Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

brandonsullivan91 At first I just wanted to thumbs up the other 'bad' reviews to express my dislike. It baffles me that the majority of reviews with agreement from others are 'good'. The movie has an identity crisis. It has an odd desire to be a slapstick piece that lacks the timing or editing to get a laugh (from me). It also dragged, dragged, dragged, the unforgivable movie sin in my opinion. This happens when you do not create enough interesting moments in the plot, so you stretch out every scene to a tedious length. I'm not sure that the acting was so bad, just bad material mostly. No aspect of this movie is adequate enough for me to recommend. The sports scenes aren't very compelling because they are slapstick-esque and corny. The romance love triangle is not engaging, I could care less about all three of them. And it dragged! Did I mention that? Jeez! It's not a complete turd, but it does smell.

classicsoncall It's a film about grown men in tights and headgear, I can go with that. I see no reason to go so hysterically negative on the film like a bunch of reviewers on this board have. It's a fun, escapist flick, and if you take that approach it's entertaining enough. The repartee between Clooney and Zellweger may not be up to that of Cary Grant and Roz Russell in "His Girl Friday", but they do have a few good moments, the best probably when they meet for the first time. The backdrop of the 1920's and the origins of pro football combine for a bit of quirkiness, as Clooney gets some mileage out of playing the kind of character he portrayed in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". The odd thing that intrigued me had to do with Dodge (Clooney) and Carter (John Krasisnki) trading at least a dozen head punches between them when they called each other out on the football field, and neither of them had a mark on their face afterwards. Yet in the bar scene when Dodge recognizes his old buddy Eddie, there's a quick cutaway during the fight, and when the camera comes back to Eddie, he has a cut on his nose and lip. Where the film let me down was when they mentioned football plays like pig in a poke, chasing the cattail and a Crusty Bob - I sure would like to know what those were. Also, the bulldog could have used more screen time.

