Set in 1876 and the present, this satisfying romantic comedy debuts on Blu-ray at an incredibly affordable price from Lionsgate. Hugh Jackman (“X-Men,” “Swordfish”) charms as Leopold who was “born a duke but never felt like one.” The well-educated Leopold has many admirable traits and dialogue such as the “bravest have the clearest vision.” The lovely Kate, played by Meg Ryan, has a burgeoning career with two men in her life that also live nearby – her brother Charlie, played by Breckin Meyer, and ex-boyfriend Stuart, played by Liev Schrieber who discovers a scientific condition that also creates a conduit between Kate and Leopold.

"Kate & Leopold"

Physical comedy starts well at the beginning along with some nice dramatic elements where past terms have new meaning. This film has charming, appealing leads and an interesting plot with several very romantic scenes and meaningful dialogue that easily relates to the audience. For example, Leopold expresses frustration with the modern world saying it has “every convenience, no integrity” as he identifies correct flower color meanings and reads stories instead of watching television. Leopold’s discoveries of modern day technologies are predictably played for laughs while Stuart’s unfortunate situation in the plot’s middle is inappropriately played for laughs, but the ending is very satisfying.

This Blu-ray version contains the director’s cut but not the original theatrical release. The main differences include a nice introduction sequence on Kate and expanded scenes between Stuart and Leopold. Unfortunately, besides a photo gallery, this version only includes previously presented extra features that include a behind-the-scenes featurette, costume featurette, deleted scenes, music video from Sting’s Golden Globe winning song “Until,” and optional audio commentary track from director James Mangold. Optional English (SDH) and Spanish subtitles available. A great buy at $14.99 on Blu-ray. Recommended (***) and rated PG-13.

Tags: "Kate & Leopold", Blu-ray, Hugh Jackman, Meg Ryan, Michael Siebenaler, review

This entry was posted on Monday, April 2nd, 2012 at 9:59 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Film.
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