听 
Contains mild language and comic violenceGeorge Clooney has Old Hollywood written through him like a stick of rock and Leatherheads is his tribute to screwball comedies of yore - the likes of The Philadelphia Story and His Girl Friday. As 1920s football coach Dodge Connelly, Clooney channels as much Cary Grant as he can muster as he banters for the affections of feisty journo Lexie (Zellweger) against the all-American youthful charm of his hotshot new player Carter "Bullet" Rutherford (Krasinski). If there's life in modern screwball, Clooney's it - so why doesn't Leatherheads work?
Perhaps that's little harsh. Leatherheads is a beautiful recreation of the era when pro American footballers couldn't give up their day jobs and Connelly's beloved team are broke. But hope comes in the lanky form of college footballer Rutherford, cute as pie and a war hero to boot, who draws in the crowds and saves not only the team but the pro game too. Lexie is the journalist dispatched to dig behind Rutherford's hero persona but, as screwball would have it, wreaks a little in-team fighting when both he and Connelly fall head over heels for her.
"LACKS THE PIZZAZZ OF... HIS GIRL FRIDAY"
It's good-looking, good-natured and sophisticated, but Leatherheads can't choose between football biopic or screwball romance. Clooney and Zellweger are clearly having fun but their banter (and the way it's edited) lacks the pizzazz of Grant vs Russell in His Girl Friday. Likewise the love triangle (cue The Philadelphia Story) has no time to grow whilst sharing the screen with muddy football games. It might not have the laughs or one-liners to live up to its screwball hype or indeed Clooney's past directorial efforts, but Leatherheads is smart and charming enough for George fans.
Leatherheads is out in the UK on 11th April 2008.
Football films are always rubbish and this is no exception.
