CHICAGO – If you’ve never seen the farcical ensemble theater chestnut “Noises Off,” you will see no better version than on the Steppenwolf Theatre stage, now at their northside Chicago venue through November 3rd. For tickets and details for this riotous theater experience, click NOISES OFF.
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)?!…