'Leatherheads' not quite a theatrical touchdown

Audiences may appreciate the opportunity to see George Clooney the comedian as well as George Clooney the director in this period piece that plays like a classic movie. Clooney the director has a good eye for detail, creating an appropriately 1920s atmosphere for the film. He also generates a fun, purposely comical love triangle between him - the aged football veteran - an attractive newspaper reporter, and the star player. Unfortunately, Clooney’s tendency to over-act when doing his comedy routine can take you out of the reality of the movie. This would have been only a minor criticism in an otherwise entertaining story, if Clooney the director hadn’t taken his eyes off the ball at the end of the story, ultimately overextending the audience’s attention.

The movie takes place in the early days of professional football, when the teams were made up of under-paid vagabonds who played in cow pastures. Clooney is “Dodge” Connelly, an over-the-hill player who’s not above playing tricks on the field to help his team win. Since there are no official rules yet, Dodge is considered one of the better players of the sport. Despite this, the league is not popular with the general public and is on the verge of folding. Dodge slips into the role of the first football agent, making a deal to bring in college star and war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski, “License to Wed”) to play for his team and reinvigorate the game. This gets the interest of the hard-hitting journalist, Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger, “Cinderella Man“), who receives exclusive coverage of the star, which she may use for her own nefarious purposes.

Zellweger’s character is sassy and hardened by excelling in a man’s world - before the term ‘career woman’ existed - but she borders on being vicious, which causes her to lose some of her charm. Her character was intentionally molded on women played by Lauren Bacall or Audrey Hepburn, but lacks their ability to gracefully stay above the fray. The quick-witted dialogue between her and Clooney is an overt throwback to the romantic verbal sparring of early Hollywood. While reminiscent of the best of the best, the old magic can not be completely restored here. Krasinksi is passable in the straightforward role of the hero with a secret.

The best comic sequences involve all three of the main characters playing off each others’ eccentricities. But the real backbone of the story takes place on the field, where the savagery and shenanigans of the early days of the sport are an entertaining spectacle. I would have liked to see more of that and less of the mysterious war hero sub-plot, which plays too serious for an otherwise light movie. Clooney’s erstwhile attempt to recreate the romantic comedy of a bygone era is successful enough to engage those who miss the golden age, but “Leatherheads” is unlikely to create new admirers.

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.