submitted: Jun 3rd 2008 | by: Ace | Total views: 61 | Word Count: 817 | |

Starring and directed by George Clooney, this film does undertake the latter yet it fails to come up with the gut busting laughs that you’d expect from watching the trailers.  This is one of those instances where the majority of the funny scenes are shown in theatres prior to the release date.  Don’t get me wrong, Leatherheads had its moments, along with impressive set and costume design, yet for the most part it left me wanting more. 
 
I am a big fan of films from the 1940’s & 50’s and can’t help but compare George Clooney to the likes of Carey Grant or William Holden.  He always comes across as witty, savvy, and exceptionally comfortable in his own skin.  I could easily see him in a remake of the classics Arsenic and Old Lace or Philadelphia Story, now those would be fun to watch from start to finish. 
 
Set in 1925, Leatherheads refers to the head gear worn by the “professional football” players who wandered the towns and cities from one end of the United States to the other looking for a game that paid money.  In reality it was the least professional game in existence for the time with few rules, regulations or conventionally thinking, yet it kept many talented athletes from jobs in the coal mines, factories and sweatshops.  Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, an over the hill veteran of years on the road, playing a young mans game and still loving every moment of it despite the growing number of aches and pains ravaging his body. 
 
In addition to playing this young version of football, he also ghost writes sports columns, dictating his prose to an boozing friend appropriately named Suds (Stephen Root), who takes the credit in the local newspaper called the Duluth Democrat.  What follows is Dodge’s attempt to keep the failing football league alive with the introduction of a big time college player from the Princeton team.  Carter Rutherford, played with a good deal of comic timing and screen presence by John Krasinski, was a hero of the Great War who came home to incredible stories of bravery and in turn the respect of Americans and advertising campaigns alike.  The league desperately needs Rutherford to pack the seats at the stadium and they are counting on the war time service and his performance on the field to do just that.  With success comes scrutiny and that is where Renee Zellweger enters the picture as Lexie Littleton, a career girl working as a reporter at the local paper who is looking for the truth behind the Rutherford myth. In addition she is hoping to prove her worth to the editor and move up the ladder of success to assistant editor at the paper.
 
There is only one truly memorable scene littering the landscape of this film and it isn’t one meant for laughs but set in a bar following a brawl between teams and the local military regiment.  The men are battered, bruised and sharing a round of beer following the fist-a-cuffs amongst themselves when one begins to play the piano and others join in to a chorus of “Over There”.  In the final moment prior to wrapping up the song one of those gathered around the piano finishes the song on his own with an incredibly moving, gentle and touching rendition of the chorus.  George Clooney the director was spot on with this addition to the middle of the film; it was a pleasure to watch this scene.
 
Clooney can’t be faulted for his comic timing, and he and the young football star played by Krasinski share some decent onscreen time, including a full out brawl which provides one of the few moments of laughter, yet in my opinion there aren’t enough sight gags, smart dialogue or chemistry between Dodge (Clooney) and Lexie (Zellweger) to make this movie interesting.  I would have liked to have seen a greater consistency of humour along with a better understanding of how the league went from the early days to the powerhouse money maker it is today.  The use of flashbacks from present day to 1925, as a comparison or method of story telling could have been interesting but what do I knowJ
 
If you are looking for a sports related comedy based on the early inception of a league, check out “A League of Their Own” (1992) which is a perfect example of how a funny film based on the national pastime can touch the audience and make them laugh out loud from start to finish and even contribute to an occasional tear.  My suggestion is to wait for the DVD release of Leatherheads, go to your local video store and rent “A League of Their Own” starring Tom Hanks, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Lori Petty, Jon Lovitz and a host of incredibly talented ladies.  This is one of my all time favourites and it never grows old. 

Comments

No comments posted.