Leatherheads (Widescreen)

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LEATHERHEADS, directed by star George Clooney, is a romantic screwball comedy, set against the beginnings of professional football in the mid-1920s.

It is endowed with some snappy humorous dialogue, likable performances and an uncanny recreation of a long ago time.

Clooney has cast himself as an aging football player who is trying to get the public to take pro football seriously. He does this by recruiting college superstar (and war hero) John Krasinski to join his team of what is, essentially, a squad of barroom brawlers.

Renee Zellweger co-stars as a sharp newspaper reporter who ensconces herself with the team in order to get a story that will prove Krasinski is not the war hero that he claims to be. Her scenes with Clooney are a highlight of the film, which co-stars Jonathan Pryce and Jack Thompson.

The problem with LEATHERHEADS is that, as entertaining as all the individual elements may be, one cannot figure out what the movie is actually about. There are three major plotlines in play here (i.e. the beginning of professional football, the Clooney/Zellweger romance and the truth about Krasinski's war record) and none of them ever really take center stage.

Extras on the DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment include audio commentary by Clooney and producer Grant Heslov, deleted scenes and various featurettes, including one in which Clooney plays a prank on some of his unknowing cast members.

© Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

A really fun movie - shows how football was played before most of our times.

This is one of the worst movies ever made. The script is so lame after about 1/2 hour you just don't care anymore. I shut it off about 3/4 of the way through because I couldn't take it anymore. It really doesn't deserve anymore of a review than this.

I'm not really a football fan, but I am a Clooney fan and decided to check Leatherheads out. The movie is basically a screwball comedy dealing with aging football jock Dodge Connelly[played by George Clooney]who is desperate to keep his pro-football team alive.This is 1925, and pro-football is more of a joke than serious business. He decides to bring on a young, war hero/college football superstar Carter Rutherford [John Krasinski] and approaches his manager C.C. Frazier [Jonathan Pryce].Before long, Carter is playing for the Duluth Bulldogs and bringing in the crowds and money.But, things are not all smooth-sailing, as newspaper journalist, Lexie Littleton [Renee Zellweger] tags along for the ride, trying her best to uncover the real truth behind Carter's war hero story, whilst engaging in active verbal sparring with Dodge [Clooney].

I felt that the storyline itself wasn't anything unique - and to add to that, this wasn't really a true sports movie. Sure, it tries to provide an interesting backstory as to the genesis of pro-football, but doesn't really address this topic with any depth. The screwball comedy part is also half-baked - there are some laughs, but not many.

What I enjoyed [hence the three-star rating] was the beautiful cinematography and the attention to period details, evoking the 1920s with some measure of credibility. Also, I loved the witty banter between Clooney and Zellwegger, and the dialogue between them was the highlight of the movie for me. Though their verbal sparring was well-done, there did seem to be something lacking in their chemistry with each other. I just felt that Renee Zellwegger didn't seem a suitable match for Clooney in this role, there was just something lacking and I can't explain it. I felt they were both trying too hard to conjure famous screen couples of the past [the 1940s to be exact, like Bogart-Bacall, or Hepburn-Tracy] and just didn't quite manage to pull it off.

Anyway, that's how I felt as I sat through this movie. It's not a bad movie, and definitely worth a watch, but it wasn't exactly memorable either. Final verdict: an average romantic comedy.

This was not only a great film for good, clean laughs (only the characters get dirty out in the field), but was educational as well. I don't know how historically accurate it is, but I learned a lot about the beginnings of professional football. It was also refreshing to watch a movie about football that didn't put me to sleep but actually kept me engaged throughout. George Clooney and his motley band of not very professional players who wouldn't know a rule book if it was thrown at them find out what it's like to go against the big guns of college football (with Jonathon Pryce as a rather greasy villain). Meanwhile, Renee Zellwegger plays a wonderfully savvy, manipulative reporter who's after the news story of a lifetime and uncovers a rather embarrassing fact about the new all-star player's past in the Great War. A great bunch of characters, a heart-warming tale, and lots of laughs for the whole family.