Kate & Leopold (2001)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Amateur movie with Big budget

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This is a charming movie starring Hugh Jackman- yet to hit his stride in the big leagues, and Meg Ryan- on a downturn. Featuring a bit of time travel an Englishman from the 17th century lands up in modern day New York City and falls in love with an advertising executive alongside trying to settle in the new century. The film is cute and would make for a great afternoon relaxation offering. Its rather sad to see Meg Ryan fall of the face of Hollywood because she has an endearing personality and an infectious smile. James Mangold directs(he would reteam with Hugh Jackman for Wolverine and Logan).

I fancied watching a fluffy romance and that's exactly what this movie is. A dashing Duke is transported into the future and meets a modern day marketing executive.All my stars go to Hugh Jackman for his frankly stunning performance of the Duke, Leopold. He gives a character that could have been very stiff and boring so much charm and charisma that he practically pops out of the screen. It is disappointing therefore, that Meg Ryan's character "Kate" is so bland. She has a boring job, but she seems to like it and is climbing the career ladder, so unfortunately a lot of the movie seems to be spent on the ins and outs of her very dull working day as opposed to exploring all the things Leopold must be seeing for the first time in his new world. Kate is very unlikeable for the first half of the movie as she's so mean to Leopold, then SUDDENLY she's in love with him after he makes her a nice dinner and we're expected to buy into the fact they're meant for one another. I spent half my time hoping he would find someone much nicer and more interesting but it didn't happen. Kate and Leopold just had absolutely no chemistry and this spoilt an otherwise pretty good romcom for me. I don't know whether it's that Meg Ryan was a bad casting decision or her character was just wrong, though I'm leaning towards the latter because I loved her in "you've got mail". Overall this film does what it says on the tin and Hugh Jackman does enough to enable you to get past Kate's lousy character, so you won't be too disappointed if you like this sort of thing.

Kate and Leopold (2001): Dir: James Mangold / Cast: Hugh Jackman, Meg Ryan, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne: Practically the same movie as Just Visiting only perhaps more captivating. Hugh Jackman stars as a Duke who is set to choose a wife for his kingdom when he notices a peculiar stranger. He follows him through a portal to present day. He is bewildered until he meets the stranger played by Liev Schreiber who is an inventor, and his ex-girlfriend played by Meg Ryan. Though it makes little sense even for the stretch of the imagination, it is an interesting choice for director James Mangold who previously made Cop Land and the overrated Girl Interrupted. Mangold counters the preposterous elements of the story by concentrating of characters with likable qualities. Jackman is charming as he tries to relate to present day culture. Ryan is smart and witty as Kate who is curious with regards to Leopold but is heading to an ending that is hardly satisfactory. Schreiber rises above the nonsense of the plot with humour in tact although how he created the portal is a rather dim plot device. Breckin Meyer steals scenes as Ryan's actor brother who learns much from Leopold particularly about romancing a female he is interested in. Other characters unfortunately play to the stereotypes of the genre. As with Just Visiting, it is a romantic comedy about traces of love through time. Score: 5 ½ / 10

In 1970, Jack Finney ("The Body Snatchers") published the classic time-travel novel "Time and Again". It's a basically serious story about politicians using time travel to change the present world. It has never been filmed, probably because it would require creating the illusion of 19th-century Manhattan on a fairly large scale (including the arm of the Statue of Liberty)."Kate & Leopold" appears to have been "inspired" by "Time and Again". The opening scenes are not merely spectacular, but exciting, showing Brooklyn as it appeared in 1876, and introducing a "What's going on here?" situation that immediately pulls in the viewer. There's also some magnificent dialog that any screenwriter would be proud to have penned.Unfortunately... Once Stuart and Leopold return to the present, the film lands with a loud, //stupid// thump. Kate is a seemingly shallow marketing researcher who is immediately off-putting. We //know// what's going to happen -- and we couldn't care less.This isn't an interesting weak film -- it's an irritating one. You can't just throw characters together and think something interesting & engaging is going to happen.I'll be honest. I was so annoyed by everything (except Leopold's occasionally smart conversation) that I gave up after 45 minutes.