Oscar® winners George Clooney and Renée Zellweger match wits in Leatherheads, a quick-witted romantic comedy set against the backdrop of America’s nascent pro-football league in 1925.
Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, a charming, brash football hero who is determined to guide his team from bar brawls to packed stadiums. But after the players lose their sponsor and the entire league faces certain collapse, Dodge convinces a college football star to join his ragtag ranks.
Welcome to the team Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), America’s favourite son. A golden-boy war hero who single-handedly forced multiple German soldiers to surrender in WWI, Carter has dashing good looks and unparalleled speed on the field. This new champ is almost too good to be true, and Lexie Littleton (Zellweger) aims to prove that’s the case. A cub journalist playing in the big leagues, Lexie is a spitfire newswoman who suspects there are holes in Carter’s war story. But while she digs, the two teammates start to become serious off-field rivals for her fickle affections.
No-one has rated this movie yet - be the first! You must be logged in to rate a movie.
"perhaps the lads will find this more appealing"
Leatherheads is a period film full of laughs and plain old good fun. The story lies within the American football nostalgia and is held together by it's slapstick comedy and blended romance. George Clooney who both stars and directs gives a good performance here, yet it seems a little uncommon seeing the superstar in a period comedy piece as we are familiar with his more dramatic performances. However he scores points here for his style of shooting and direction of the film. [advertisement (width="300" height="250")]
The plot isn't deep but it flowed well. Clooney's character, Dodge Connelly, heads up a team in Duluth, and picks up a star college player. The birth of the modern professional football is woven into the plot. Clooney's age, 46, a bit old for a football player, was not covered up with make-up, but integrated into his character. Zellgeger, as Lexie Littleton, a newspaper reporter who has to find the truth behind the college star's heroic war record, played convincingly throughout. Overall this isn't my favorite film genre, perhaps the lads will find this more appealing, yet as the slapstick and laughs carry it well without producing any disapproving frowns from us ladies. The chemistry between Clooney and Zellweger is believable as Renee is a bright treat to watch, this screwball comedy scores high for laughs but is flagged for it's slight lack of focused attention.
