Leatherheads (2008)

Director:

George Clooney

Writers (WGA):

Duncan Brantley (written by) &
Rick Reilly (written by)

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

In the beginning, the rules were simple. There weren't any.

Plot:

A romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée.

Plot Keywords:

War Hero | Athlete | Reporter | Coach | Singing

US Showtimes:

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Cast

George Clooney	...	Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly
Renée Zellweger	...	Lexie Littleton
John Krasinski	...	Carter Rutherford
Jonathan Pryce	...	C.C. Frazier
Stephen Root	...	Suds
Wayne Duvall	...	Coach Frank Ferguson
Keith Loneker	...	Big Gus Schiller
Malcolm Goodwin	...	Bakes
Matt Bushell	...	Curly
Tommy Hinkley	...	Hardleg
Tim Griffin	...	Ralph
Robert Baker	...	Stump
Nick Paonessa	...	Zoom
Nicholas Bourdages	...	Bug
Jack Thompson	...	Harvey

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

USA:114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44052) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 | Ireland:PG | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | UK:PG | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Germany:6 | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Anderson, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Casey Silver Productions

Trivia:

The script was written back in 1993. The writers brought it to the attention of Steven Soderbergh who then took it to the then president of production at Universal Pictures, Casey Silver. It went into script limbo after Silver left the studio to become an independent producer. Soderbergh then came back and brought Clooney along to make the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Carter and Dodge have repeatedly and for an extended period of time punched each other in the face, neither has any marks whatsoever at the end of the fight.

Quotes:

Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: You're only as young as the woman you feel.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-04-05)" (2008)

Extremely well executed comedy -- for its audience

With comedy -- quit ably demonstrated in Albert Brooks's "Search..." movie -- enjoyment is directly dependent upon the observer's frames of references. Most of the things one finds funniest in life are inside jokes that would be funny to few other people outside the circle. I believe this simple truth to those of us with much world experience sometimes eludes the Nintendo generation viewers who tend to dominate these message board.

For those of us with a sense of history and understand the films' reference points, this was a lovingly crafted, superbly directed, and superbly acted comedy. Zellweger was amazing! Clooney and Pryce were perfect. And Krakinski (a newcomer to me since I had never seen the office) was just fine. Stephen Root was hilarious in his bits, and Randy Newman's cameo as the piano player was hilarious. If one wishes to nitpick, I think the actor playing the commissioner threw away his best lines and lacked the grandiosity the part required, but this is a small objection indeed.

Kudos to Clooney for putting the love and effort into a very well-crafted and enjoyable comedy for those of us with patience and who understand the reference points.