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Leatherheads

Review By: Andrea Tuccillo
AndreaTuccillo@TheCinemaSource.com

Being a huge fan of the screwball comedies of the Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn variety, I was delighted to hear that George Clooney was putting his own spin on the genre. His take on the spitfire banter, the wacky romantic entanglements, and the quirky assortment of supporting cast-members is called Leatherheads. Clooney directs and stars in this fizzy flick about the down-and-dirty game of football in 1925. The movie’s homage is successful in some ways and fumbles in others, yet its high-spirited and highly likeable cast makes it a hard film to criticize.

Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, the aging leader of a rag-tag group of athletes who have never played by any rules. The Duluth Bulldogs punch, stomp, and cheat their opponents to victory and they have a grand time doing it. But when a lack of money threatens to disband the team forever, Dodge must think up a quick scheme to get them all back onto the field. He makes a deal to get popular college football star and war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to play for the Bulldogs. In exchange, his team will go legitimate and play by a new set of rules and regulations.

Matters get complicated when Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) enters the picture, a feisty reporter seemingly straight out of His Girl Friday. She tags along with the boys on the road hoping to get close to Carter and find out if he’s really the war hero everyone believes him to be. While digging for her front-page scoop she also manages to trade quick-witted barbs and subtle flirtations with Dodge.

Clooney is like a suave, modern-day Cary Grant and the role of Dodge is a perfect showcase for that. Both are exceedingly handsome, yet can master a pratfall with comedic ease. Even the way they’re both able to irritate and beguile the women in their lives is quite similar.

As a loyal fan of The Office and that adorable paper salesman Jim Halpert, I was excited to see Krasinski on the big screen again. If Clooney’s the Cary Grant of this film, then Krasinski’s the Jimmy Stewart. With his aw-shucks likeability and humble demeanor, he makes Carter sympathetic even though he may be hiding a secret. I just wish his character would have had a little more to do. He’s charming throughout, but only once do we get to see his funny side in a scene when Carter drunkenly confronts Dodge and Lexie.

Dressed in vibrant period costumes, Zellweger has a blast with her sharp-tongued character. Her chemistry with Clooney is right on and their scenes are the best in the movie.

When the movie sticks to the snappy dialogue and clever one-liners it really excels. It’s a throwback to films like Bringing Up Baby where the characters always seem ...