Time After Time..."Kate & Leopold"

Kate & Leopold (2001)

Rated PG-13

Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer

Directed by James Mangold

The Story:

Stuart (Schreiber) has discovered a wormhole in time and is checking out New York in the 1800s when he is followed back to the present by Leopold (Jackman). A respectable gentleman of the past is suddenly surrounded by the modern society and he has much to learn, yet also has a few things to teach as well. When he falls for the lovely Kate (Ryan), it's a match made for the ages, but how can two people from two different times ever really be together?

This is one of those romantic comedies that has been bashed far too often, for far too long.

This was Meg Ryan at the height of her romantic comedy powers, before someone told her that it would be a good idea to get plastic surgery because she was getting older.

If I had a time machine, I would use it to go back and tell her it's not worth it, bad things are going to happen!

This was also Hugh Jackman before he became... Hugh Jackman!

Not yet the megastar he would become, yet he is so effortlessly charming, any plot holes you may have with a time travel film (and there's always plot holes!) are willingly overlooked just by how sweet this film really is.

Not to be left out Breckin Meyer who gives another great "aw shucks" character that he can do in his sleep, as Kate's brother. He is integral to the plot in both teaching Leopold a few things about the present while also accepting some sage gentlemanly advice from the man he is convinced is the greatest method actor of all time! :)

So if you haven't seen this one in the last 15 years, or managed to somehow miss it completely, both Netflix and Amazon have it streaming.

Considering some of the stinkers that Jackman has had lately (where he was usually the best part of the film), it was nice to revisit a movie at the start of his career where the movie was good and he simply made it that much better. You see a star being born, and it's a pretty cool experience.

Final Grade: B

A Daughter Finds The Father She Never Knew..."Come Dance At My Wedding"

Come Dance At My Wedding (2009)

TV Movie

Starring John Schneider, Brooke Nevin, Christopher Jacot, Roma Downey

Directed by Mark Jean

The Story:

Cyd (Nevin) is a dance instructor in a small town.  She is getting married to Zach (Jacot) in 2 weeks.  She's ready to leave the small town, and do big things with her life, so she needs to sell the dance studio that her grandparents started and her late mother left to her.  When her lawyer (Downey) gives her the deed to the studio, Cyd learns that she has a father (Schneider) that she thought was dead, and she needs his signature to sell the studio.  Can she get his permission to sell, or will finding the father she never knew she had, change her entire perspective on what she really wants in life?

Thank you Hallmark Channel, for putting out TV movies that are worth the time to watch, and give a lot of great actors some screen time that they may not otherwise enjoy.

Take for example John Schneider.

As the ladies in the movie gush, he looks great.  And really, he does.  Around 50 when he filmed this, aside from a few wrinkles, he looks like he could still slide across the General Lee's hood and squeeze through the window with little problem.

That's a Dukes of Hazzard reference for any youngin's reading this review.

:)

Nevin is also a very competent actress with whom I was unfamiliar with.  She seems to be like a smarter version of Amanda Seyfried.

As for Roma Downey...I think she went to Meg Ryan's plastic surgeon, and that's too bad.  It's okay to age gracefully, it looks more natural.

The storyline overall is very sweet.  There were several forced bits of drama that had to be injected into the story just to keep it from being too good to be true.  That includes making Zack the bad guy, at least for about 5 minutes in the story.  Thankfully the story didn't involve some sneaky attempt on his part to simply be after the money of selling the studio, or behind the desire to sell off the downtown businesses.

No complaints on this end, an enjoyable movie to sit through.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No rush to own it, but if it was playing on tv, a great background film during game/craft/sewing night.

For the Hand of Reese Witherspoon..."This Means War" !

All's fair...

The Story:

Two CIA operatives, FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are pretty much the best at what they do.  While they are teamed up on a case, Tuck is trying to get back out on the dating scene since his divorce.  He dates a lovely girl, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon).  Ah, but FDR wanted to be a pal and provide backup to his partner just in case.  When he runs into Lauren later that same night, they hit it off, never realizing he's just made the move on his best friend's new girl.  So when two top operatives become rivals in love, neither one is going to be safe on any date!

This is one of my favorites from last year.

Not "great enough" to be a Top 10 movie of the year, but good enough to be an enjoyable "hey, let's watch this one again" movie.

I love those kinds of movies.  My library is full of them.

: )

The best part, it's a romantic comedy, buried underneath an action comedy.

So win-win for the guys on date night! :)

Reese Witherspoon of course plays the romantic comedy lead in her sleep.  She's the 2010s version of the 80s/90s Meg Ryan.

This is not to be seen as an insult either, I'm quite pleased with the comparison and have enjoyed many romantic comedies starring Ms. Witherspoon.

Chris Pine and Tom Hardy have an excellent rapport as best friends and bitter rivals, often within split seconds of each other.

All the while that they are trying to figure out who gets the girl, an angry villain who has vowed revenge from their last case is trying to kill the boys.

Saving the world, stopping the bad guy, and getting the girl.

CIA 101.

Naturally, you'll see which guy Lauren will pick a mile away.  They telegraph it in the story, but at least it provides the happiest ending all around.

Directed by the always underrated McG, the man makes slick, fun action films.

Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I liked it so much, I bought it. :)

Things Don't Always Turn Out Like You Expect..."When Harry Met Sally"

Would you like to have what she's having?

The Story:

Two college graduates, Sally (Meg Ryan) and Harry (Billy Crystal) carpool to New York together.  Harry is the boyfriend of Sally's best friend, what'sername... and the two share a ride and a conversation across country.  The movie catches up with them a few years later as they bump into each other again, and the seeds of friendship begin to grow.  However, as Harry points out early, a man and a woman cannot be friends because sex will always get in the way.

Let's see if he's right.

Written by the late, great Nora Ephron, this was probably her big break which helped move her out of the writer's seat and into the director's chair.  Her strength was in writing, and while giving her females a great part, she didn't treat the guys as losers or anything.

Conceivably, Meg Ryan owes her career to Ephron, with this plus Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail cementing her as *the* leading lady of romantic comedies from the late eighties/early nineties.  Naturally, this film is remembered mostly for her climactic (pun fully intended) demonstration of Sally showing Harry just how in control of relationships the women really are. 

To credit the movie for that alone though, would seriously undermine the comic relationship that Harry and Sally endure throughout the course of the movie.

But really, for a movie written by a woman, she gives Billy Crystal all of the great lines and wonderful insight into relationships.  Whether he assisted with his lines or it was all Ephron's doing, his delivery is pitch perfect whether he's sending off a verbal zinger or waxing philosophic.

Billy Crystal is not the first actor you think of when you role into a romantic comedy, but between this and Forget Paris, I think he was woefully underused in the genre.

Thankfully, at least he made City Slickers. :)

Then of course there is the sure, steady hand of one of the best,  most underrated directors of all time, Rob Reiner.  As with much of his filmography, he simply crafted another gem that has become a classic.

While not a family friendly film, it is a great blueprint for how to have your romantic comedy characters act, interact, behave and misbehave.

Totally recommended.

I finally caught this film for the first time within the last 5 years.  It was as good as advertised.  If you've never seen it, don't wait for the 25th anniversary...

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Really funny movie, and was picked up after the first viewing and added to the DVD library.