Leatherheads (Widescreen)
by George Clooney
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DVD details
Actor: David de Vries, George Clooney, John Krasinski, Renée Zellweger, Rick ForresterDirector: George Clooney
Brand: CLOONEY,GEORGE
Producer: Barbara A. Hall
Producer: Casey Silver
Producer: Grant Heslov
Producer: Jeffrey Silver
Producer: Robert F. Newmyer
Writer: Duncan Brantley
Writer: Rick Reilly
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 114 minutes
Published: 2008-09-01
DVD Release Date: 2008-09-23
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Leatherheads (Widescreen)
DVD Review: Average football flick
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm no fan of football, and believe me, it's not for lack of trying. I want to be that guy who has the team football jersey, can rattle off the names of various players of numerous teams, have a fantasy football habit, and be able to toss the ol' pigskin in my backyard with friends. I've made myself sit down and watch it, and while I understand the game mechanics, I just can't seem to get into the game itself. Ironically, and for reasons I will never be able to understand or adequately explain, I really enjoy football movies though. Necessary Roughness, The Replacements, and Rudy are all great movies (among many others not listed here) and I really enjoy watching them.
That said "Leatherheads" is not your typical football movie. The film (which I'm assuming is a heavily fictionalized, if not outright made up, version of historical accounts) covers the creation of professional football in 1920's America. George Clooney is an aging football player who's having trouble holding his pro-team together as it seems to make no money. He comes up with the bright idea of hiring a college football star/war hero, played by John Krasinski of "The Office" fame, to generate interest in pro-football and bring in the big bucks. There's a subplot wherein Renee Zellweger's character, a newspaper reporter, wants to investigate Krasinski's war record and see if he really is the war hero he claims to be.
First off, if you're thinking this is going to be a movie about team building and working together to overcome adversity, look elsewhere. The actual game of football inhabits only a small fraction of the total film. In fact I think the audience gets to spend more time riding trains than anything else, but I digress. Clooney's character is witty and funny but beyond that he sort of meanders from scene to scene with no real objective than to hook up with Renee Zellweger's character. Successfully getting pro football started is more or less just a side benefit. I couldn't help but like Krasinski's character in the movie, who comes across as pretty likeable despite his being portrayed as an attention grabbing, big-shot celebrity. In fact the only thing I found a little disconcerting was his attraction to Zellweger's character, who is clearly *much* older than his own.
And then there's Renee Zellweger's character. I know that the movie producers wanted her to be the well liked heroine of the movie, but for me the effort failed pretty badly. I didn't like the fact that her character was singularly devoted to the destruction of a person with no real benefit to anyone. Why do it at all? Krasinski's character didn't steal the glory from someone else, nor did his actions end up harming anyone (in fact they saved a great deal of people's lives on both sides, even if it was an accident) so why destroy him? And that her character did all of this with a clear conscience bothered me that much more.
None of the other characters really gets enough face time to warrant mention, which is rather sad because this kind of movie really begs for it. There's no teamwork here at all...players gather on the field and play, and then they disperse at the end, and then predictably get on another train (lots of trains in this movie).
If I have to give points to Leatherheads it's for the excellent cinematography. The producers really spared no expense in convincing the audience that this film is set in the 1920's and really pulled it off. Between the art-deco and myriad Model-T's the movie was beautifully styled and had me pretty well convinced that that's what the 1920's looked like. This did not cross as well into the comedic aspects of the film, which I think were supposed to draw from Keystone Kops type slapstick of the era. The timing was right for the pratfalls and what not, but it just wasn't that funny. And sometimes I think they put extra scenes into the movie just to introduce another unfunny slapstick moment, such as the superfluous speakeasy chase in which Clooney and Zellweger meet for some adult beverages at an underground bar. The bar is busted up by the police and our heroes end up knocking out two police with a well-timed door slam, stealing their uniforms, and then end up getting pursued throughout the city for the better part of what felt like 20 minutes. It added nothing to the movie. In fact my wife and I were both somewhat surprised at the tenacity of the continued pursuit, given that it wasn't as if the heroes had robbed a bank or murdered anyone. But maybe that's just me.
The plot is very convoluted and I found myself wondering why characters were doing what they were doing since there was no real direction for the plot. Everyone meanders about the screen, and I'm no expert on filmmaking, but I have a hunch that this may have been *intentional*. Sigh. Overall I view Leatherheads as a movie that all but screams the word "mediocrity", and largely a symptom of the endless stream of average movies that Hollywood pumps out each year. C'mon Hollywood...there must be a better way.
Description of Leatherheads (Widescreen)
Academy Award® winners George Clooney and Renée Zellweger team up in this fun-filled comedy set against the beginnings of pro football. Dodge Connelly (Clooney), captain of a struggling squad of barroom brawlers, has only one hope to save his team: recruit college superstar Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski, The Office). But when a feisty reporter (Zellweger) starts snooping around, she turns the two teammates into instant rivals and kicks off a wild competition filled with hilarious screwball antics! Critics are cheering Leatherheads as "a real winner" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).Bestsellers in DVD
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