Kate & Leopold stars Meg Ryan as a contemporary career woman and Hugh Jackman as a 19th-century nobleman. Through one of those tears in the space/time continuum so handy to Hollywood, the two meet and fall in love.

The movie, which opens tomorrow, has a couple of good laughs.

Hugh Jackman's role is nicely written and beautifully executed. Miss Ryan's performance in this romantic comedy prompts an unexpected surge of emotion, even among hardened non-fans. The emotion is, of course, pity.

Upon arriving by mistake in the 21st century, Leopold is suitably agog at the sight of motor vehicles and other mod cons. Our Kate does not believe he is a Duke; she thinks he is an actor, perhaps, and certainly a flake, and she jollies him along in his adjustment to modern life.

(Doomed to make faces, shake her perky hair and undertake a pratfall or two when things get extra-dull, Ryan is miscast and mistreated here. The role appears to have been written around wardrobe.)

Engineering the time travel is Kate's ex-husband, played by Liev Schreiber -- what a waste -- and also in the cast are Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne, Bradley Whitford and the ever-reliable Philip Bosco. None of them has much to do.

Both Kate and Leopold, in their respective centuries, have grown cynical about love and romance. Leopold, not the oldest son, is wisely being advised to marry for money. Kate does her best to work hard and avoid the male sharks at work. Could these hearts be melted?

What's meant to be funny in Kate & Leopold is, inadvertently or otherwise, an indictment of contemporary American mores. Kate thinks Leopold is weird because of his manners and achievements. He is polite, accomplished, learned and articulate, and what we love best about this film is the Hollywood notion that one needs to travel back in time 100 years to encounter grace or sophistication.

Traversing time in Kate & Leopold requires the lovers to willingly jump off a high bridge. Many viewers will relate.

Kate & Leopold is long, embarrassing to watch, sloppy and infantile, which means it falls under the general comedic heading of "crowd pleaser." Adolescents might like this movie.

On a happier note, the real Leopold, Duke of Albany, died of a heritable blood disorder shortly after reaching the age of majority.

(This film is rated PG)

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