Leatherheads

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With his direction of Leatherheads (Universal, 4.4), George Clooney has attempted "one of the hardest things there is to do -- re-create the fizz of old Hollywood screwball comedies," notes Variety's Todd McCarthy. The result, lamentably, is "just a mild buzz."

Indeed, the best screwball comedies play as if everyone in the cast is (a) slightly deranged and (b) on some kind of light flutter drug. Like the effect of two or three sips of champagne and a half-quaalude. Or a half tab of ecstasy. His Girl Friday, Some Like It Hot, 20th Century, The Lady Eve, My Man Godfrey, Bringing Up Baby, Ball of Fire and The Awful Truth all feel like this. They're so stoned that they provide a kind of contact high. That's the trick of these films, and why the best ones are still loved.

Leatherheads doesn't quite manage this. It's too good-hearted, too "charming," too quick to smile. You want Clooney to pull back on the game and get real. A comedy without a serious foundation can feel too much like a jape, and so the mood humor in Leatherheads has a kind of ceiling. You want to give yourself over to it, but you can't. The movie won't let you. Because it only wants to make you feel good and spritzy, after a while it almost makes you feel a little bit bad. Even though it's mostly "likable." A curious effect.

"A larky romp about the early days of professional football, Leatherheads aims only to please and proves perfectly amiable, but the ultimate effect is one of much energy expended to minimal payoff," McCarthy writes. "Arch and funny in equal measure, Leatherheads looks like a theatrical non-starter that Clooney fans and football devotees might be tempted to check out down the line on DVD or on the tube."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 31, 2008 at 4:33 PM

comment #1

actionman says ...

I was really looking forward to this; wanted it to be a great throwback. If the reviews are this lukewarm all the way around I will wait till dvd.

Shine a Light this weekend on the IMAX is my destination at the moment

Posted by actionman at March 31, 2008 5:22 PM

comment #2

Gus Petch says ...

It's always a bad sign for a comedy when they can't find a single funny line or funny gag to put in the trailer.

Posted by Gus Petch at March 31, 2008 5:59 PM

comment #3

Arran says ...

Fuck it. It's Clooney.

The Onion sums him up nicely.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/sources_george_clooney_looking

Posted by Arran at March 31, 2008 7:28 PM

comment #4

p.Vice says ...

What's that jive you're talking bout half a tab of ecstasy, Jeff? A real man takes the whole thing.

Posted by p.Vice at March 31, 2008 7:58 PM

comment #5

Nate West says ...

Dargis on the Polanski documentary:

"...the director, Marina Zenovich, refuses to wag her finger at Mr. Polanski, even when presenting the sordid and grimly pathetic details of his crime, like the Champagne and partial Quaalude he furnished the 13-year-old girl and her repeated nos."

Champagne and partial Quaalude? So it's a screwball comedy, eh?

Posted by Nate West at March 31, 2008 8:31 PM

comment #6

qwiggles says ...

^Jeff has Dargis on the brain.

Or Quaaludes.

Posted by qwiggles at March 31, 2008 11:42 PM

comment #7

Rich S. says ...

Simple equation, really. George Clooney is not Cary Grant or William Powell (or Howard Hawks or Preston Sturges). John Krasinski is not Jimmy Stewart or Spencer Tracy. And, most importantly, Renee Zellweger is not Kate Hepburn, Myrna Loy, Rosalind Russell, Barbara Stanwyck, Carole Lombard or Jean Harlow.

Posted by Rich S. at April 1, 2008 5:22 AM

comment #8

romeoisbleeding says ...

To Rich S.. you said it all perfectly! yes yes yes!! the media and the magazine headlines can say that Cllooney is the new Cary Grant or William Powell. But we know this is not true. Just spend a few hours watching To Catch a Thief or The Thin Man and you will see that Clooney is not even in the same ball park. The problem with a movie like Leatherheads is they try too hard. Classic screwball comedy is done without effort. Just like watching Fred Astaire dance. No sweating allowed.

Posted by romeoisbleeding at April 1, 2008 5:46 AM

comment #9

Rob says ...

Krasinski may not be Jimmy Stewart, but he's ADORABLE.

Posted by Rob at April 1, 2008 8:54 AM

comment #10

BurmaShave says ...

Fuck the haters, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY is one of the finest comic performances of all time. Yes, it is. He's got the goods, sometimes the movies around him don't work.

Posted by BurmaShave at April 1, 2008 9:08 AM

comment #11

Gus Petch says ...

Burma: Amen. Clooney was sensational in that role, with perfect comic timing, hilarious reactions, and genuine chemistry between him and Zeta-Jones.

He was great in O Brother, Where Art Thou? too. Whatever Leatherheads' problems are, they won't include Clooney as a comic actor.

Posted by Gus Petch at April 1, 2008 9:30 AM

comment #12

Richardson says ...

It helps to have the Coen brothers writing, though, as opposed to some guy who wrote an episode of 'Arliss' once.

Posted by Richardson at April 1, 2008 10:12 AM

comment #13

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