Leatherheads

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George Clooney makes his third trip around the helming block with this slapstick comedy set in the 1920s. Leatherheads stars Clooney himself as Dodge Connolly, an aging professional football player who recruits America's Golden Boy of college football, Carter Rutherford (Krasinski) to play for his bankrupt team. Meanwhile, Zellweger's wily Big City reporter tries to uncover the truth behind Rutherford's tentative 'war hero' tag. Made very much with the spirit of its setting firmly in mind, Leatherheads proves, if nothing else, that Clooney has considerable range as a director. While he's obviously learnt a thing or two from working with the Coens - his 'quirky' comedy stylings evoke a consistent amount of chuckles, but very few belly laughs - it never really gets going the way you hope it will. There is an abundance of supporting players on the team who are introduced with skill and wit, only for them to be used as scene-fillers as the love triangle between the three leads takes over. When concentrating on the football team and their financial predicament, it's an absolute blast; but when it flips to romantic comedy, it's a lot more unsure of itself. This may be because Zellweger feels miscast as an apparent bombshell, who is supposed to make our male leads buckle at the knees with her stunning looks and sharp wit. She's too old for the part and has nowhere near the presence required to carry such a hefty tag. Why she was cast in a role that would have suited the likes of Rachel McAdams more is maybe down to her friendship with the director, moreso than her actual talent. There are many genuine moments of unequivocal pleasure though, as Clooney oozes his trademark roguish charisma with typical ease, fearlessly embracing the ridiculousness of proceedings with a predictable likeability and charm. The football sequences too, are extremely well-handled, if again, slightly underused. Ultimately, although bogged down unnecessarily with plot and lacking in focus in parts, it's still an enjoyably faithful romp through a Prohibition-era America.