‘Kate’ demands leap of faith from its audience

In theaters

KATE & LEOPOLD. Directed by James Mangold. Written by Mangold and Steven Rogers, based on a story by Rogers. Running time: 114 minutes. Rated PG-13.

“Kate & Leopold,” the new romantic comedy from James Mangold, stars Meg Ryan as Kate McKay, a quirky ad exec with an impish smile and a ditzy demeanor who could cute her way out of a mugging.

The film is a departure for Mangold (“Cop Land,” “Girl, Interrupted”) but it’s no stretch for Ryan, who’s been playing variations of Kate since the early ’80s, when she first realized that being a perky blonde could buy her a career in Hollywood – not to mention a house in its hills.

She’s cynical here and less high-strung, but whether that’s because she’s bored with being adorable or because her character makes a living hawking low-fat butter substitute to weight-conscious women is up for debate.

The film opens with Kate’s ex-boyfriend Stuart (Liev Schreiber) taking photos at a swanky party being thrown to celebrate the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. Not a reopening of the bridge, mind you, but the actual opening. Apparently, in Stuart’s free time, he found a time portal hovering atop the bridge. Taking a leap of faith – something this film demands from its audience and its characters – he zipped back to 1876.

Now recording his 19th century visit with a digital camera, Stuart is having a great old time in newer New York – that is, of course, until Leopold, the dashing Duke of Albany (Hugh Jackman), spots him at the party, chases him into the streets – and conveniently slips back to the 21st century with him.

Since the film is called “Kate & Leopold,” it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s only a matter of time before Leo meets Kate (she conveniently lives above Stuart) and shows her what’s missing in her life: a gentleman’s manners, chivalry and charm.

The movie, which whom Mangold co-wrote with Steven Rogers, recalls other time-travel films, especially “Time After Time,” “Blast From the Past” and “Somewhere in Time,” but like those films, it hasn’t traveled as well as one would hope.

Mangold undermines the film’s engaging lightness and superior production values with lapses in logic and a mangling of history. In one scene, Leopold humiliates Kate’s boss by setting him straight on Puccini’s “La Boheme,” which didn’t appear until 1896. In another scene, he inexplicably knows the words to “The Pirates of Penzance,” which was written in 1879. Later, he mentions Jack the Ripper, who left his mark in 1888.

Lucky for Mangold that he has Jackman, who carries the picture, and a fun supporting turn from Breckin Meyer as Kate’s equally quirky brother. Otherwise, without them, especially Jackman, the five women sitting behind me, the lone woman seated to my right, the two women to my left, and the five women two rows in front of me, would have had only the familiar nuisance of another patented performance by Meg Ryan.

And I don’t think that’s what – or whom – they were there to see.

Grade: C+

On video and DVD

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS. Directed by Rob Cohen. Written by Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist and David Ayer. 101 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Rob Cohen’s street-racing film, “The Fast and the Furious,” is slick entertainment without a brain in its head, a movie whose tough, sweaty cast dumbs down the action with this sort of leaded dialogue: “I live my life a quarter-mile at a time!”

Exactly how does one do that? Never mind. What’s more curious is the actor who speaks that gem: Vin Diesel, the bald-headed block of beef who co-starred in “Saving Private Ryan,” “Pitch Black” and “Boiler Room,” all good films that showcased a range somehow broader than the man’s forehead.

Here, Diesel plays Dominic Toretto, a popular L.A. garage mechanic whose sideline – street racing – isn’t just his passion, but – let’s face it, folks – also his manhood.

Surrounding Toretto are a group of outsiders who make the people behind street racing seem like a bizarre subspecies; the women are hot, the men and their cars are fueled with nitrous oxide, together they’re explosive.

When Brian (Paul Walker), a pretty-boy street racer with tipped hair and capped teeth, joins this greasy fray, Toretto and crew initially believe he’s just a poseur who wants street cred and respect. But Brian has other plans up his exhaust pipe, none of which will be revealed here.

“The Fast and the Furious” knows exactly what it is – a flashy B movie streamlined to be a guilty pleasure – and it succeeds better than most will admit. The film has no pretensions, just muscle cars and muscle heads burning up the pavement at speeds that soar above and beyond the legal limit. The filmmakers know it’s ridiculous, which is a big part of its appeal.

Grade: B

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.