Dear folks who hated this movie,
If you didn't like Bewitched, or Dark Shadows, or oldie's but goodies, like Here Comes Mr. Jordon, or I Married a Witch, you aren't going to like Kate and Leopold. It's a fantasy which makes it your broccoli and spinach salad with cod liver oil dressing. So, please move on and let the rest of us enjoy it.
This is not to say the movie is without flaws. It's got them. K&L has been out for a couple of years now and people still complain about Leopold's suit and plot holes and the supposed incest. Interestingly, when I first read a very early blurb about the movie it said that Leopold was from 200 years in the past, which would have put him in about the Regency era. The 200 years would have also pushed the 'incest' concern back another three or four generations. It would also have explained his Regency style getup. The folks who were doing the counting on this incest thing would have to have at least admitted that at 6 or 7 generations removed, Kate and Start would have only shared something like 1/138th blood. That's a bit less than the 1/4 it would be for second cousins marrying, etc. If you keep it at 100 or so years separation, it would still be around 1/16th shared blood. But even that kind of thinking means we're getting away from 'it's a fantasy, folks!'
I have a few personal gripes about the movie. When it was out at the theater I saw it twice. Not a usual occurrence for me, even with Hugh Jackman's hunky persona. Frankly, during the first viewing, I could not get past Meg Ryan's hair. I was literally stunned by it. She's such a pretty woman, it amazes me that she thinks (or thought) that the Cookie the Clown haircut was cute. Not! Ms. Ryan, what were you thinking? Was this a mid-life crisis reaction?
I've gotten used to Ms. Ryan's hair now and just don't see it anymore. But her performance, seemed to be Meg Ryan phoning is as Meg Ryan. Hugh Jackman was utterly charming as Leopold and so was the young actor who played Kate's brother. Some of their scenes together are the best in the movie.
I though the use of profanity was overdone. My reaction is not out of prudishness (I can use the f-word and a heap of others when my car has a flat or won't start or I'm stuck in traffic, etc.) But it seems to me to lessen the authenticity of a character's intelligence. (Think about that the next time you overhear someone swearing continually in line at the grocery store.) It surprised me that Leopold didn't object to Kate's constant swearing (she was, after all, a lady) or that he didn't make a comment on it in general. I didn't feel he was reacting within the social attitudes of his own time. Even if it is a fantasy, he's not going to acclimate to our times all *that* quickly.
I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, so had no problem with the supposed 'incest' line. It's fantasy. And it's a paradox to begin with. During the time frame Stuart and Kate are in, Kate is NOT his several times removed great-grandmother. Think about *that* end of it. So, shared blood aside, I can't say I'm sure who it was who was getting their knickers in a twist over that.
That all said, it is a charming movie that could have been a blockbuster hit the likes of Sleepless but is not. I'm not sure where the fault lies in that. The Cookie the Clown haircut? Direction? The last minute/panic edit? Certainly in some of the writing. At this date none of that is going to change, so simply enjoy the movie for itself. There are far worse ways to spend two hours.
(6/10)
If you didn't like Bewitched, or Dark Shadows, or oldie's but goodies, like Here Comes Mr. Jordon, or I Married a Witch, you aren't going to like Kate and Leopold. It's a fantasy which makes it your broccoli and spinach salad with cod liver oil dressing. So, please move on and let the rest of us enjoy it.
This is not to say the movie is without flaws. It's got them. K&L has been out for a couple of years now and people still complain about Leopold's suit and plot holes and the supposed incest. Interestingly, when I first read a very early blurb about the movie it said that Leopold was from 200 years in the past, which would have put him in about the Regency era. The 200 years would have also pushed the 'incest' concern back another three or four generations. It would also have explained his Regency style getup. The folks who were doing the counting on this incest thing would have to have at least admitted that at 6 or 7 generations removed, Kate and Start would have only shared something like 1/138th blood. That's a bit less than the 1/4 it would be for second cousins marrying, etc. If you keep it at 100 or so years separation, it would still be around 1/16th shared blood. But even that kind of thinking means we're getting away from 'it's a fantasy, folks!'
I have a few personal gripes about the movie. When it was out at the theater I saw it twice. Not a usual occurrence for me, even with Hugh Jackman's hunky persona. Frankly, during the first viewing, I could not get past Meg Ryan's hair. I was literally stunned by it. She's such a pretty woman, it amazes me that she thinks (or thought) that the Cookie the Clown haircut was cute. Not! Ms. Ryan, what were you thinking? Was this a mid-life crisis reaction?
I've gotten used to Ms. Ryan's hair now and just don't see it anymore. But her performance, seemed to be Meg Ryan phoning is as Meg Ryan. Hugh Jackman was utterly charming as Leopold and so was the young actor who played Kate's brother. Some of their scenes together are the best in the movie.
I though the use of profanity was overdone. My reaction is not out of prudishness (I can use the f-word and a heap of others when my car has a flat or won't start or I'm stuck in traffic, etc.) But it seems to me to lessen the authenticity of a character's intelligence. (Think about that the next time you overhear someone swearing continually in line at the grocery store.) It surprised me that Leopold didn't object to Kate's constant swearing (she was, after all, a lady) or that he didn't make a comment on it in general. I didn't feel he was reacting within the social attitudes of his own time. Even if it is a fantasy, he's not going to acclimate to our times all *that* quickly.
I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, so had no problem with the supposed 'incest' line. It's fantasy. And it's a paradox to begin with. During the time frame Stuart and Kate are in, Kate is NOT his several times removed great-grandmother. Think about *that* end of it. So, shared blood aside, I can't say I'm sure who it was who was getting their knickers in a twist over that.
That all said, it is a charming movie that could have been a blockbuster hit the likes of Sleepless but is not. I'm not sure where the fault lies in that. The Cookie the Clown haircut? Direction? The last minute/panic edit? Certainly in some of the writing. At this date none of that is going to change, so simply enjoy the movie for itself. There are far worse ways to spend two hours.
(6/10)