A romantic comedy set during the nascent days of professional football at the tail end of the Roaring Twenties, Leatherheads is also something of an homage to Hollywood filmmaking of the early talkie era, as screenwriters Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly pepper their script with snappy dialogue of the type commonly heard in Warner Bros. B-movies from the early ‘30s—a time when men could refer to each other as “sweetheart” and not be misunderstood. Director and star George Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, a charming but wily pro football player who resorts to underhanded tactics to keep his team financially viable after losing his sponsor, and ultimately sets his sights on recruiting college football star Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), a dashing World War I hero with good looks, great skills, and a phenomenal ability to generate publicity. A potential fly in the ointment is hardboiled big-city reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), who believes Carter's reputation for heroism is unfounded and starts digging into his past while ostensibly covering the team for her paper. Soon, both men become rivals for her affection. It's no surprise that Clooney and Zellweger work well together—they clearly have an affinity for this type of material—and Krasinski, best known for his work in The Office, also blends right into the mix. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director/costar George Clooney and producer Grant Heslov, a “No Pads, No Fear: Creating the Rowdy Football Scenes” featurette (9 min.), eight minutes of deleted scenes, a “Football's Beginnings” making-of featurette (6 min.), six minutes of “Visual Effects Sequences,” “George Clooney: A Leatherhead Prankster” on-set joke segment (4 min.), and trailers. The Blu-ray version integrates all of the bonus features into a picture-in-picture track that is viewable during the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a reasonably entertaining film.] (E. Hulse)
Leatherheads
Universal, 114 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.98, Sept. 23 Volume 23, Issue 5
Leatherheads
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