New York ? What a horrible irony that “De-Lovely,” the story of Cole Porter, should be so off-key.

All the components are there: a versatile star, Kevin Kline, playing the composer with wit, style and wonderful panache; the music of Porter, performed by such eclectic singers as Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow; lavish, evocative settings; and a mind-boggling array of dapper and to-die-for clothing.

Unfortunately, “De-Lovely” isn’t nearly as delightful or delicious as it looks.

Director Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Jay Cocks (who co-wrote “Gangs of New York”) don’t shy away from Porter’s homosexuality, unlike some safer depictions of the composer, who died in 1964 after decades of defining American pop music.

The filmmakers have said “De-Lovely” was made in the spirit of Porter’s life and tunes, and not a pure biography. But the structure they’ve chosen to tell his story is clunky and self-conscious.

Winkler, who previously directed Kline in the weepy 2001 melodrama “Life As a House,” alternates awkwardly between the dying Porter, sitting in an empty theater watching his life unfold before him on stage, and flashbacks to the events themselves.

Guiding him through this retrospective is a mystery man named Gabe, an all-too literal reference to the archangel Gabriel, played by Jonathan Pryce, who’s relegated to sitting next to Porter and repeatedly saying something along the lines of, “It’s your life, Cole,” as if we couldn’t ascertain that for ourselves.

Porter, meanwhile, sits and marvels at the portrayal of his loyal and long-suffering wife, Linda (Ashley Judd), who knew of his dalliances with beautiful, younger men, but stood by him and served as his platonic muse.

“God, she was beautiful,” Porter proclaims more than once. And she was, as played by Judd, whose classic looks are a perfect fit for the pin curls and elegant styles of the Jazz Age. (Costume designer Janty Yates is one of the film’s real stars.)

Despite its attempts at innovation, “De-Lovely” falls into some of the same traps as most biopics: In trying to hit all the highlights of a famous person’s life, the result often feels too cursory.

Actors Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd, foreground, portray Cole Porter and his wife, Linda, in the new film De-Lovely, in this undated publicity photo. The biopic, rated PG-13, opened Friday.

We never really understand what drove Porter to write (fame? money? the satisfaction of self-expression?) or what kept him and Linda together for all those years. We are merely told that she loved his music — and who doesn’t?

Purists will probably recoil at the very idea of having contemporary pop stars sing classic Porter tunes. The tactic might seem like a transparent ploy to pull young people in to see a film about someone who was an influential musical force far prior to the advent of “TRL.” But this is actually one of the film’s few successful risks.

Seeing Morissette belt out “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love,” Costello jerk and bop his way through “Let’s Misbehave” and Crow croon “Begin the Beguine,” all decked out in period garb, is an unusual and surreal experience. Using these performances to punctuate a documentary might have been preferable.

Judd, however, apparently did not acquire the musical talent of her mother, Naomi, and sister, Wynonna. While this is one of the better performances of her wildly inconsistent career, she cannot sing and should not. This might have been purposeful, but it’s especially glaring compared to the people blessed with musical prowess with whom she shares the screen.

Speaking of glaring, one of the few truly painful musical numbers consists of Porter and Louis B. Mayer (Peter Polycarpou) frantically hamming it up with a cast of thousands to “Be a Clown” on the MGM lot.

Again, this may have been intentionally bad, but that doesn’t make it any easier to sit through.