Leatherheads (2008) Rank 3 Reviews

Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)

A credible evocation of screwball comedies. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)

BrianOrndorf.com (Brian Orndorf)

Executed with a fizzy bang that Clooney pulls off with a prohibition stupor and some knee-slapping generosity; the man knows how to stage a bar fight and a game of verbal chess with the best of them. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at BrianOrndorf.com (Brian Orndorf)

Christian Spotlight on the Movies

Overall, I would recommend this movie for adults for its movie making quality and entertainment value. However, there is profanity in the film, and the Lordâ��s name is used in vain at different points throughout the movie. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Christian Spotlight on the Movies

filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)

hangs so close to films produced during a forgotten age that audiences who don't recall how quick-witted screwball comedies used to be might not fully appreciate it (or even care to). ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)

eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)

George Clooney has many fine qualities, but among the ones I most appreciate is an appreciation for past eras in film and American life that doesn't approach blind worship. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)

efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

Like his first two directorial efforts, â��Confessions of a Dangerous Mindâ�� and â��Good Night, and Good Luck,â�� George Clooneyâ��s â��Leatherheadsâ�� is a period film that comments on the media and popular culture that simultaneously evokes a long-gong ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

FirstShowing.net (Ken Evans)

If you're not in the mood for horror movie, a band documentary or a kid's film that looks extremely boring, then Leatherheads is for you. This is a fun movie for anyone. Take a date, take your family, or just see it with some friends. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at FirstShowing.net (Ken Evans)

The Critical Critics

So, if you havenâ��t had the chance to check Leatherheads out yet, do so. It isnâ��t going to win any awards but youâ��ll most certainly be entertained. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The Critical Critics

The King's Room (Paul Perkins)

I am not a big sport fans esp football i have seen only a couple of football games in my 35 years of living. But i have seen a lot of sports movies some were good and some were bad. This week we have a new football movie hitting the multiplexs it called ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The King's Room (Paul Perkins)

Eye for Film (Jennie Kermode)

If somebody had described this film to me before I saw it, I'd have laughed and said "Oh, no, they don't make 'em like that any more!" I'm very glad I was wrong. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Eye for Film (Jennie Kermode)

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)

May not always ring the gong, but it makes for an unfailingly pleasant two hours of entertainment. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)

eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)

George Clooney has not only proven himself to be one of the most charismatic actors working today, but heâ��s become something of a versatile director as well. â��Leatherheadsâ�� is certainly the zaniest film heâ��s made so far, but it rings a bell of con ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)

ComingSoon.net (Edward Douglas)

A deeply satisfying and entertaining film that will appeal just as much to guys as their ladies. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at ComingSoon.net (Edward Douglas)

efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

"Leatherheads" is a profoundly unprofound film that really doesn't have anything on its mind other than to give audiences a couple of hours of giggly fun. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

Boxoffice Magazine (Pete Hammond)

Without anything else on its mind but to entertain, Leatherheads throws the equivalent of a cinematic touchdown. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Pete Hammond)

ReelTalk Movie Reviews (John P. McCarthy)

The flimsy headgear worn by football players in the 1920s provided little protection from injury. Does that explain how the sepia-tinged Leatherheads came to be so slaphappy? Sure, the game was brutal back then -- sorely in need of rules, proper helmets ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at ReelTalk Movie Reviews (John P. McCarthy)

Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)

Clooney and the cast manage to nose across the goal line with a winning score. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)

Boston Globe

George Clooney wins frequent comparisons to Clark Gable and Cary Grant. But we don't have to go back that far: 2005's "Good Night, and Good Luck," with its obvious political leanings (to the left, to the left) proved that Clooney is more like Warren ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Boston Globe

Hollywood.com (Pete Hammond)

A comic winner set against the beginning of pro football in 1925, Leatherheads is first-class movie entertainment in the tradition of 1973â��s The Sting. The script has been floating around for about 17 years , developed by two Sports Illustrated writers ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Hollywood.com (Pete Hammond)

Bucket Reviews (Danny Baldwin)

It may surprise some moviegoers that Leatherheads, a fictional telling of the early days of professional football, was directed by George Clooney. Anyone who is familiar Clooneyâ��s previous directorial efforts, Goodnight and Good Luck and Confessions of ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Bucket Reviews (Danny Baldwin)

