2008 Woodie Awards
Touchdown
Clooney directs enjoyable comedy reminiscent of the good ol' days
Rob Scheer
Arts | 4/3/08
George Clooney's third directorial effort, "Leatherheads," may be disappointing in the respect that it's his first one that doesn't touch greatness, but it's still a deeply enjoyable throwback to the screwball comedies of the 1930s (despite being set in the 1920s). Though set in the early days of professional football, its appeal to those who usually flock to sports movies is questionable considering gridiron action is only a third of what makes up the movie. But with a well-constructed sub-plot involving fake-or-real heroics and a heavy emphasis on romance balancing out the guy-on-guy sports stuff, the movie won't do much to punctuate the beliefs of those of us who believe Clooney can do no wrong.
Taking place in 1925, when pro football still took a significant backseat to college football in terms of fans and credibility, the movie's central character is Dodge Connelly (Clooney), longtime player and makeshift-mentor/coach for the Duluth Bulldogs, disheartened by the league's seemingly inevitable collapse. Desperate, Dodge gets the bright idea to lure over popular, irritatingly modest college player Carter "The Bullet" Rutherford (John Krasinski), idolized as a hero of the Great War and whose face is plastered all over billboards, to the Bulldogs. Though the recruitment works, resulting in increased attendance and profits, soon Chicago Tribune reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) is writing an investigative piece on Bullet, planning on exposing him as a fraud and his war record as a fake. As rules are just starting to rear their head in the sport, Lexie trades verbal blows with Dodge, and in the process falls simultaneously for him and Carter.
Starting with the old-timey Universal Pictures logo, and punctuated by lots of jazz and old-standards, there's very little present to take us out of the classic feel. While the style of filmmaking and writing is intended to evoke a cinematic style and not feel "real," Clooney keeps it from ever feeling phony or too self-referential. No one is going to be raving to you about how hysterical "Leatherheads" is; it's a gentler style of 'smile' or 'occasional chuckle' type humor. There's slapstick abound; people fall down, get hit by things and more of the like, and it's actually funny for the most part.
Taking place in 1925, when pro football still took a significant backseat to college football in terms of fans and credibility, the movie's central character is Dodge Connelly (Clooney), longtime player and makeshift-mentor/coach for the Duluth Bulldogs, disheartened by the league's seemingly inevitable collapse. Desperate, Dodge gets the bright idea to lure over popular, irritatingly modest college player Carter "The Bullet" Rutherford (John Krasinski), idolized as a hero of the Great War and whose face is plastered all over billboards, to the Bulldogs. Though the recruitment works, resulting in increased attendance and profits, soon Chicago Tribune reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) is writing an investigative piece on Bullet, planning on exposing him as a fraud and his war record as a fake. As rules are just starting to rear their head in the sport, Lexie trades verbal blows with Dodge, and in the process falls simultaneously for him and Carter.
Starting with the old-timey Universal Pictures logo, and punctuated by lots of jazz and old-standards, there's very little present to take us out of the classic feel. While the style of filmmaking and writing is intended to evoke a cinematic style and not feel "real," Clooney keeps it from ever feeling phony or too self-referential. No one is going to be raving to you about how hysterical "Leatherheads" is; it's a gentler style of 'smile' or 'occasional chuckle' type humor. There's slapstick abound; people fall down, get hit by things and more of the like, and it's actually funny for the most part.
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