Kate & Leopold (2001)

 Originally Reviewed

Friday December 9, 2005

Kate and Leopold takes an interesting spin on a genre that is usually pretty formulaic. Kate's a modern day corporate woman, who's used to doing whatever necessary to succeed, even if it means selling people stuff they really don't need through false advertising. Leopold is a charming 19th century Duke who is forced to pick someone to marry or lose his title as Duke and forever be poor. Both of them are about to have their lives turned upside down, when Leopold is visited by Stuart a relative from the future who had discovered a time warp in the present. Leopold mistakenly follows Stuart "back to the future", and is stuck in the present. Stuart is injured in an accident and taken to the hospital, then a mental institution because he keeps rambling about having to get someone back to the past before the time portal closes otherwise they will be stuck in the future forever.

Kate lives right below Stuart and dated him for 3 years, which she claims were wasted years of her life. When she meets Leopold she finds him to be insane, while her brother thinks he is an actor and is just living his part! Kate begins to find herself falling for this strange man, when she promised herself she wouldn't do this again. The two fall in love but begin to realize they are two quite different people. Leopold has to decide if he's willing to return home and Kate has to decide if she's willing to change her life.

I'm not a big Meg Ryan fan, but I do enjoy some of the romantic comedies she is in, and this one was no exception. It was very well written and acted, Hugh Jackman played the role of Leopold flawlessly and truly brought a realism to the character as well as some light hearted moments, although for someone taken from the past and brought over a hundred years into the future he did not seem that disturbed or frightened. The whole idea of bringing a man from the past who is very much out of place in the present was an interesting concept and added some suspense because it kept you wondering if he would ever make it back! In addition, it's the common story of a fish out of water, where you take someone and put them in a totally unfamiliar environment, which usually leads to some very comical moments. In the end, Kate and Leopold is a worthy addition to the above average list of romantic comedies.

8/10