Timing is everything in scheduling a movie’s release. But I can’t imagine that Touchstone Pictures, a division of the Disney empire, ever figured it would benefit from  “Brokeback Mountain” hype when it decided to release “Casanova” to a wide audience today.

But that’s just what’s happening. Heath Ledger stars in both pictures. In “Brokeback Mountain,” Ledger plays a gay Wyoming ranch hand in the 1960s. In “Casanova,” he’s the legendary Venetian lover, romping through bedrooms in 1753.

He’s getting rave reviews for a very serious performance in “Brokeback Mountain.” But his comic chops are almost as good in “Casanova.” As for the contrast between homosexuality and heterosexuality — well, that’s why they call it acting.

For the record, this “Casanova” has little to do with the real guy. Rather, director Lasse Hallstrom and writers Jeffrey Hatcher and Kimberly Simi use him as the main character in an effort to create a Shakespearean comedy of mistaken identities, scams and narrow escapes.

The setup here finds legendary womanizer and defiler of nuns and virgins Jacomo Casanova about to be run out of town by the Inquisition, led by the always great Jeremy Irons as the bishop with a chip on his shoulder. To try to save his skin, Casanova gets engaged to innocent Victoria (Natalie Dormer).

But he’s dangerously attracted to proto-feminist writer Francesca Bruni (Sienna Miller), who publishes her tracts under an assumed name and would have nothing to do with Casanova if she knew who he really was. But Casanova is impersonating her fiance, Paprizzio (Oliver Platt), the “pork fat mogul of Genoa” who she’s never met.

That’s treacherous stuff, but things get even more complicated when Paprizzio shows up in Venice. Adding to the romantic confusion, Francesca’s brother is in love with Victoria, and her mother (Lena Olin) finds herself attracted to her daughter’s fiance.

This is resolved with some gender bending, a balloon ride, a chase through Venice and one final scam.

Thanks to Ledger’s considerable charm, some notable chemistry with Miller and it’s refusal to take itself seriously, “Casanova” is entertaining enough, a piece of period fluff that should make a great date movie.

The movie looks great. It’s full of gorgeous shots of Venice and eye-catching costumes, for both the men and the women, and it’s lighthearted enough that the actors can have some fun. So old pros Irons, Olin and Platt chomp on the scenery while Ledger and Miller play out their verbal dance of misdirection and attraction.

That “Casanova” doesn’t make a great deal of sense, especially in the  courtroom scene, is beside the point here. Hallstrom appears to be aiming for the same fantasy romanticism he brought to “Chocolat.” “Casanova” isn’t as good as that picture, but it’s close enough to its spirit to work. And, thanks to Ledger, an actor who’s finally getting the notice he deserves, it’s fun.

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.