Leatherheads (2008)

Director:

George Clooney

Writers (WGA):

Duncan Brantley (written by) &
Rick Reilly (written by)

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

In the beginning, the rules were simple. There weren't any.

Plot:

A romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée.

Plot Keywords:

Stadium | 1920s | War Hero | Coach | Soldier

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Jan. 3	12:00 PM	HBO
Thur. Jan. 7	5:30 PM	HBO
Mon. Jan. 11	12:00 PM	HBO

Cast

John Krasinski	...	Carter Rutherford
David de Vries	...	Princeton Reporter #1 (as David DeVries)
Rick Forrester	...	Princeton Reporter #2
Craig S. Harper	...	Princeton Reporter #3 (as Craig Harper)
George Clooney	...	Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly
Malcolm Goodwin	...	Bakes
Matt Bushell	...	Curly
Tommy Hinkley	...	Hardleg
Tim Griffin	...	Ralph
Robert Baker	...	Stump
Nick Paonessa	...	Zoom
Lance Barber	...	Toledo Referee
Wayne Duvall	...	Coach Frank Ferguson
Nicholas Bourdages	...	Bug
Jason Drago	...	Toledo Player

Also Known As:

Ein verlockendes Spiel (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:PG | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44052) | Germany:6 | Australia:PG | Netherlands:6 | Finland:K-11 | South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Japan:PG-12 | New Zealand:PG

Filming Locations:

Anderson, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Casey Silver Productions

Trivia:

Carter Rutherford is loosely based on the real life football star Red Grange. His agent in the movie, C.C. Frazier, is based on his real life agent C.C. Pyle.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The job placement worker asks Dodge if he learned a trade while he served in the war, then rhetorically asks how has he earned a living in the last 20 years without a marketable skill. The war ended 7 years before the story takes place.

Quotes:

Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: You're the kind of cocktail that comes on like sugar but gives you a kick in the head. The only thing you hate worse than a guy making a play is when a guy *doesn't* make a play.
Lexie Littleton: Oh, were you making a play? I hadn't realized. It might work on my Aunt Lurleen. She's a little near-sighted.
Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: [about his "Ladies Home Journal"] You know, there's an article on peach canning in here that I'm dying to get back to.
Lexie Littleton: Well I know you, too, Dodge Connelly. You think you're the slickest operator in Duluth, and maybe you are, but being the slickest operator in Duluth is kinda like being the world's tallest midget, if you ask me.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-04-05)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Who's Sorry Now

A laugh filled and decent slapstick romantic comedy that looks at the early days of pro football.

"Leatherheads" is a movie of laughs, and feel good fun a period piece of football nostalgia that's held together by it's slapstick comedy and blended well with romance. George Clooney who stars and directs gives a good turn here, yet it seems a little uncommon seeing the superstar in a period comedy piece as he's clearly a better dramatic actor still he scores some points here for his style of shooting and direction of the film.

Set in the 1920's George is 'Dodge' Connelly a football player on the field and a ladies man off it, and this is before the big money and rules changes that took into form for the game. Clooney's team the Duluth Bulldogs are a scrapper bunch at play yet the team is tough and gritty, and off the field George's Dodge character is full of drink and has eyes for a dame. Enter Lexie Littleton(Renee Zellweger)who's an elegant and sexy snap news lady of a reporter as she's a little lady in red from her nifty wardrobe. While the Bulldogs team and other foes have gone bankrupt and many move on to other traits of work like mining and labor, a plan then develops to invest in and start an organized league with the help of a famous recruit for the Bulldogs that being college ivy league stud and apparent war hero Carter Rutherford(John Krasinski). Along the way then the film blends with plenty of slapstick laughs and comic gridiron action from strange and crazy tackles to muddy fields to catchy flirtation one liners and romance that is seen in a chastely and sexy way. And the big surprise is the truth about the apparent battlefield story is revealed.

Overall this isn't a great movie, but it's OK as the slapstick and laughs carry it, so if your expecting a historical serious and dramatic look at the early NFL you want get it here. Though the costumes and uniforms of the classic throwback way of no face mask, no chin gear, nor any rules make you feel just like your back watching a 1920's era game. The chemistry between Clooney and Zellweger is good as Renee is a bright treat to watch even though the laughs are good and the scenes are fun Clooney appears out of place here in a comedy work even though his performance is good, this screwball comedy scores for laughs and is flagged for drama and it's lack of focused attention on the history of the start of the NFL.