Leatherheads (2008)

In 1925, an enterprising pro football player convinces America's too-good-to-be-true college football hero to play for his team and keep the league from going under.

Director:

George Clooney

Writers:

Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly

Stars:

George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Krasinski	...	Carter Rutherford
David de Vries	...	Princeton Reporter (as David DeVries)
Rick Forrester	...	Princeton Reporter
Craig S. Harper	...	Princeton Reporter (as Craig Harper)
George Clooney	...	Dodge Connelly
Malcolm Goodwin	...	Bakes
Matt Bushell	...	Curly
Tommy Hinkley	...	Hardleg
Tim Griffin	...	Ralph
Robert Baker	...	Stump
Nick Paonessa	...	Zoom
Lance Barber	...	Toledo Referee
Wayne Duvall	...	Coach Ferguson
Nicholas Bourdages	...	Bug
Jason Drago	...	Toledo Player

Storyline

A romantic comedy set against the backdrop of America's nascent pro-football league in 1925. Dodge Connolly, a charming, brash football hero, is determined to guide his team from bar brawls to packed stadiums. But after the players lose their sponsor and the entire league faces certain collapse, Dodge convinces a college football star to join his ragtag ranks. The captain hopes his latest move will help the struggling sport finally capture the country's attention. Welcome to the team Carter Rutherford, America's favorite son. A golden-boy war hero who single-handedly forced multiple German soldiers to surrender in WWI, Carter has dashing good looks and unparalleled speed on the field. This new champ is almost too good to be true, and Lexie Littleton aims to prove that's the case. A cub journalist playing in the big leagues, Lexie is a spitfire newswoman who suspects there are holes in Carter's war story. But while she digs, the two teammates start to become serious off-field rivals ...

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Plot Keywords:

football | hero | college football | surrender | fight | 

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Taglines:

If love is a game, who'll make the first pass?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [UK]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Double jeu

Filming Locations:

Anderson, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$58,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£474,780 (UK) (11 April 2008)

Gross:

$31,199,215 (USA) (30 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Casey Silver Productions, Smokehouse Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Dodge Connelly character was loosely based off of 1920s football star Johnny "Blood" McNally, who was known for his great football skills, but even more for his off-the-field incidents.

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Goofs

Early in the film as the actors are walking across a street, a 1928-29 Ford Model A drives by. The film takes place in 1925, therefore it should have been a Model T like the rest of the cars used.

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Quotes

Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: So you flying solo, or is the Bullet casting about?
Lexie Littleton: What do you care? You're here to entertain Miss Nipplewidth.
Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: It wouldn't look good for you to get caught in a place like this.
Lexie Littleton: I dare say it wouldn't look good for *anyone* to be caught in a place like this.

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Crazy Credits

Photographs showing the 'fates' of the main characters appear behind the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.164 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Who's Sorry Now
Written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Ted Snyder
Performed by The Hoosier Hotshots (as Hoosier Hot Shots)
Courtesy of Okeh Records / Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

I tried SO hard to like it, but could not....

I saw an advance screening of Leatherheads at NYU Movies101 last night.

I was so excited when it was announced that this movie was being shown.

I settled in my seat ready to enjoy another great movie that George Clooney directs and acts in.

All during the film, I thought to myself "Is it just me, or is this movie going nowhere?". I was trying SO hard to like it.

Well, it wasn't just me. I was surprised to see about ¾ of the full house of people I saw it with feel the same way, even the hosting professor.

As discussed after the screening, it had Top-Notch Scenic Design, Sound Track (by Randy Newman), Editing, Acting (Renee Zellweger was fabulous), Directing, Costumes, and Cinematography. It did not have a good story, and that is what made it fail. The script was written in the 1980's by two sports writers. Clooney has been carrying it around with him for over 2 decades. I suspect that the script was pretty much left the script alone from its origin.

The concept of the story is great, but the writing was horrible. Maybe George Clooney thought that the concept and grandeur would "carry" the film? It was disappointing to see George Clooney in a movie that did not compliment him in anyway. He does do comedy well, as he did in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". How can you act well with terrible material? George's Directing was great.