'Leatherheads' throws for a loss
In the likable "Leatherheads," director/star George Clooney almost scores a touchdown with his sports-flavored tribute to the vintage 1930s screwball comedies popularized by giants George Cukor, Frank Capra and Howard Hawks.
But Clooney loses both energy and narrative yardage during the third quarter, then all but fumbles the ball in the fourth. (I think we can retire the gridiron metaphors now.)
Clooney stars as Dodge Connolly, probably the oldest member of the Duluth Bulldogs, one of a few allegedly professional football teams operating in 1925. Things don't look good for the fledging sport. Nobody takes it seriously. Teams go bankrupt.
Dodge desperately offers $5,000 a game to a Princeton University whiz kid named Carter "The Bullet" Rutherford ("The Office" star John Krasinski). He's not only a star college player, but a hero who single-handedly captured an entire German squad during the war.
If the popular Carter can't save pro football, who can?
More Coverage Video Dann Gire reviews 'Leatherheads'
As Dodge negotiates a lucrative deal with Carter's shifty agent, C.C. Frazier (British actor Jonathan Pryce, managing an American accent), the hard-bitten editor of the Chicago Daily Tribune (Australian character actor Jack Thompson attempting a workable Midwestern accent) assigns his best reporter to stop The Bullet by exposing him as a bogus war hero.
Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger, looking cuter than a Kewpie doll) is a smart and confident reporter who could give Juno MacGuff lessons in snappy comebacks and witty repartee. She meets Carter and instantly arrests his attention, just about as fast as she arrests Dodge's.
She's too old for Carter; Dodge is too old for her. They even admit this on-screen in one of many charming, smarty-pants exchanges that echo the quick and clever verbal matches in "His Girl Friday."
The script to "Leatherheads" comes from former Sports Illustrated writers Rick Reilly and Duncan Bradley, who not only emanate waves of affection for the wild origins of the sport, but know how to throw down a memorable line of dialogue.
Take Dodge's dubious defense of his hormonal interest in Lexie: "You're only as young as the woman you feel," he quips.
Or the warning from C.C., who conveniently overhears Lexie's plot to ruin Carter, so he warns his client he'd better take an illegal drink before hearing the news.
"I don't drink!" Carter says.
"You will," C.C. replies.
There's a lot to like about this impeccably cast romantic romp. Krasinki strikes an ideal balance between an athletic Adonis and goofy nerd. Clooney and Zellweger emit fireworks during their verbal fencing matches, plus, they look like dead ringers for 1930s screen stars.
Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel aids the effect by gently washing the scenes with a warm sepia-tone that evokes the past without painting it passe.
Composer Randy Newman (he's the piano player in a bar scene, FYI) conjures up a score that perfectly echoes the period without resorting to musical cliches or recycling pieces from his other period sports film "The Natural."
The most disappointing element in "Leatherheads" is Clooney's direction, which found its rhythm and timing in his historical drama "Good Night, and Good Luck" and the black comedy "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."
In "Leatherheads," Clooney occasionally hits with a comically crisp scene, but most of the time, we get sequences packed with all the snap of the Bulldog's rainy game with the Chicago Buffaloes, called "a muddy snooze fest" by a sports writer.
"Leatherheads" never explains what a "Crusty Bob" is, but it apparently relates to an underhanded maneuver to trip up the other team.
That's exactly what Clooney needs during his final act: more Crusty Bobs!
Whatever they are.
"Leatherheads"
2#189; stars
Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce
Directed by: George Clooney
Other: A Universal Pictures release; rated PG-13 (language); 114 minutes
Viva Latino cinema!
The 24th annual International Latino Film Festival, Chicago's largest and most diverse Latino cultural event, will show a scheduled 100 feature movies, documentaries and shorts, including 10 of them made right here in the Windy City. See our story on Page 12. For tickets and schedules, call (312) 409-1757 or visit latinoculturalcenter.org.
Opens Friday at the River East 21 with other screenings through April 16 at the Century Centre, Pipers Alley and Instituto Cervantes, all in Chicago.
UA turns the big 90!
United Artists, the progressive, renegade studio formed in 1919 by Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith, prematurely celebrates its 90th anniversary with a two-month program of biggest hits, including classics such as "West Side Story," "Some Like It Hot" and "Raging Bull," as well as the popular 007 film series. (Sorry, no "Rocky" or "Pink Panther" movies. How could a UA retrospective forget those?) (773) 871-6604 or visit musicboxtheatre.com.
Friday through May 15 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago.
A Chicago premiere!
"Kings" is reportedly the first movie shot mostly in the Irish Gaelic language. Adapted from Jimmy Murphy's play "The Kings of Kilburn Road," it tells the story of five estranged childhood buddies meeting in a London pub to toast the passing of a pal. They're all losers, except for one (Colm Meaney), who has succeed through treachery and betrayal. Directed by Tom Collins. No joke. And, yes, it's a little tardy for St. Patrick's Day. Call (312) 846-2600 or visit siskelfilmcenter.org.
Starts today at 6 p.m. with showings through Sunday at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., Chicago.