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LEATHERHEADS Send This Review to a Friend
With George Clooney and Renee Zellweger as stars, “Letherheads” has to have at least some entertainment to offer, and there is special interest since Clooney is directing. Although far-fetched and a mess, the film’s period setting (the 1920s) and capturing the aura of the early years of pro football provides a minor measure of fun, and the romantic sparring of Clooney and Zellweger is occasionally entertaining in the manner of the old screwball comedies. Toss handsome John Krainski as Carter Rutherford, acclaimed as a World War I hero and football star, into the mix to create a rival in the romance department and there are sporadic sparks. The screenplay is by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly.
Clooney, his charm once again evident, plays Dodge Connolly, leader of a broken down pro team that goes broke and falls apart. Before that happens we get a glimpse of the rough and tumble, no-rules aspects of the game in its early development before change sets in. Undaunted, Dodge finds a way to reconstitute the team by going into business with an unscrupulous operator (Jonathan Pryce) and getting a college football hero (Krasinski) to turn pro for a worthwhile sum.
Zellweger plays Lexie Littleton, a feisty, fast-talking and cute newspaper reporter who is assigned to do a story on the war-hero gridiron star, who, naturally falls for her, as has Connolly. What she learns shakes things up.
Not much of the plotting is believable, requiring one to give the film wide latitude if feeling generous. But there are select good moments to make the story a passable diversion. Clooney does on occasion show talent as a director. For example, there is a scene where Connolly and Lexie dance together and finally begin to feel passion toward each other after their initial hostility. The director uses the good judgment of getting the right atmosphere by partially focusing on the mood created by the singer of a sultry number. He also does a decent job handling all of the crazy, rowdy action sequences on the playing field. A Universal Pictures release.
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