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Meg Ryan in a romantic comedy, imagine that. Though I do love Meg Ryan, I think she should branch out and do a few films that are of a tough drama sort with her hogging the spotlight in these films instead of sharing the spotlight with a man like in Proof of Life (Russell Crowe) and Courage Under Fire (Denzel Washington). Of course she shouldn’t stop making the romantic comedies, just make some other films as well before she gets too old to be cute in the romantic comedies. But I digress. Kate & Leopold starts out in 1876 where the Duke of Albany, Mr. Leopold (Hugh Jackman of Swordfish) is attending a speech at the west end of the Brooklyn Bridge, which is still under construction and not named at this point. Here Leopold spots an odd looking fellow that appears to be taking pictures with a very small camera, which intrigues Leopold since he is a bit of a scientist himself. Leopold tries to chase this guy down, but the guy gets away. Then later that day Leopold is attending a gala where he is supposed to find a rich bride, but instead sees this man again and chases him down all the way back to the bridge. Here the two gentlemen fall off the bridge (one on purpose) and into present day New York. Later we learn that this other guy is Stuart (Live Schreiber of Scream 3) and that he is a scientist who has discovered tears in the fabric of time that can allow him to travel through time. Anyway, in present day NYC Leopold meets Stuart’s ex-girlfriend Kate (Meg Ryan, Sleepless in Seattle & You’ve Got Mail) who is a high powered ad executive. He also meets Kate’s brother Charlie (Breckin Meyer, Rat Race), an unemployed actor. Of course no one believes either Leopold or Stuart, and then to make things worse for Leopold, Stuart ends up in the hospital after he falls down an elevator shaft (there is a whole space-time continuum thing regarding that). So during this time Leo must fend for himself in a series of funny episodes (all of this story sounds similar to the book Looking Backward). Now Leo is falling for Kate, but will Kate fall for this well-mannered hunk who says he is from the past? Will Stuart make it out of the loony bin? And will anyone fix the damn elevators (which according to the movie Leopold invented)? All of these questions and more answered in the film! Director James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted) does a good job using the stars and supporting cast to make a funny and interesting film out of the well-trodden path of romantic comedies. Mangold also gets credit for the screenplay based on a story by Steven Rogers. The remaining cast members are Natasha Lyonne (Scary Movie 2), Bradley Whitford, Philip Bosco (Wonder Boys), and a few others. Everything in Kate & Leopold blended well, which is a bit surprising since a little bit of science fiction was added to the mix. Meg Ryan is just as lovely as ever, Jackman put in a good performance, and the supporting cast was superb. I really enjoyed the film, so I give it eight couches out of ten, with a little knock for being a bit too predictable. Later.
Last updated: Saturday, October 28, 2006 05:37:38 PM Click Here to get back into frames.
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