Leatherheads (2008)

Striving to replicate the mad-cap goofiness of old Hollywood comedy, George Clooney’s third time behind the camera comes up short in a number of areas. Despite a talented cast (including himself), witty dialogue and period-appropriate set pieces, Leatherheads isn’t likely to usher in a new era of old time fun at the cinema.

Maybe it’s the time period the film is set in. Very few people are still around to remember the 1920s. On the other hand, maybe it’s the old-school comedy style. Very few people (and almost no one in the current generation) care for the comedic stylings of the 1930s anymore. Then again, maybe it’s the attempt to bring together the genres of comedy, sports and romance (a tricky trifecta to perfect). Whatever it is, something went wrong with the execution of this film.

George Clooney stars as Jimmy ‘Dodge’ Connelly, a business-minded professional football player whose team is going South. Very few people care about so-called ‘professional’ football because it’s little more than a bunch of men clinging to their college game glory days (if they ever had any, that is). Rather than give up on his dreams of glory and fame, Dodge draws up a scheme to lure college star and World War I hero Carter Rutherford, animatedly played by John Krasinski, to his team.

Rutherford balks at the notion because there is no money in professional football and he’s getting dozens of job offers a day as his college career winds down. Dodge sweet-talks him into joining by promising that people will care when they find out he’s playing and the stands will be filled on a weekly basis. Tension mounts on the field as Dodge attempts to bend the kid to his will when it comes to plays but Rutherford takes advantage of his star situation to take the reigns on play-calling. Tension also mounts off the field as a hot-to-trot reporter (Renée Zellweger) looking to deconstruct the myth that is Carter Rutherford gives the footballers something else to fight over.

There are a lot of interesting things going on in Leatherheads, so it’s a shame that the dots never get fully connected. First, there’s a cynical look at the way the media all but creates heroes for the sake of propaganda and morale-boosting. There could also be analysis of the intersection of greed, obsession and pride. Thirdly, there’s a generation gap tale to be told. Lastly, we’ve got a semi-historical glimpse at the early days of professional American football.

So what goes wrong with this film? While there is some genuinely funny writing, all too often the pacing is wrong. Sometimes there is just too much time between lines while other times the back-and-forth is too quick to believe or even digest. This may be a side-effect of most of the characters being relatively paper thin. Motives are made known early on and no extra depth is needed or given. This fact stands out because there are plenty of times where members of the cast don’t seem comfortable in their roles.

While there no question that chemistry exists between the actors, the disconnect between the players and their roles hampers the effectiveness of the characters and is probably the main reason for all the faltering humor. When the actors aren’t even sure if their characters think a line is funny, how can they possibly convey that to the audience? Clooney knows what he’s doing and gives a deft performance but, just like Dodge, he can be a little overbearing and the laugh lines he delivers feel forced.

John Krasinski has a bright career ahead of him but he would probably be wise to stop his agent from landing him the role of the young cute guy. While he was still in his late 20s at the time of filming, he doesn’t look like a young man anymore. Zellweger does her best with the material but it’s far from one of her more memorable roles.

In fact, this film, despite having a lot of positive things going for it, isn’t as memorable as it could have and should have been. Maybe Clooney needs another go at the madcap comedy genre to get it right. Maybe he should avoid the genre altogether. Whatever the case may be, Leatherheads, while appreciable at best, is not the romantic sports comedy anyone thought it would be.

RATING: 3 out of 5