Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney, John Krazinski, Jonathan Pryce, Renée Zellweger
Rating: PG-13

Renée Zellweger and George Clooney in Leatherheads. (Courtesy photo)

Producer George Clooney found the perfect actor to play the lead in his celebration of old-time football, Leatherheads: George Clooney. Clooney is our throwback movie star, one of the few real men actors. However, producer Clooney did not make such a wise decision in letting his star direct the movie. Clooney has real directing skills, as evidenced by Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Goodnight and Good Luck. But this time Clooney’s love of the subject matter doesn’t translate into a clear vision. Leatherheads sways wildly between screwball comedy and sports comedy. It does neither terribly well, but ultimately everyone seems to have such a good time making it I was won over. But I’m a sucker for most attempts to recapture the so-called golden age of movies. Add three lead actors I particularly root for, and I’m an easy target. But most viewers won’t be as gullible, and my mild enjoyment of the film doesn’t keep me from seeing its many shortcomings.

Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, captain of the professional football team the Duluth Bulldogs. The year is 1925, and professional football is barely hanging on while college football draws fans by the tens of thousands. When Dodge’s team is about to go belly-up, he contrives to lure the biggest star in college football, war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krazinski), to join the team. With much help from Carter’s shady manager CC Frazier (Jonathan Pryce), Dodge and Carter turn the Bulldogs into a huge success. Meanwhile, ace Tribune reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger) is out to learn if Carter’s war hero story is really true. Shockingly, both Dodge and Carter end up having the hots for the sassy Lexie.

Clooney and Zellweger have both shown an ability to play period and play it well. This go ’round, they both take a while to warm up. The Office star Krazinski, on the other hand, has the cagey innocent routine down perfectly. The trio might have made a crackerjack romantic sports comedy, were they handed a better script than the one by Duncan Brantley and Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly. With such an expert on hand, Leatherheads should have felt more authentic. The games are fun in their lumbering way, but outside of a few references to dirty plays and a few speeches decrying the gentrification of the game, there isn’t a connection to the game. The writers are clearly fans of The Natural and Bull Durham, and have mixed the two together to create a hybrid that is too many things at once. The romantic comedy works occasionally—there is chemistry between Zellweger and Clooney. But this is where the director Clooney fails. He allows actor Clooney to give his most mannered big screen performance yet. The ticks that charmed for one season of ER 14 years ago were dutifully worked out of Clooney by directors like David O. Russell and Steven Soderbergh. Without a grown-up around too monitor him, Clooney allows himself too many double takes, too many sheepish grins, too many “old man” jokes. The right guy in the serious scenes isn’t so reliable once the mood lightens. Clooney the director also can’t shape the material enough. Key turns don’t have the impact they should. Carter’s decision to join the Bulldogs, for instance, is blown over so fast you might miss it. And the movie’s one theme—that the football Dodge plays may have to be sacrificed so the proper game can flourish—isn’t really explored. The final strangeness comes in the waning minutes of the big game, when the twist is so murkily pulled it doesn’t register.

Leatherheads is nevertheless easy to watch. The sound track of oldies is wonderful, if not exactly inventive. The sets, costumes, and attitudes aren’t convincingly 1925—this is clearly people playing dress-up—but the cast compensates a good deal with its obvious affection for the project. Zellweger can’t generate the rat-a-tat energy of Rosalind Russell, whose Hildy Johnson of His Girl Friday is all too obviously the model. But she is more comfortable in her own skin than usual, and the result is an unusually sexy Zellweger. John Krazinski continues to hone his leading-man skills as Carter. The hugely appealing Boston native hasn’t scored yet on the big screen, but his time will come. Veteran Steven Root (Newsradio, Dodgeball) adds another memorable character to his collection as a boozy reporter called Suds. As for Clooney, this one is going to deal his charmed existence a small blow. For such a likable guy, Clooney seems to be eliciting a certain amount of gleeful taunting for this movie’s disappointing outcome. I love that Clooney seems to opt for stuff that either makes a difference or makes him smile. Maybe what keeps him above the rest is that, while some of choices over the past decade may seem dubious, none of them have been mercenary. Leatherheads certainly isn’t. It’s just a labor of love that didn’t involve enough labor.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.