Leatherheads

You know the phrase "they don't make them like they used too"? Well, George Clooney definitely took that to heart when he decided to direct and act in Leatherheads. This movie hits back to "It Happened One Night" type of slap stick, or at least that's what it reminded me of. To me it seems like George Clooney is trying to be like the next Clark Gable, Renee Zellwegger, don't get me wrong, I love this girl, she's a great actress, but I wasn't too impressed with her performance in Leatherheads. With her and George it seemed like they were trying so hard to make the slap stick work and really forced it, while the jokes are funny, it doesn't click as well as it should like the old time comedies. The problem with this movie is that it doesn't know wither it wants to be a romantic comedy slap stick or how football was born in America type of comedy, so George Clooney misses more than hits.

Set in the 1920's, Jimmy and his football team are in the birth of football. The problem is that they don't win and their sponsors are fed up with their stunts and loosing streaks. So when they drop the football team, Jimmy looks for a job, but fails, but later he comes across college football star, Carter Rutherford. He offers Rutherford to join the team and the sponsors get back into play. Rutherford is also known war hero and reporter, Lexie Littleton is on the case to find out "the truth" that could possible damage Carter's career. But Jimmy is also attracted Lexie and may have to give up the only way to boost the football team's reputation again for Lexie's story.

Would I recommend Leatherheads? I would say that it's worth a matinée, it's a cute movie and has some fun laughs. I loved the scene with Jimmy and Carter who just punch each other in the face and beg not to hit anywhere else because it's their weak spot. Just I think the editing was a little off, some scenes I don't understand why they were not cut in half or were even needed. George Clooney wasn't looking to make a masterpiece, but I think he took this film in the wrong direction and it's not that impressive. It's a decent movie, worth the watch, but it's not something I would buy.

6/10

I saw an advance screening of Leatherheads at NYU Movies101 last night.

I was so excited when it was announced that this movie was being shown.

I settled in my seat ready to enjoy another great movie that George Clooney directs and acts in.

All during the film, I thought to myself "Is it just me, or is this movie going nowhere?". I was trying SO hard to like it.

Well, it wasn't just me. I was surprised to see about ¾ of the full house of people I saw it with feel the same way, even the hosting professor.

As discussed after the screening, it had Top-Notch Scenic Design, Sound Track (by Randy Newman), Editing, Acting (Renee Zellweger was fabulous), Directing, Costumes, and Cinematography. It did not have a good story, and that is what made it fail. The script was written in the 1980's by two sports writers. Clooney has been carrying it around with him for over 2 decades. I suspect that the script was pretty much left the script alone from its origin.

The concept of the story is great, but the writing was horrible. Maybe George Clooney thought that the concept and grandeur would "carry" the film? It was disappointing to see George Clooney in a movie that did not compliment him in anyway. He does do comedy well, as he did in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". How can you act well with terrible material? George's Directing was great.

(Synopsis) Jimmy "Dodge" Connelly (George Clooney) is the team captain of the Bulldogs in the struggling pro football league in 1925. The entire pro football league is in danger of collapsing, one team at a time, and his team is next. Dodge gets an idea of saving the team by recruiting a college football star who fills the college stadium with over 45,000 cheering fans. With the lure of big money, Dodge is able to convince Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to drop out of college and join the team. Carter is not only a star football player who can outrun his completion, but he is also a national war hero of WWI who single-handedly captured a platoon of German soldiers. Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) is a newspaper journalist assigned to get Carter's real inside story about the capture of the German soldiers. To get the story, Lexie must travel with the team, and in time, both Carter and Dodge fall for her. Only one will win her love as the fourth quarter comes to an end.

(My Comment) George Clooney not only starred in this slapstick comedy, he also directed it. The movie may not win any awards, but it is enjoyable to watch. Since the movie took place in 1925, the writers took us back to that time, and slapstick was the rule. If you let yourself go and get into the movie, you will actually get the feel of that era. George is very talented, but I don't think he has a flair for comedy. Renee Zellweger and George share a chemistry together that works well for this movie. You may think this is a chick flick, but you would be somewhat wrong. The love angle doesn't really get going until the end. You will love the way they play pro football with very few rules, especially, the last game that is played in the mud. This is a cute movie, and I know they had a lot of fun making it, because it shows. (Universal Pictures, Run Time 1:54, Rated PG-13)(7/10)

I saw Leatherheads today, despite the negative comments here at IMDb. On the whole, I agree with the 'movie-guy: Doug' who ventured that this is a "slapstick comedy that is cute and enjoyable to watch". I'd add that this is a comedic period-piece, which is pleasant and witty, rather than hilarious and knee-slapping (if you want to get technical). It offers excellent sets, costumes and characterizations typical of the Roaring 20's when Newspapers were godlike, and Radio was just unfolding.