Kansas City Star (David Frese)

"Zellweger's Lexie isn't some silly sexpot or spoiled simp; she's a thoroughly modern moll." ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Kansas City Star (David Frese)

KYW Newsradio (Bill Wine)

There's no screwball in football, but there's plenty of football in this screwball comedy. George Clooney's Leatherheads is, appropriately enough, a real kick -- a return to the jaunty, wisecracking romps of the '30s and '40s. Clooney is the ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at KYW Newsradio (Bill Wine)

USA Today (Claudia Puig)

The football saga Leatherheads, a nimble throwback to the screwball comedies of the 1930s, meets its goal. Though not as clever as the Preston Sturges or Howard Hawks movies to which it pays tribute, it succeeds at what it sets out to be: ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)

St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)

For the first hour, "Leatherheads" is a motor-mouthed romantic comedy that pays affectionate tribute to "His Girl Friday" and other verbally dexterous comedies of the '30s and '40s (the movie is set in 1926, but never mind). It's all pretty artificial, ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)

Chicago Sun-Times (Jim Emerson)

Film fans used to speculate about whether Clooney could become the Cary Grant of our time, and now we know he's our Clark Gable and William Holden and Dean Martin, too. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Jim Emerson)

ReelTalk (Adam J. Hakari)

Much like the "athletes" it depicts, Leatherheads doesn't always have its act together. It's a little rough around the edges and could've used a rewrite or two to shave off some of the thematic fat. But if you're in the mood for a movie that, at the end ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at ReelTalk (Adam J. Hakari)

Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)

Leatherheads has its charms - most of them Clooney's, as he again embodies the definition of manliness: The guy other guys want to be, and women want to be with. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)

USA Today (Claudia Puig)

More amiable than witty and relying heavily on the likability and charm of its lead actors, Leatherheads scores more points as a retro romantic comedy than a football saga. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)

Cinematical (James Rocchi)

"Screwball comedy" implies a certain snap and rotation -- a velocity to the gags and a vector to the plot -- but the people who made Leatherheads don't quite have the strength of arm or skew of angle to make Leatherheads truly screwball ... ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Cinematical (James Rocchi)

Richmond Times-Dispatch

George Clooney's football comedy "Leatherheads" catches the ball in the end zone and streaks down the sideline, untouched. And then, for no reason at all, it fumbles the ball on the 10 yard line. The last half-hour is a mess, flailing about literally ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Richmond Times-Dispatch

Los Angeles Daily News (Bob Strauss)

Artificial as Leatherheads sometimes gets, it's grounded in modern screen naturalism. As in all of Clooney's directing efforts, there's also an ethical seriousness at its core. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Bob Strauss)

Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)

The principle that seems to be guiding George Clooney's choice of films to be in and/or direct is, "make 'em laugh or make 'em think." This madcap period comedy on the birth of football as a profession with rules and a commissioner, written by Duncan ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)

Christianity Today (Russ Breimeier)

It juggles too many elements--sports, romance, slapstick, Capra-esque cinema--and doesn't do justice to any of them. But the film is brimming with nostalgia and charm. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Christianity Today (Russ Breimeier)

St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))

Just when you think, 'Enough already on the sliding-in-the-mud jokes,' Leatherheads tosses up a great joke that is the cinematic equivalent of a Hail Mary pass that sends the home team to victory. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))

State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) (Nick Rogers)

Self-assured even when it's self-aware, this is a fizzy concoction with three fingers of Billy Wilder and one of Frank Capra. It's shaken with the Coens and topped off with a splash of Ron Shelton and a cinematographical cream-soda sheen. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) (Nick Rogers)

WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)

a madcap romp full of laughs and verbal gymnastics, but the movie becomes too serious towards the end ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)

Urban Cinefile (Australia)

Leatherheads delights in the brawls, especially those on the football field. But there are also bar brawls and in a fight between Dodge and Carter, they carefully explain to each other which body part to avoid. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Urban Cinefile (Australia)

Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

He belongs to two churches - film and football - and George Clooney worships at both in Leatherheads, a scrappy debate on the rules we live by disguised as a screwball comedy. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

