*** Official "KATE AND LEOPOLD" Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

I caught a sneak peak of "Kate and Leopold" tonight. Quick plot synopsis: Somehow Leopold (Hugh Jackman), a duke in 1876, finds his way in present day New York city, and manages to fall in love with present day Kate (Meg Ryan).

I thought the performance by Hugh Jackman was just about pitch perfect, he was able to exude the refinement of being an aristocrat-wannabe with all the trimmings that come with such a vocation in life from the late 1800's. Allowing Hugh to use his native accent (to pass it as a British accent) freed him up a bit in the acting department, and he was able to display many theatrical talents within the story, as well as a deft comedic touch. It's almost unfair that a good looking guy like Hugh can just about "do it all".

Meg Ryan's performance is probably more of the "yeah, she's good in romance" level, so you basically know what you'll get out of her, and she didn't disappoint, and gave what the story needed without much extra. If you liked her in her previous romantic-laden films, you'll like her in this film, though she does play a bit out of "type" for her.

Liev Schreiber is underused, but good as the "device" that brings Leopold to present day NYC, and has a few comedic scenes.

Breckin Meyer almost steals the movie, with many cute and funny bits sprinkled throughout the film. The rest of the cast, including Natasha Lyonne and Bradley Whitford do what they can with the material they are given as the supporting characters.

The film is quite engaging due to the characters' interactions/reactions to one another, though the plot is romantically predictable, and while most will figure out where the story will end up, it's the journey of getting to the end that makes it enjoyabe.

I give this film 3.5 stars or a grade of B+.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for Kate and Leopold. Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.
Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning! If you need to discuss those type of issues, I will designate a thread as the Official Discussion thread, once a member posts another thread to discuss this film.
Crawdaddy

 

[Stephen Orr]

Just got back from the new Hugh Jackman/Meg Ryan romantic fantasy Kate and Leopold. In a word, cute, but wait for the rental.

Hugh Jackman plays a duke from the mid 1800's who follows scientist Liev Schriber (sp) through a time portal into modern day New York, where he first irritates (with his chivalry), then falls in love with market researcher Meg Ryan. As with movies of this type, the duke's absence from his own time has repercussions in our own time. In the meantime, Meg falls hard for the guy and the scientist ends up in the hospital, endangering the duke's return to the past.

Hugh Jackman is appropriately dashing and charming, and Meg Ryan plays the type of character she seems bes at. However, this picture had serious problems.

First off, there are major plot holes big enough to drive trucks through, and for a movie so concerned about time, the climax involves a HUGE mistake on the writers' parts involving some photographs. My wife and I were sitting there going, "Whaaa....how could THAT have happened?"

I understand that parts of this film were re-edited in the past week, and it shows, badly. It was, in a word, incoherent.

Wait for the DVD. Hopefully it will have a version that makes more sense.