| Miramax Films - Conrad Pictures, 2001 | Runtime: 118 minutes | Rated PG-13 |
| Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Breckin Meyer, Liev Schreiber, Bradley Whitford, Natasha Lyonne, Philip Bosco | ||
| Written by James Mangold and Steven Rogers | Directed by James Mangold | |
"Kate & Leopold," released on Christmas Day in 2001, is about a man who travels through time, from 1876 to present day, to fall in love with Meg Ryan. Obviously, the film isn't about time travel and all its complexities and inexplicabilities, but about the two people themselves. (the film gives us a much simpler explanation--a "crack in time" in the East River--which works just fine; this shouldn't be taken too seriously) It's about the daily life and customs of the Duke of Albany in 19th century New York in contrast with those of a market researcher in the New York of today. "Kate & Leopold" uses the time travel fish-out-of-water premise as a launch pad for a funny and generally charming romantic comedy.
The story begins with Stuart (Liev Schreiber), a scientist fascinated with the time-space continuum. He finds his "crack in time" (as it is repeatedly referred to as) in the East River. He enters by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge (he must have been confident in his theory) and he ends up in 1876, where his great-great-grandfather, Leopold, the Duke of Albany (Hugh Jackman), has just designed the bridge. The film's first scene involves a funny observation of the contrast between what a certain English word represented then and what it represents to us. So Stuart just walks around for a while, taking some pictures, planning to return home soon. But Leopold is suspicious of him, and chases him back into his portal. hen Leopold wakes up the next morning, he is in 21st century New York, immensely confused and frightened by what he sees and hears.
Of course, the film goes for some of the obvious gags involving Leopold's situation. He accidently leans on a couple of remote controls, turning on the television and stereo, and scaring himself half to death. Then we meet Kate (Ryan), Stuart's girlfriend who lives in the apartment below him. Of course, she doesn't believe Stuart when he tells her about Leopold, and even when she sees him, she just thinks he's nuts and makes him walk Stuart's dog after Stuart falls down an elevator shaft. Of course there's no elevator because Leopold invented the elevator. Now he's been kidnapped from his time before he got a chance to do it (Leopold also designed the Brooklyn Bridge, and is fascinated when he discovers that it still stands).
The next person we encounter is Charlie (Breckin Meyer), Kate's brother. Charlie is an actor, and, given Leopold's unusual wardrobe and accent, thinks Leopold is one as well. He becomes fast friends with Leopold, taking him out to clubs to meet his friends and taking his romantic advice. One night, while walking home with Leopold, Charlie stumbles onto an astonishing discovery. "You like my sister!" Charlie observes. Of course he does. Didn't you see the title? And so after Leopold humiliates Kate in front of her boss, he invites her to dinner on the roof of her apartment building. Of course, this is where she falls for him.
There are many funny scenes here, and most of them work. Like the scene where Leopold is taking the dog out to do its business. A police officer asks him if he's going to pick it up, explaining to him that it's the law in New York. He inquires, "Are you suggesting, madam, that there exists a law compelling a gentleman to lay hold of canine bowel movements?" There is also a good scene where Leopold and Kate's boss are discussing the opera "La Boheme," though it seems strange that he would know so much about it, considering that "La Boheme" was first produced in 1896, twenty years after Leopold followed Stuart into his portal.
But I'm nitpicking. The point is that "Kate & Leopold" is a charming and funny romantic comedy with convincing performances by all parties involved. We all knew that Meg Ryan could do the romantic comedy thing ("Sleepless in Seattle," "When Harry Met Sally. . .," "You've Got Mail"), but Hugh Jackman does an unexpectedly good job as the Duke. Jackman is suave and smug here as the leading man, playing a Duke as accurately as anyone watching the film could imagine, I'm sure. Maybe not the particular Duke that he's playing here (I've heard he was a hemophiliac), but the film is wise in that it doesn't take itself too seriously. This is a funny little romantic comedy. That's all.
Back to Filmdog