There's a rule in Hollywood: spring is for baseball films; fall is for football films. It's a time-honored tradition that makes sense when one considers the seasonal popularity of the sports, but Leatherheads flouts it. This is a football-themed film ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

It's surprisingly, refreshingly effective at times, and it is old-fashioned in several respects. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)

Ever the jokester, Clooney doesn't rely on his writers to come up with all the funny stuff. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)

Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)

George Clooney's goofy ode to the origins of professional football is nothing short of an old-fashioned screwball comedy. And a pretty good one at that. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)

Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)

The comic-book style of "Leatherheads" where people can get into fights without bleeding and throw people into mud without breathing makes the film a delightful flight into romantic comedy. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Parts of "Leatherheads" play out like a highlight reel of scenes from earlier George Clooney comedies. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) (Greg Maki)

... The witty dialogue, delivered with verve and precise timing, especially by Clooney and Zellweger, is the the movie's greatest strength. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) (Greg Maki)

Screenjabber

It's a standard screwball set-up and, when Clooney and Zellwegger are trading flirtatious insults, you could almost believe â�� and celebrate â�� that the genre's back. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Screenjabber

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (Jeffrey Westhoff)

Glib, sophisticated and silly. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (Jeffrey Westhoff)

Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)

In his third film as director, Clooney has taken us back to the films he enjoyed as a child, the classic romantic comedies of Preston Sturgess and Frank Capra. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)

Newsday (Rafer Guzman)

Both behind and before the camera, Clooney imbues Leatherheads with an irresistible charm and intelligence, raising it far above the average period piece. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Newsday (Rafer Guzman)

Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)

Writers Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, who sold the first version of this debut script back in 1991, want to celebrate the innocence of those early days -- both pro football's and modern America's -- and the feeling that anything was possible back then. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)

Lee's Movie Info (Lee Tistaert)

Judging from the audience reactions, though, it was hard to tell how Leatherheads was playing in general. A section of the crowd was usually with it, chuckling, and enjoying it, but it was difficult to tell if that was the majority reaction. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Lee's Movie Info (Lee Tistaert)

Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)

Even in a middling comedy such as this one, which he also directed, he's alarmingly ardent. Clooney is relying on the tremendous audience rapport he's built up over the years, and he's right to do so. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)

Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)

No director-star in movies has a better gut understanding of the Great American Circus and the lost glamour of masculine heroism than George Clooney. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)

About.com (Rebecca Murray)

The real high points of the movie are the verbal sparring matches between Clooney and Zellweger, and Clooney, Zellweger & Krasinski. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at About.com (Rebecca Murray)

EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

A loopy Roaring Twenties screwball comedy, executed with confidence. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

Beliefnet (Nell Minow)

Like the 1925 ragtag professional football team it follows, this movie has more high spirits than ability to deliver. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Beliefnet (Nell Minow)

Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)

The amusement level may not make for a sold out arena nor raise you to your feet in excitement but it has its moments of mirth and pizazz. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)

Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)

What starts as a thoroughly enjoyable screwball romp ... gets bogged down in some over-ambitious plotting and serious themes as it goes along ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)

Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)

Clooney and Zellweger radiate intelligence and seem to take pleasure in each other's mental agility. Even when the lines are less than spectacular, the spark between the two actors is knowing and playful. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)

PopMatters (Bill Gibron)

You've got to give Clooney credit for trying, especially when most of Leatherheads is a jaunty, jazz age dream. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at PopMatters (Bill Gibron)

The New York Sun (Ruth Graham)

It's a bit slick in some places, slack in others, but that's the film's point about football, too: Sometimes following the rules takes the fun out of things. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The New York Sun (Ruth Graham)

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

But, on the whole, Clooney has made an enjoyably innocent, old-fashioned love story, with an irresistible musical soundtrack, too. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

The New York Times (A.O. Scott)

In the good old days, around 1925, according to â��Leatherheads,â�� professional football was a lot more fun, a rough, ragged enterprise, untrammeled by corporate influence and unconstrained by rules and regulations. And in the slightly more recent old da ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The New York Times (A.O. Scott)

Moviepie.com

Listen, doll, here's the skinny on this picture: it's good, but it ain't great. It's got a whole lot o' rat-a-tat-tat dialogue comin' fast and furious like a sailor on shore leave, but it's sayin' a lot without sayin' much. Funny? Sure. But so's my aunt ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Moviepie.com

