Leatherheads [Blu-ray] [2008]

Leatherheads is a change from the kind of film that I've come to expect from director George Clooney. This film has much more in common with the likes of Clooney's Coen Bros. collaboration such as O Brother Where Art Thou and Intolerable Cruelty, what with its slapstick humor, somewhat knuckle-headed characters and period sensibilities. With that aside, though, it's a pretty funny flick with some good casting and an amusing use of the Prohibition-era setting. The story revolves around "Dodge" Connelly, a middle-aged player for the Duluth Bulldogs, a pro football team in a time when pro football isn't popular and the conditions in which it's played are downright despicable. Still, there are no rules in the game, and that's way Dodge likes it, so when their team gets shut down due to their lack of finances, Dodge is quite bummed out. His solution: Carter Rutherford, a young college fottball player and war hero, whose skills on the field and extraordinary war record are quite a draw. Dodge gets Carter to join their team, which solves their money woes. However, Carter's war record has been brought into question, and along comes Ms. Lexie Littleton of the Chicago Tribune to break open the truth. Thus ensues a love triangle between Dodge, Carter, and Lexie, which puts the players and Carter's secrets at risk. At its best, the film is a good slapstick comedy and a very enjoyable period piece. The story is not a great draw, because although it is fun to see the older-than-old-school football being carried out by the band, there is not that much of it, and it adds little to the story after the initial conflict. Also, the film's biggest problem is that it has trouble deciding whether to be a romantic-comedy or a sort of period-drama hybrid, which especially becomes an issue in the third act, causing that part of the film to buckle a bit. I'd say the way to fix this qould have been to make this a bit shorter, perhaps by as much as fifteen minutes. My other major problem was that Clooney couldn't seem to quite decide whether or not he liked the character of Carter. He isn't all-out villainized, but he gets a certain amount of mistreatment, leading me to question whether he was intended to be regarded negatively or positively by the viewers. I enjoyed this picture. It kept my attention throughout and gave me a laugh. All of the actors were charming, and the supporting characters had some life to them, although I did feel that too little focus was placed on the team, considering what an important part of the story they play. I recommend seeing it for sheer entertainment value. It's fun enough to take the time.

Really like this movie with George Clooney in this version of Leatherheads. Classic football laughs & fun & games. Well Recommended. 4 out of 5 stars. Thanks.

I got this movie even though the reviews weren't great. I liked this movie, funny and different. I recommend it.

George Clooney as an actor is one of the very best. And when he does comedy he is at his best. He delivers in this film, all the way through. Its good fun and a family treat to discover how pro-football may have come about. It certainly makes one think about the possibilities, by enlighten us with comical characters in difficult situations of the time period.

The movie it's very funny and the fact that chicago was in the movie ...great

Overall, I was pleased with this movie and found many parts funny. Ultimately, however, it's not a movie I will watch over and over again.

Entertaining across the board. A good movie for football fans.

I remember watching this movie as a kid and loving it. When I watched it again I remembered why I liked it.