JIM reviews film "KATE & LEOPOLD" -- Sometimes, people "OUT of their time" fit in BETTER than those who "belong"

“KATE AND LEOPOLD” – Sometimes, people “OUT of their time” fit in BETTER than those who “belong” =

Rating: 7 of 10 stars (based on a DVD shown at a local library). =

Leopold, the English Duke of Albany (HUGH JACKMAN), is visiting New York in 1876 to view the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge and try to find a rich woman to marry so he could relieve his family’s indebtedness. Since he fancied himself an inventor (& was working on a prototype for an elevator), he’s intrigued when he sees a man (Stuart, played by LIEV SCHREIBER) in the crowd who appears to be furtively using unknown devices such as a miniature camera and small self-contained pen. When he chases Liev, they suddenly fall & disappear thru a time-rift into a MODERN-DAY period, the devices of which (cars, TVs, etc.) amaze Hugh.

At one point, marketing wizard Kate (MEG RYAN) comes up into the apartment of Liev who was her ex-boyfriend, & is “taken” with the unusually gallant, courteous demeanor of Hugh, who she urges to appear in a commercial for her firm. Her visiting brother Charlie (BRECKIN MEYER) becomes Hugh’s friend, is helped by him, & tries to encourage a romance with his sister. It’s charming, humorous, quite well-acted by all involved, and a successful gentle rom-com romp.

The film has 2 especially memorable lines in it: Hugh says he refuses to be “peddling pond scum”; & one where Breckin wonders, if a guy WASHES a dirty dish for his partner & no one “sees” [& appreciates] the effort, did the act ever really “HAPPEN” (& thus, was it “worth” it)?!…