Leatherheads ... the movie.

So after seeing much of the media blitz that Clooney and Krasinski were doing for Leatherheads, I decided I had to see it. They had some very entertaining interviews and other tv commercials.


The movie plot itself is straight forward Clooney plays an older football player who is involved in the fledgling professional football. Teams are folding all around him including his own. He wants to save football and looks to the current college football stud. College football was filling stadiums around the country (as opposed to pro football which had very few fans). Krasinski's character (Carter) is not just an outstanding football but a true "aw shucks" gentleman and a war hero to boot (a veteran of the Great War). The remaining plot is the love story between Clooney and Zellweger and Zellweger's report role attempting to find out the true story behind Carter's war hero story. Is the war hero story true or is it a lie or exaggeration? I will leave that up to surprise.

I do like the flapper-era America that the movie is based in. Including a few scene's in speakeasy's and the appearance of some flappers. The writing of the movie involves some quick witted retorts and lines which are delivered well between the 3 stars (Clooney, Zellweger and Krasinski). However most of the movie was delivered in a way that reminds me of myself doing a 20's gangster impersonation. Clooney delivers on a character who is charming and a bit sneaky (but in a charming way of course). Not a stretch as he seems born for this type of role. Krasinski plays the aloof character very well. He strikes me as a bit too goofy (looking and acting) to play a big football hero who is now a heartthrob. It works, but I am not sure if he pulled it off as well as someone else may have been able to. Zellweger was adequate in her role. She must enjoy these 20's era movies (as she was in Chicago as well) and she does seem to play the role fairly well. She was a sassy seasoned reporter. She plays the role well and has chemistry with both Clooney and Krasinkski.


Overall this movie does not have enough jokes or slapstick moments for me. I had many laughs during the movie, but looking back I can not remember too many of the jokes. Thus I can not say this movie was memorable, but yet it was enjoyable.

Using a typical school grading scale I would have to put this movie as a C+. Passable and has a few laughs but probably not worth the $10 some odd dollars to see in a theater.



Some links:
The official Leatherheads movie site
Leatherheads movie site on imdb.com
- posted by Doug @ 1:18:00 AM