2008 - LEATHERHEADS, attempt at a Capra type comedy

George Clooney can't get a break particularly from this writer.  Leatherheads is yet another directing attempt that falls flat.   The film is about the early days of football before it became a recognized professional sport.  Clooney is one of the players and the captain of a team called the Bulldogs.  The story bounces between the rough and tumble go for it early games, a love story and a romantic triangle which as it turns out is an awful lot to shovel into one film.

Clooney is his usual amiable movie star presence.  The love interest is played by Renée Zellweger in a not so hot performance.  John Krasinski turns out to be Clooney's chief rival for Zellweger and a rival on another football team the Bulldogs play against in the big game at end of the film.  Seen all this stuff before.

 

As a director, Clooney is for the most part good with working with actors.  The film has a nice 1930's look to it even if the film is at times drenched in sepia, a favorite of directors and cinematographers who want to create a look of what the good old days looked like.  But you can be fairly certainly people weren't constantly bathed in sepia light during the 1930's.  

 

As with a lot of Clooney's films the script is the main issue as it sandwichs in football field slapstick action and a wisecracking 30's movie style romance.  Clooney appears to be going for a Capra type of film lots of frenzied action and romance.  However it’s all just to much as the film loses focus from the football games to the not very interesting romantic moments.

The film was written by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, the running time is 114 minutes.