Kate and Leopold has tugs at more than just a single genre. With its elements of time, history, and romance, Kate and Leopold works to send the viewer through time and through the present. The film is rated PG-13 because of brief strong language, and parents should accompany children while watching, even though the story itself is nothing vulgar. The storyline is quite common and should be no concern for many children. Personally, the movie became dull during its mid-section, and my attention was difficult to keep. Its characters of 21st century Kate and 19th century Leopold did not capture my attention.
The movie revolves around the lives of Kate, living in New York in the 21st century, and Leopold, who lives in New York in 1876. Kate’s ex-boyfriend Stuart finds a hole in the space-time continuum and travels back in time in search for his great-great-grandfather, Leopold, who eventually invented the elevator. Leopold ends up following Stuart back to the present day, where he meets Kate. Their story continues around the idea that Leopold must return, and Kate must stay.
Kate and Leopold does not fit the common bill associated with ‘RomCom,’ but more sets itself apart with Science Fiction tendencies and Historical Background. Though it is, obviously, meant to be a Romantic Comedy, Kate and Leopold extends beyond that. It mixes romance with time travel, and the 21st century with that of the 19th. Meg Ryan (You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seatle) and Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine and Logan) work together to create a unique romantic connection between two characters of different realities.
As most ‘RomComs’ recently, the acting was mildly flaky and the story was cliche. In the end, the guy and the girl ended up together. Released in 2001, many ‘RomCom’ storylines had been used, and I believe that James Mangold, the director, was trying to work with storylines that would be new and exciting by introducing the concept of time travel and an inter-dimension relationship. It seemed very Thor-like, romantics wise. The girl fell in love with the guy who wasn’t from her world and who was (technically) over 100 years older than her.
Though I did not necessarily appreciate the acting, I did enjoy the concept of the story. Mixing what I would deem to be an absurd idea with that of common 21st-century life gave the story meaning. In general, it made the movie more comedic in the idea that what was happening was most likely impossible.
I enjoy both romance/comedy, and science fiction, but I am not sure I have ever seen them try to mix together in a way such as this. I would suggest this film to anyone who does not take their films too seriously, anyone who enjoys corny romance, and anyone who loves odd connections of science fiction.
Overall, I would give this film a 2.5 out of 4 stars because of its creativity in the plot. Kate and Leopold attempts to make ‘RomComs’ more interesting and different than their average connotations.
This is also my comment!
You try to do too much in the first graf, Mari. The first two sentence hold up. Then got to the “facts.” Cut: “The storyline is quite common and should be no concern for many children.” It almost seems contradictory.
The same for, “In the end, the guy and the girl ended up together.” Not all rom-coms end up in wedded bliss.
The last three (or four) grafs offer a nice little summary of what you liked.
This is my comment.