Autumn in August goes back in time with Kate & Leopold

 

Welcome to this year’s tribute to keeping those cooling thoughts of fall in mind, Autumn in August .

We start this film fest off with 2001’s Kate & Leopold, starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, the latter unintentionally stealing the show there, in my opinion.

Jackman plays the Duke of Albany in New York of 1876. His observations of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge are disturbed by a mysterious stranger (Liev Schrieber) who later follows Leopold to his uncle’s house where a matchmaking party is set to take place.

Leo, not interested in marrying for money, pursues the man all the way back to the bridge, where the two of them fall into a time portal and arrive in modern day New York.

The stranger is a scientist named Stuart who lives downstairs from his ex-girlfriend Kate McKay(Ryan) due to a series of mishaps, Leopold is left on his own with only Kate to reluctantly guide him around.

Kate doesn’t believe for a minute that Leopold is an accidental time traveler but over the course of a week, starts to wonder about his story as he does things like go after a purse snatcher on horseback in a most delightful way:

Leopold’s old fashioned charms do clash with Kate’s pragmatic approach to life yet there is something to be said for a man who makes his own pen and inkstand to write an apology letter with an invitation to a rooftop dinner for two!

Yes,this movie does have plot holes (not to mention Schreiber is not great at physical comedy which his accident prone character has to perform too much)yet what really makes the story work is Hugh Jackman, full stop.

Jackman is fully believable as a “man out of time” as Kate mockingly describes him, an impoverished aristocrat straight out of Downton Abbey by way of The Gilded Age. Leopold’s ability to blend in his new surroundings is well highlighted as in the scenes with Kate’s goofy brother Charlie(Breckin Meyer) who Leo gives very credible romantic advice to:

One of my favorite scenes has Leopold (in Charlie in tow) showing up to Kate’s business dinner date with her boss(Bradley Whitfield) and shows up the bluster that her employer is using to conduct anything but business with her. Such a great use of the word serpentine indeed:

While Meg Ryan is great as always in these kinds of stories, it’s Hugh Jackman who really breathes fresh life into this time travel romance. The director’s cut of the film gives quite the odd twist to the time travel plotline (hint: a wonky bloodline subplot there) but since I rewatched this via streaming, that didn’t factor into my joy at visiting this movie once again.

So, if you’re looking for something lighthearted romance set in New York with an old school Hugh Jackman, this is picture perfect entertainment. Next week, we’ll look at another 2001 romcom set in New York, Serendipity,but for now, let’s ballroom dance with Leopold and friends: