KATE & LEOPOLD MOVIE REVIEW

At first glance, Kate & Leopold appears to be a fairly run-of-the-mill romantic fantasy. A successful, 21st century woman meets the Du e of Albany circa 1!"#, $ia a hiccup in the time-space continuum. And although they can%t find true lo$e within their own generations, it might be possible with one another. &ounds li e a recipe for a safe, mushy 'ollywood mo$ie, so what ma es this film different( )t%s the way writer-director *ames +angold ,-opland, .irl,)nterrupted/ a$oids stereotype, with an intelligent, crowd-pleasing ta e on the time tra$el lo$e story. )t%s smart enough to remind us 0ust how stupid a mo$ie li e *ust 1isiting is. And not only is the storytelling sharp, but the characters are too. +eg 2yan ,not too per y, not too whiny/ is Kate +cKay, wor ing her way up the 34- corporate ladder, but too busy for lo$e after a four-year relationship with her brilliant e5, &tuart ,Lie$ &chreiber/. 6hen &tuart disco$ers an open portal in the fabric of time -- you ha$e to 0ump off the 7roo lyn 7ridge at 0ust the right time -- he accidentally brings the 18th century Du e bac to modern-day 3ew 4or . 9$eryone in$ol$ed, including 2yan%s id brother -harlie ,the underrated 7rec in +eyer/, clearly has some baggage and life e5perience, and +angold%s script ,co-written with &te$en 2ogers/ clues us in without clobbering us. Kate%s disappointment with &tuart and his :ealous dedication to science is handled in one short phone con$ersation, infused with sadness and humor. Kate%s $iew on -harlie%s attempted profession gracefully slips out when she refers to him attending ;actor camp.; )t%s not that the story is subtle or e$en unpredictable, but some of its deli$ery is. &ome of Kate & Leopold does ta e place in the 1!"<s, of course, but the film is original enough to open there rather than in the current time ,normally, we%d see an unhappy, modern +eg 2yan begin a film li e this/. )n the first scene, *ac man, proper and genuine as Leopold, notices &tuart snapping a digital camera and tries chasing him down. Later in the se=uence, Leopold ,and we/ pass right by +eg 2yan. 'uh( 4ou may ha$e to loo closely, but the filmma ers ha$e ta en a big enough ris to let us now that her character

will be there -- you 0ust ha$e to hang around to find out how and why. And that%s the fun part. 6hile in 2<<1 3ew 4or , Leopold doesn%t go through the typical problems you might see in other time-shoc films -- you now, the shoc of riding the subway, hailing a cab, etc. 'e does dodge traffic here and there, but he acclimates well, right in step with the intellect of his character. 'e mar$els that the 7roo lyn 7ridge still stands, he tells wonderful stories, and he e$en rigs the toaster to wor the way he wants it. 3ot too many signs of the old, dumb, fish-out-of-water tales, and that adds to the film%s indi$iduality. Leopold is also a wealth of ad$ice -- perhaps because he%s smarter than many of his current day compatriots, but more so because he%s well-mannered, cultured, and sympathetic. 7y the time he gi$es -harlie romantic ad$ice, we%re really rooting for both of them. A good sign of Kate & Leopold%s strength is that the story really doesn%t hinge on the budding romance between the title characters. >he li$ely pace and handful of subplots buoy the film, as do the performances, notably the small role played by &chreiber. 7ut 2yan and *ac man wor fairly well together, and ha$ing them fall in lo$e results in a light, satisfying mo$ie with an e=ually li able ending. >he D1D includes both the theatrical $ersion of the film and a director%s cut, which aren%t noticably different from each other. +angold pro$ides commentary along with some deleted scenes -- which broach the why-didn%t-anyone-e$er-mention-that?( issue of &chreiber%s character%s possibly creepy family ties to 2yan%s Kate. Delish.

Written by Rania