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‘Leatherheads’ kick is good, but too light
When Leatherheads opened with a vintage Universal Pictures logo (the one with “Universal Pictures” circling a reflective ball), my nerves tingled and I thought, “Nice. This is going to be a fun blast from the past.”
And it was. So why am I having a hard time remembering the movie only a couple of weeks later?
Make no mistake, George Clooney, who directs and leads the cast, has made a fun screwball comedy. I only wish it were a little screwier.
The movie takes place in the 1920s, when professional football wasn’t very professional. The teams and games were decidedly ragtag. College football was where the real action happened - and where the fans went, as Clooney amusingly shows in his opening scenes. The game is so rough and tumble, a new tackle on the team hits the opposing players by punching them out.
Even that spectacle isn’t enough to keep the team going, and everyone goes their separate ways - until the suave team leader Dodge Connelly (Clooney) helps persuade a college hotshot and war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to join the team. The wrench in the works comes in the form of sassy reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), who is determined to prove that Carter isn’t all he’s cracked up to be.
Leatherheads looks great, with excellent period detail and golden-age-of -Hollywood sheen, aided by a rollicking Randy Newman score,. The three leads play well together with snappy banter aplenty. Unfortunately, Leatherheads is so light, some of the air goes out of the movie.
Part of the problem is the romance. As was the case with 21, the coupling of the leads feels more obligatory than romantic. The actors have decent chemistry, but there’s no real reason for them to get together other than that unwritten Hollywood rule that states “When members of the opposite sex bicker, they shalt eventually fall into bed.”
Despite the carefree vibe, Leatherheads swings awkwardly from being a zany Howard Hawks-ian farce to a heartfelt Frank Capra comedy to a zingy Preston Sturges social commentary. One mode would have been better than three. If anything, I would have liked the movie better had it been zanier. Football fans should also note that football scenes are not as dominant as advertised.
Perhaps expectations weigh too heavily on my mind. Clooney has had such a strong track record as an actor and a director, I can’t help but expect better than a lark. Then again, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, made by less accomplished filmmakers, captures the screwball style better than Leatherheads.
Irrespective of its flaws, Leatherheads still scores. What should have been a touchdown, however, is more like a fairly impressive field goal. GRADE: B-
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