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Leatherheads

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Leatherheads (2008)

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52 %
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Reviews Counted: 155

Fresh: 81

Rotten:74

Average Rating: 5.9/10

Consensus: Despite a good premise and strong cast, this pro football romcom is half screwball and half fumble.

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release: Apr 4, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $31,199,215

Synopsis: From his casual charm to his cleft chin, George Clooney has frequently drawn comparisons to an actor of another age: Cary Grant. With his third directorial effort, the Oscar winner pays homage to the style of films that helped make Grant... From his casual charm to his cleft chin, George Clooney has frequently drawn comparisons to an actor of another age: Cary Grant. With his third directorial effort, the Oscar winner pays homage to the style of films that helped make Grant famous, such as BRINGING UP BABY and HIS GIRL FRIDAY. In 1925, when LEATHERHEADS takes place, professional football is a joke, especially when compared to its more respected college cousin. Teams across the country are folding, and player Dodge Connelly (Clooney) will do anything to keep his own team, the Duluth Bulldogs, from folding. The enterprising (read: scheming) Dodge steals Princeton star and war hero Carter Ruthford (John Krasinski, THE OFFICE) from his school, and soon the Bulldogs are winning, but it's the game of football that is the real champion as fans pack the stadiums. Meanwhile, reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger) begins investigating Rutherford's past, thanks to a tip from one of the star's old war buddies that he may not be all he seems. The pre-regulation football is dirty, but it's far cleaner than the action when Dodge and Carter vie for Lexie's affections. From the classic Universal logo that opens the film, Clooney firmly sets his film in the sepia-toned past. His lightning-fast dialogue is certainly reminiscent of the repartee between Grant and costars such as Katharine Hepburn and Rosalind Russell. But as much as he owes to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and '40s, he also is mining the same vein that his frequent collaborators, the Coen Brothers, did in films such as THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and INTOLERABLE CRUELTY. Clooney's previous directorial efforts--CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND and GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK--were also both stylish films set in the past, but LEATHERHEADS is a more fun, mainstream work. [More]

Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce

Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce

Director: George Clooney

Director: George Clooney
Screenwriter: Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly
Producer: Grant Heslov, Casey Silver
Composer: Randy Newman
Studio: Universal Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 23, 2008

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Reviews for Leatherheads

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image

Leatherheads really doesn't know what kind of film it is, and as a result it shanks the winning kick -not by a mile- but by enough to be a disappointment.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
07/19/08
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Ratings Image

A gorgeous, charming, quaintly stylish movie comprised almost exclusively of moments and not so much story or characters.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
07/17/08
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina
Ratings Image

Therein lies the problem with Leatherheads %u2014 it has too many fish to fry, and most of them come out half-done.

Full Review Source: Illinois Times | comment Comment
06/28/08
Charles Koplinski
Illinois Times
Ratings Image

This is the slightest of Clooney's directorial offerings, but it's carried over the line by two charismatic leads and a well-honed screenplay.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia) | comment Comment
06/13/08
Vicki Roach
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Ratings Image

Star power is not enough to save this film from mediocrity.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
06/12/08
Eric Moro
IGN Movies
Ratings Image

"Leatherheads" fails because it has trouble balancing its many plots, and because it has nothing remotely interesting to say about any of them.

Full Review Source: The Trend | comment Comment
06/11/08
Stephen Silver
The Trend
Ratings Image

I'm sad to report that Clooney has had his first misfire as a director.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/08/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine
Ratings Image

It's the bad moments that will probably stay with you.

Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | comment Comment
06/07/08
Rodney Chester
Courier Mail (Australia)
Ratings Image

The movie does a nice job with the period details, but Clooney still can't get the romantic comedy angle right.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
06/05/08
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
Ratings Image

Leatherheads, which opens with the logo that Universal used back in the 1940s instead of the present one, is so successful at reviving the screwball comedy that you're prepared to forgive it some flaws.

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
06/01/08
David Stratton
The Australian
Ratings Image

As period rom-coms go, Leatherheads is mild entertainment.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
05/29/08
Pauline Adamek
FILMINK (Australia)
Ratings Image

Leatherheads is like an oasis in the middle of a desert – a genuinely enjoyable romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
05/29/08
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
Ratings Image

Meticulously recreating the era and the sensibilities of the time, Clooney looks as though he is having a riot of a time, be it is grappling in the mud for the ball, or throwing madcap lines at Renee Zellweger's worldly, ambitious journalist

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
05/22/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Ratings Image

It's hard to deny that Clooney is one of Hollywood's best leading men, and "Leatherheads" proves that he can be just as good behind the camera as he is in front of it.

Full Review Source: Watertown Daily Times | comment Comment
05/20/08
Adam Tobias
Watertown Daily Times
Ratings Image

Clooney's third movie as director is his weakest.

Full Review Source: Tucson Weekly | comment Comment
05/04/08
Bob Grimm
Tucson Weekly
Ratings Image

Leatherheads shoots for the Frank Capra/Howard Hawks goal posts but instead winds up getting bogged down midfield.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
05/01/08
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC
Ratings Image

What starts as a thoroughly enjoyable screwball romp ... gets bogged down in some over-ambitious plotting and serious themes as it goes along

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/20/08
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

A quiet variety of disaster--the type that attracts no cults and appears as a curiosity on a few talented folks' résumés for people to try to place in a year or so. Maybe less.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/16/08
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
Ratings Image

Clooney tries to Flags of Our Fathers if directed by Preston Sturges.

Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment Comment
04/16/08
Stephen Himes
Film Snobs
Ratings Image

A 1920s football saga that blends rusty screwball comedy and perfunctory romance under a period piece veneer.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
04/16/08
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Leatherheads

September 10, 2008: An odd screen combo of insanely silly retro-screwball humor, the bumbling antics of a football team of attention deficit disorder, looney tunes Keystone jocks, and a smart-aleck, acid tongue reporter babe upstaging all those sweaty gents around her. Opens in new window
More...

April 16, 2008: UK Box Office Breakdown: Sony's 21 Gamble pays off
Gambling drama 21 cleans up at the UK box office this week, taking both the number one spot and twice-as-much cash as another film. George Clooney however should maybe stick to... More...

April 10, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Teens Dress Up For Prom Night
Multiplexes gear up for another weekend of empty seats as Hollywood supplies three new films that are unlikely to energize the North American box office. More...

April 07, 2008: WGA, George Clooney at odds over Leatherheads credit Opens in new window
Clooney went financial core last fall, after the WGA decided 2-1 in a credit arbitration vote that only Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly deserved screen credit on the picture... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Leatherheads

Far From Clooney's Established Capabilities, But Enjoyable Nonetheless
by: MH and THE MOVIES 10/4


Real Boba
(2008)-George Clooney's LEATHERHEADS goes deep but drops the ball at the goal line???
by: Real Boba 5/29


Real Boba
(2008)-George Clooney's LEATHERHEADS goes deep but drops the ball at the goal line???
by: Real Boba 5/29


Old school Hollywood's take on Leatherheads
by: hfgirl 4/6


Critic review: Despite Stylistic Inconsistency, 'Leatherheads' Feels Good
by: RottingTomato 4/4
See All

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