The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Features  |  Reviews
FIND MOVIES
Find a Movie
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies
50_bands_50_States_2009_banner

Leatherheads

A plucky play that takes its eyes off the ball
By TOM MEEK  |  April 9, 2008
2.5 2.5 Stars
Leatherhead1s2_inside
TACKLED: George Clooney glorifies the good ol' days of American football.

Behind the camera and in front of it, George Clooney has glorified screwjobs (Chuck Barris) and romanticized bygone eras (Murrow versus McCarthy). Here he does both, tackling the early days of pro football when it was more of a circus spectacle than a game of skill. The premise, cooked up by two SI scribes, has post-WWI pro pigskin on the verge of collapse, so Clooney’s “Dodge” Connolly, an aging man boy who wants a few more snaps, contrives a scheme to bring heralded Princeton halfback and national war hero Carter “The Bullet” Rutherford ( John Krasinski) into the huddle. Fans and funds run flush until details of Carter’s wartime heroics come under fire from can-do gal reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger). The ensuing love triangle and male rivalry don’t hold much mud, but the themes of economic uncertainty and sports scandal (Spygate, anyone?) echo the now. It’s a plucky play that never quite runs to daylight. 114 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Circle + suburbs
Related: Non-starter, Hell on earth, And justice for one . . ., More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, George Clooney,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK
Share this entry with Delicious

 See all articles by: TOM MEEK

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group