It's (loosely) about Pro Football in the 20's. The message is that the game was rough, poorly-regulated and messy! (No wonder Baseball was America's game!) College players fared better, with fervent fan support and well-tended fields of play -- but after College, great players packed it up and got real jobs (or switched to baseball, I guess). In this story, George Clooney hopes to boost the fortunes of his floundering Toledo Pro team by recruiting a college superstar (and reported war-hero), played by John Krasinski. Renée Z. is the ace reporter dispatched to get the goods on the football hero's military service record.

The film was reminiscent of the 1988 film '8 Men Out' in doing a great job of recreating the look and feel of that era. However, '8 Men Out' was based upon a real life incident and a fabulous book. 'Leatherheads' was a story one IMDb contributor says George Clooney carried around in his pocket for 20 years. So, I'd agree that the storytelling and comedy bits of the screenplay are lacking a bit. However, George does fine as a Director and Performer -- I don't buy that comedy isn't 'his thing' - he was sparkling in 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou' and 'Intolerable Cruelty' (ahhhhh, but those were Coen Brothers scripts, which showed what George could do with a real creative team behind him). Also, it looked like the cast had a hoot making this thing -- to be honest, if the DVD has lots of bloopers and special features, that alone might induce me to pick it up in 2009.

I quite enjoyed the film, but, then, I like period pieces, especially those about the Jazz Age (8 Men Out, Great Gatsby and the Sting are in my Top-20). Nice soundtrack by Randy Newman here, too. This was witty and pleasant to watch. And PG-13 comedies that are NOT about singles dating morons or kids with three dads, or sperm donors (the Previews at our matinée today) are in very short supply these days.

Might add that Renée was quite charming in the manner of a glamor girl of the Jazz Age, with soft blonde hair and strategic use of red lipstick to produce that perfect 'kissy' smile! Pete Gerety, a veteran character player, chips in with a nice spot as a new Football Commissioner. I recognized Gerety as the smooth-talking oil baron 'Lee Janus' in another Clooney project, Syriana.

7/10 - canuckteach

btw: The NFL really didn't get rolling as a major diversion until NFL Films made it a TV legacy in the late 60's. (In the 50's, it was viewed in crummy black and white with those ugly-duckling 4-poster goalposts).

Like a lot of people, I never bothered with this film when it came out in the cinemas because of the negative reviews that it got. Likewsie when it came to DVD it sat at the bottom end of my rental list waiting for me to want to watch it. Eventually I did and initially I thought that the reviews had been unfairly harsh because the film seemed like it was going to be a light and sparky sports period piece that captures the screwball comedies of years gone by. This is how it starts but unfortunately it is not how it continues. It is not like, at some point the film suddenly gets "bad" (it doesn't) but more that it doesn't quite have the sparkle or life that the trimmings all suggest that it will.

In terms of capturing the period, it does a great job – or at least it does a great job of continuing the nostalgic idea of the period. It does this with a cool jazz soundtrack, good costumes and the suggestion of the snappy dialogue that the screwball movies are known for. I say suggestion because of the places where the film doesn't have the zing that it needed is in the script. It does have its moments though and it is quite fun at times but mostly it feels like it is just falling short of where it should be. It has a couple of things that don't help this either. Firstly it is too long, maybe not for the plot (it doesn't "drag" per se) but certainly for the light tone. Secondly, the romance aspect of the plot doesn't really work, which is partly down to the casting of Zellweger.

Where Clooney fits the bill as a "too-cute by half" square-jawed matinée star, Zellweger cannot convincingly deliver her lines in a way that works. I think of Jennifer Jason Leigh in Hudsucker Proxy – she did an impression of an actress in a screwball comedy that was pretty good and looking at that shows up how ill-suited Zellweger is. I know people dislike her on principle but I am not one of them, I just thought she was pretty poor here. Krasinski is good in his role even if, to be frank, he didn't do anything that suggested he has more than the range of characterisation that he has already shown on The Office – and that should be of concern to his "people" since he will soon need to breakout of that show as it cannot run forever. The supporting cast has plenty of interesting and recognisable faces who do solid work.

Leatherheads is not a terrible comedy as some have suggested and it should not be criticised for being inconsequential or light. Sadly though it is not frothy, sparky or fun enough to be the film that it was clearly intended to be. OK there are specific issues with aspects of the plot and some (well, one) bit of casting but generally this bigger picture problem is what limits it to be an "OK" film but no better than that.