Jacob Boyer Set in the late 1920's, Leatherheads, directed by George Clooney, takes a look into the formation and legitimization of professional football in the United States. The film is not the best of Clooney's work as a director, but it definitely got me to laugh and kept me interested with a plot that thickens as the movie progresses in this romantic, screwball, sports comedy. Now that may sound like a mouthful of genres thrown together, but taking place in the world of football, then filled with field workers, coal miners, and generally the brutes who could not make it into college, the film incorporates a love triangle between Dodge Connelly (George Clooney), Carter "The Bullet" Rutherford(John Krasinski), and Lexie Littleton(Renée Zellweger) along with a double plot. Early in the film it is revealed that Dodge's team, the Deluth Bulldogs, has gone bankrupt and can't afford to keep paying its players or travel to away games, which is also the reality of many other teams at the time. College football, on the other hand, is extremely popular, especially the sensational Carter Rutherford, a war hero (he single handedly stopped a squad of German soldiers while in combat) that is unstoppable on the field and has dashing good looks. Dodge plans to save the dying professional football league by recruiting Rutherford to play for the Deluth Bulldogs. In the midst of this, Lexie Littleton is a young, attractive, spitfire reporter assigned to do a story on the country's youngest and biggest war hero; however, the goal of her story is to find a fault in the man, to discredit the young hero and find out the truth. All three of our characters then find themselves together as Dodge coincidentally meets Lexie right before he talks Rutherford into playing for the Bulldogs. The movie goes on to follow the three of them in their tour of the east coast, playing football and trying to uncover the truth, with lots of screwball comedy along the way and some surprising twists in the story.The actors chosen for this film were an okay cast. George Clooney is a very strong, charismatic actor with a strong background from films such as "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) and "O Brother Where Art Thou?" (2000). He plays a convincing role in this film as well, making the audience believe that he really loves playing football with his friends and doesn't want to lose it just because there's no more money in it. His character does develop well throughout the movie as he faces the issues in front of him, and does so with a charm like any other man from the '20s would have. John Krasinski, most well known as Jim from NBC's "The Office", plays a much better role in this film then he did in "License to Wed" (2007). He fits the character perfectly as he is able to connect with both Clooney and Zellweger, even though he is much younger. Zellweger is the only character that wasn't the best possible cast in the movie for Littleton's character. Although she does look like she could be straight out of the 20's with her costumes and attitude in the film, her chemistry with Clooney and Krisinksi seems to be a little forced, like they are acting, as opposed to a flowing chemistry that makes the acting disappear and brings the film to life. The other problem is the age difference between the characters; it's a love triangle between different generations, this is a cause of the poor chemistry in some of the scenes. Overall each actor fits their own respective character and plays them well, and with Clooney's and Krasinksi's strong background in comedy, it really makes for a fun, playful film as they throw quip's back and forth at each other and try to woo Zellweger along the way. Aside from the acting, the art direction of this film was done excellently by Christa Munro and Scott T. Ritenour. The movie is scripted to take place in the 20s, and it looks like it was filmed then. Every single outfit seen in the movie is tailored and looks completely authentic to the time period (Costume designer: Louise Frogley) . The main outfits seen in the film are all custom fit suits, with common colors, such as black and tan. The military uniforms seen are also all accurate to the times, simple yet authoritative, and accurate to the uniforms used during World War II. The vehicles are all old Model T's etc, and Clooney rides around on a 1918 Indian motorcycle(which is actually an electric replica, but looks real nonetheless). The main transportation used in the film is by train, which was a new and popular way to travel during that era. The uniforms worn during the football games are also accurate to what was worn in the 20's by football players. The film even includes a scene that takes place in a speakeasy, as prohibition was still in effect at that time. The biggest downfall of the movie is the poor chemistry between Clooney and Zellweger, as they are the main love interests of the film, but their mismatched casting does not take away too much from the enjoyment of the film. The film is very appealing to the eye because of its accuracy of what the '20s looked like. The jokes throughout the film are also good for a laugh and are sure to at least make you smile. The plot of the film also starts somewhat slow, but the jokes start early and allow you to get past that. As the film progresses and more is revealed and the characters start to change and develop, the film becomes more enjoyable and continually draws you in, especially to find out what happens to the Bulldogs after signing Rutherford and what is the true story behind his heroism. This is definitely a film worth seeing for a good laugh and good time.

thinker1691 In 1925 America was experiencing a growth burst. Two years later Lucky Lindy would fly the Atlantic, the following year would bring the Wall Street crash, followed by the Great Depression. Within a further two years America would suffer the Dust Bowl and crippling unemployment. Indeed it is noteworthy that professional football and the NFL were also in their infancy. This is the age when our movie takes place. The spirited era of College rivalries and football field shenanigans. men's fox skin coats, hidden booze flasks, the flapper and 'the speakeasy' were all in fashion. America is in flux and painful, but heroic memories of World War I are giving way to the exuberant emerging power of a professional contact sport. Dodge Connelly, (George Clooney) an aging college athlete is keenly aware of the changing attitude. Sensing the prevailing mood, he develops a theory that football fans will pay good money to see popular heroes on the gridiron. He assembles his dwindling fortune and seeks out a World War I veteran, Carter 'the bullet' Rutherford (John Krasinski) and convinces him to play for the struggling Deluth Bulldogs. Banking on his 'hero' status the team becomes a major attraction and nearly unstoppable on the field. Enter the Chicago Tribune, who sends 'Lexi Littleton' a opportunistic female reporter ( Renee Zellweger) to interview the war hero in hopes of discrediting him and thereby advancing to an editor's desk. Although the story is very loosely based on the career of field phenomena 'Red Grange', it's also a biopic of the fading antics of football. With the changing tide of the sport, the free-for-all nature of the game which has also become a economical franchise and thus subject to the inevitable establishment of rules. Clooney does a remarkable job of presenting the twenties era complete with black female singers and the jazz age. All in all, a sympathetic and nostalgic view of an emerging nation seeking a new pastime, despite the struggles it must first endure. ****