Leatherheads (2008)

Film: Leatherheads (2008)
Stars: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Root
Director: George Clooney
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

On occasion I'll get a text from my brother over the truly random reviews I'll put on this blog (particularly the Sunday ones that aren't part of any themes), and today is one of them (or it would be if I hadn't just pointed that out), as does anyone actually remember the film Leatherheads?  I would've put this on my Netflix queue at least 12 years ago, which is telling in that I don't get through my queue as fast as I should, but it's also telling how quickly films become disposable, as this is definitely a movie I was interested in in 2008 (probably due to a hormonal interest in John Krasinski, then at his peak "Jim Halpert" fame) but barely registers now.  I don't take films off of my queue even though I do rearrange it, and so today we're going to walk down memory lane with a movie that just 12 years later is almost completely forgotten, and see if it's worth revisiting.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is a fictional take about the very early years of professional football.  It features Dodge Connelly (Clooney) who is an aging member of a pro football team, which then doesn't mean anything (college football is the only sport the country follows with widespread fervor).  He recruits Carter Rutherford (Krasinski), a star college athlete who was also a well-known WWI veteran, to join his team in hopes of gaining more press.  It works, but not just in the ways that Dodge hoped, as Lexie Littleton (Zellweger), a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, begins to investigate Rutherford based on reports that Carter's feats in the war were exaggerated, and he isn't the hero they assume.  This rumor turns out to be right (Carter was in the right place & right time, but isn't a proper hero), but because of the damage he'd do to the sport, he is traded to a different team & this news doesn't become public.  In the end, Dodge & Lexie end up together (there was a love triangle with Carter for a while, but Clooney's the star so you knew where this was headed), Dodge retires from football after pulling a (winning) stunt in his final matchup against Carter, and Carter comes clean to the press, now a better man & the new face of pro football.

The film is cute-the leads are fun, particularly Zellweger as a Roz Russell-style figure (Zellweger is so much better at comedy than drama, despite winning both her Oscars for the latter, and lifts the film as the movie's MVP).  For those watching this for gratuitous shots of Krasinski, prepare to be disappointed (I don't even think he's shirtless), but it is fun to see him go toe-to-toe with screen icons in this way.  He's not up to the same snuff (Krasinski's nice guy appeal has always been his best asset, but he's never really found a role as perfectly-suited for him as Jim, and at this point probably never will even if he's never bad onscreen), but you can almost see as he learns things about moviemaking throughout the film.

But the movie isn't tight, and it's not as good as it could've been.  Looking back on a trailer of the movie at the time, I get why I was interested in this (it wasn't just hormones), but it's not as funny as that is, and falls into the tropes of every sports movie where an underdog has to prove themselves.  I would've liked more of Lexie and less of us trying to wink to modern football audiences of where the game was headed.  Overall, though, this is the sort of movie if you catch it on cable or see it pop up on a streaming service you could have a nice cozy afternoon with.