Leatherheads

George Clooney’s third directorial effort sees him tackling the difficult genre of the screwball comedy. A genre which is defined by the use of sharp, witty dialogue and with strong romantic leads by films like ‘Bringing Up Baby’, ‘Adam’s Rib’ and in more recent times ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’.

Set in 1925, Leatherheads sees Clooney play ‘Dodge Connelly’, manager and player of a struggling professional football team. Facing financial ruin, Dodge concocts a scheme to lure ‘All-Star’ college footballer and War hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to the team in an effort to boost ticket sales and save the day. Enter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), a feisty reporter with her eye on the assistant editor’s desk; which, she’ll bag if she gets the story that will shatter the tale which made Carter an American golden child. All sounds pretty screwbally so far, doesn’t it?

So, Leatherheads should work, all the parts are there; screwball comedy set against the backdrop of the birth of professional football where the rule book hasn’t been written and dirty tactics are par for the course. Also, Clooney has had some experience with the Coen Brothers who know a thing or two about this flavour of film. For all intensive purposes, this film should at the very least have us giggling from beginning to end. It doesn’t.

The film makes too many wrong decisions. First the script, all that witty, snappy dialogue that should be there, isn’t. And when it is there, it’s forced. The ‘wacky’ football team which is set up from the beginning and should the gold mine of fun and frolics is simply thrown to one side to focus on the lesser and underdeveloped love triangle between our three leads.

A staple in the genre of the ‘Screwball Comedy’ is the feisty leading lady. Her presence and machine gun delivery of dialogue will set the tone and pace to all of her scenes. Not here, Zellweger seems laboured in a role that isn’t freshly realized leaving her to act via squint.

Leatherheads is mostly one big missed opportunity. Apart from minor laughs from the football team, there is little to recommend about this film. Instead get your hands on ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’ for a proper contemporary stab at the screwball comedy genre. Then for to get your fix of some reckless sporting team antic watch ‘Slap Shot’ where Paul Newman tries to manage violent but hilarious ice hockey team.

This doesn’t mean we don’t like George, we do. Let’s just hope that his next directing effort (which should be the Coen Brother’s script ‘Suburbicon’) will be better.

2/5 (for effort)