KATE & LEOPOLD   3.5***

Kate (Meg Ryan) and her want-a-be actor brother live in NY City in the present day ( then 2001). Her ex-boyfriend, Stuart (Live Schrieber), lives in an  apartment above hers. Stuart finds  a place and time where there is a gap in time. He uses the gap to go back in time to 1876 to the house in NYC where Leopold (Hugh Jackman) lives and  takes pictures. Leopold sees Stuart and is  puzzled by his tiny camera and follows him out of the house and  inadvertently falls back through the time gap, and they both end up in the present day at Stuart’s place. Soon after Stuart is injured and ends up in a hospital for several days leaving Leopold on his on.. Leopold is clueless about his new surroundings. He gets help from Charlie who thinks that Leopold is an actor who is always in character. Leopold is a highly intelligent man and tries his best to learn and improve the modern conveniences that he encounters. He of course meets and spends a lot of time with Kate and a romance develops (Surprise. Surprise !!!)

“Kate and Leopold”'s strongest feature is a standout, charismatic turn by Hugh Jackman. He's a 19th century English Duke thrust suddenly into 21st century New York City by a convenient plot twist...a portal in the space-time continuum. He strikes a balance between the obvious fish-out-of-water predicament of his character and the requirements of a romantic lead who can capably, even masterfully, handle adverse situations.  The movie also benefits from a solid performance by Meg Ryan where she brings a subtly different approach to this movie. She downplays the quirky, cutesy, girlish mannerisms she exhibited in “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle”. Ryan's character here is older and she wisely chooses to play her career-woman role as an adult...strong but vulnerable, cynical but hopeful, someone who's taken a few hard knocks that have made her cautious.  

This is a clever film ... a fairy tale ... a frolic through time. It's charming, funny, entertaining--and even a little thought-provoking . "Kate and Leopold" is a romantic comedy twisted by fantasy that pleases the audience without being corny or unoriginal. In other words, this movie has the right "elements" for its genre  and best of all leaves you with a “feel good” experience.

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language