Movie Review for Leatherheads (2008)

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Review #630 of 365
Movie Review of Leatherheads (2008) [PG-13] 114 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When Seen: 4 April 2008
Time: 5:15 pm
DVD Release Date: 16 September 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Soundtrack: Download now from Randy Newman - Leatherheads - or - order the CD below

Directed by: George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck)
Written by: Duncan Brantley (debut) • Rick Reilly ("Arli$$")

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
George Clooney (Michael Clayton) • Renée Zellweger (Bee Movie) • John Krasinski (License to Wed) • Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) • Stephen Root (Drillbit Taylor) • Wayne Duvall (In the Valley of Elah) • Keith Loneker (Superbad) • Malcolm Goodwin (American Gangster) • Matt Bushell ("Criminal Minds") • Tommy Hinkley (Ocean's Thirteen) • Tim Griffin (Cloverfield) • Robert Baker (Seraphim Falls) • Nick Paonessa (The Metrosexual) • Nicholas Bourdages (December Boys)

Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Click to see photos from the Premiere of Leatherheads
Click to read the spoiler points for Leatherheads
It's pretty difficult these days to sit down and dream up the kind of movie they used to make back in the 1920s. What's kind of cool about George Clooney's Leatherheads is that, honestly, is that's exactly what's been done. Without special effects and gadgets and wizardry, using a simple story with "aw shucks" kind of values, chiseled features, and complete sass, the result represents a film that could have cozied on up to the sofa and been read aloud as a radio play. No, it's not a perfect film by any means. Still, it's important to give credit when credit is due, and it's about time somebody tried to revitalize the old-school style of filmmaking which hinged so much more on the simple things and how you feel when the film is over.

Practically ripped from the headlines of 1925, Leatherheads is the mythical founding of professional football back in a time when the USA needed some local, non-war-related heroes, and the idea of college football players going on to take the sport professionally was just being hatched. And while that history serves as the backdrop tapestry for the film, the story is really about a love triangle gone wrong and the birth of a fish tale. Dodge Connelly (George Clooney) is a down on his luck football player working for the Duluth, MN team. As the season progresses, teams fold and unfold like an old Route 66 map. Things start to look up, however, when Dodge gets the idea to secure war hero and current Princeton football phenom Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to play for his team. All of the sudden everyone from Kalamazoo to Kankakee is taking an interest in the game of football played professionally. The Chicago Tribune editor, however, has a source that suggests that Carter Rutherford is not quite the war hero he's been made out to be, so he sends Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), his top reporter, to investigate and get to the bottom of the story. As Dodge wrangles the deal with Carter's promoter CC Frazier (Jonathan Pryce), Lexie begins her research into her new story. As one might predict, Dodge and Carter both develop instant adoration for the spunky, sassy Lexie who can hold her own in a bar room brawl.

All three principle actors deliver convincing, gleaming-toothed performances—maybe not quite the current equivalents of Lana Turner, Gregory Peck, and Mickey Rooney, but as close as we have today.
What's right about the film is the characters and their dialogue even the cadence of their speech. All three have the right look as well. The story too has all of the right elements of a classic 1920s film. Plot twists based on mistaken identity, the polite and proper nature of everyone's interactions, and a mild set of villainous types set against a backdrop of the roaring 20s.

All three principle actors deliver convincing, gleaming-toothed performances—maybe not quite the current equivalents of Lana Turner, Gregory Peck, and Mickey Rooney, but as close as we have today. They are all likable without being over the top. This is Mr. Clooney's first stab at directing a comedy, and he keeps pace with the expectations of the era. The film's story ends well and believably with warmth and charm, pretty much as one would expect. And expectations are what this film is all about. You end up getting exactly what you would expect, and there's something just so nice about that.

There were, however, a couple of things that didn't quite work so well. First, the music was a bad match. It was as if someone put a monkey in charge of pushing buttons randomly on a jukebox filled with 45s from the 1920s. Most of the time, the interlude music was simply not the right choice for the scenes. Second, the movie did everything it could to look like it was the 1920s except that it didn't look like the 1920s.

…salutations all around to everyone involved in attempting to make a commercially viable, old-school style film without grandiose pretense, stunt-casting, and rigmarole.
They say black and white films cannot enjoy commercial success today. Well, if there were ever a modern motion picture that needed to be in black and white it was this one. With vibrant color and digital projection, it just didn't look authentic. It's the missing piece that would have made this film. All in all, tough, as far as films today go, salutations all around to everyone involved in attempting to make a commercially viable, old-school style film without grandiose pretense, stunt-casting, and rigmarole.
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Other Projects Featuring Leatherheads (2008)
Cast Members
George Clooney • Renée Zellweger • John Krasinski
Jonathan Pryce • Stephen Root • Wayne Duvall
Keith Loneker • Malcolm Goodwin • Matt Bushell
Tommy Hinkley • Nicholas Bourdages • Robert Baker
Director
George Clooney
Writers
Duncan Brantley • Rick Reilly
Soundtrack CD
DVD
Review-lite Leatherheads (2008) [max of 150 words]
George Clooney's Leatherheads delivers exactly the kind of movie they used to make back in the 1920s. Without special effects, using a simple story with "aw shucks" values, chiseled features, and complete sass, the result represents a film that could have cozied on up to the sofa and been read aloud as a radio play. Practically ripped from the headlines of 1925, Leatherheads is the mythical story of the founding of professional football, and the idea of college football players going on to take the sport professionally was just being hatched. Featuring George Clooney as the down-on-his-luck football player Dodge Connelly working for the Duluth, MN team who gets an idea to bring war hero and Princeton football phenom Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to play for his team while the Chicago Tribune editor sends reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger) to get to the bottom of the story.
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