film along with Cole Porter's timeless rhythms, it does not a movie make!!! This is one great misfire and frankly the actors embarrass themselves in their attempt to make this worth watching. They may have been having fun but viewers were not. Burt Reynold, Cybil Shepherd and somebody named Dullio Del Prete (rising from and sinking to oblivion with one film) attempt to sing, dance and generally make merry to the songs of the 20s and 30s............and fail miserably. To add insult to injury, director Bogdanovich decided not to post sync the "singing" (I use the term loosely) and being out of breath does not add to one's tonal quality. I won't even mention the "dancing" (again, I use the term loosely). Well, maybe just to say "inept". The only things worthwhile here are: (1) the presence of two wonderful characters....Eileen Brennan and Madeline Kahn. They could make an Army training film worth watching; (2) the great Art Deco sets: and, (3) those wonderful clothes of the time where gowns were clinging and all the women wore great hats. Cole Porter wrote some of the finest popular songs in American music and the great sin here is that they had to be the linchpin of this dog of a film. Mr. Porter is probably spinning is his grave. For that matter so are Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

I didn't realze that Cole Porter fans who frequent the IMDB were such a desperate lot as to praise this travesty of a film to the high heavens. And it's not as if this movie has only minor flaws to it. It has major flaws from the get-go, such as a pair of non-singing, non-dancing leads who are suppose to sing and dance. Credibility ends right there. Overlooking the fact that Burt and Cybill shouldn't be singing or dancing on film is like Max Bialystock telling Leo Bloom to overlook the fact that Max's chosen director for "Springtime for Hitler," Roger De Bris, is wearing a dress. I'm with Bloom- there's something definitely out of place here.

Bogdonovich & company made this with endless tongue in cheek, and as an homage to the stage musicals of the 20s and stage AND film musicals of the 30s - glib, off-handed, seemingly "UN-artful" if you will. Also, the actors all sang - or spoke - their songs IN REAL TIME, in what was a brave attempt to duplicate the reality and presence of a live production. Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I clearly saw this film much more in the spirit on Bogdonovich's vision than those who wemt in looking for something else. I feel a lot of baggage was brought to this film by the audience, and the movie was never really "seem" or "heard" by them. Too bad, because technically this is how musicals SHOULD be made. I enjoyed the movie very much, and lament that it isn't available to allow everyone to make up their own mind about how well the vision of the director, cast, Musical Director and all concerned was carried out.

I am a lover of musicals but this film is a prime example of why they died out. It is basically plotless and the characters have no appeal whatsoever. Reynolds especially looks ridiculous. The swimming pool scene with him and Shepherd is full of unintentional laughs. I spent a long time looking for this film as it seldom turns up on TV and I'm not sure if it's on video or not but it wasn't worth the wait. Check out Burt's "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" instead.

Is the movie as bad as Golden Turkey Awards claims. You bet it is. I'd rather sit through two hours of test pattern than endure this slow-motion train wreck again. It does for Hollywood musicals what the Titanic did for ocean cruises. Folks who think this is a misunderstood masterpiece are probably also kind to house flies. I just wish the movie were laughably bad, like an Ed Wood misfire. But it's not. Instead, it's almost painful to witness a Cole Porter score get butchered by performers about as musical as I am. I just hope writer-producer-director Bogdanovich learned a few humbling lessons from the experience. One thing for sure— I'll bet no studio gave him six million to play with after this. My advice—watch the movie only if the alternative is two hours of a political speech.

I saw this film years ago in Radio City Music Hall in NYC and have never been so delighted with a Hollywood treatment of musicals in my life. The sophistication of Bogdanovich's direction I felt caught the real essence of Cole Porter and his wonderful music and lyrics. All of that slightly off-key singing and crazy phrasing was the perfect touch to a truly atmospheric musical.... a refreshing bit of tongue-in-cheek that I have never forgotten. I have been trying for years to get my hands on a video of this movie, but, alas, most people have never heard of it..... It deserved a better fate....