Comingsoon.net

It's hard to imagine that a mere eighty years ago professional sports as we know them didn't exist. How far we've come since those heady days of the mid-'20s when professional football was barely a step above working in a mine or on a farm, and the men ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Comingsoon.net

At the Movies (David Stratton)

Maybe the final football match is a bit confusing â�� especially if, like me, you donâ��t know a great deal about these things â�� but overall LEATHERHEADS is like an oasis in the middle of a desert â�� a genuinely enjoyable romantic comedy. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at At the Movies (David Stratton)

Watertown Daily Times (Adam Tobias)

It's hard to deny that Clooney is one of Hollywood's best leading men, and "Leatherheads" proves that he can be just as good behind the camera as he is in front of it. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Watertown Daily Times (Adam Tobias)

Associated Press (David Germain)

The film leaves you longing for a few Hail Mary end-zone passes, while the filmmakers stick to a story that tries to pound it out with a safe, tedious ground game. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Associated Press (David Germain)

Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)

George Clooney's "Leatherheads" is a movie you want to like. The Roaring '20s costumes, sets and music all look terrific, and a story about the early days of professional football -- a sport then relegated to college play -- is a fresh movie ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)

The New York Sun (Ruth Graham)

The "Leatherheads" script, written 16 years ago by Duncan Brantley and Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, does lack zip in some places, which is no small problem in a film whose comedic ancestors were bursting with wit. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The New York Sun (Ruth Graham)

Parent Previews

It's 1925 and the concept of professional football is sputtering along like an ill-running Model T. Teams such as the Duluth Bulldogs are dogged by slow ticket sales, insufficient sponsorships ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Parent Previews

Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)

In the wake of "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," we have yet another screwball comedy. And this one, while it has its problems, isn't so bad, either. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)

Onion AV Club (Keith Phipps)

If amiability equaled greatness, Leatherheads would be destined to become a classic. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Onion AV Club (Keith Phipps)

Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)

It would have been interesting to see what the Coen Brothers would have made of this project. Still, "Leatherheads" has its moments and is certainly an amiable little comedy. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)

Most of the gags work, but the shtick is overdone and Clooney finally runs out of charming reactions to the world's abuse. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)

FilmJerk.com (Edward Havens)

To call something a screwball comedy instead of just a comedy is to add an extra level of farcical expectations all too easy to not meet. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at FilmJerk.com (Edward Havens)

Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)

There's a subtlety to the filmmaking that's a refreshing change from the numbing obviousness of movies geared to the teen demo. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Noted prankster George Clooney is a man who knows how to laugh -- even, or especially, at his own expense. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)

Leatherheads is no disaster, but it leaves you wanting both less and more. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)

Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)

Given the contemporary imperative to put movies into boxes neatly sorted by function, it's hard to know what to make of "Leatherheads," a light, charming, well-executed pastiche of a 1930s screwball comedy that alternates between witty repartee and (less ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)

Newhouse News Service (Stephen Whitty)

Like the Jazz Age football players it idolizes, George Clooney's "Leatherheads" sets a good pace, holds on to a can-do spirit and has a lot of heart. Also like them, unfortunately, it's not quite as good as it needs to be, or thinks it is. Clooney's ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Newhouse News Service (Stephen Whitty)

L.A. Weekly (Scott Foundas)

When Time recently featured George Clooney on its cover accompanied by the headline â��The Last Movie Starâ�� â�� note not even a question mark at the end â�� you didnâ��t have to read the article to know where it was coming from. After all, stars of the ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at L.A. Weekly (Scott Foundas)

NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)

An odd screen combo of insanely silly retro-screwball humor, the bumbling antics of a football team of attention deficit disorder, looney tunes Keystone jocks, and a smart-aleck, acid tongue reporter babe upstaging all those sweaty gents around her. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)

Mediasearch, Australia

â��Leatherheadsâ�� is an intelligent comedy that will be greatly appreciated by film lovers that just donâ��t find most romantic or teenage comedies funny. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Mediasearch, Australia

Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)

If you have a hankering for old-style Hollywood comedy and romance, and Turner Classic Movies is on a Steve McQueen or John Wayne jag, Leatherheads offers an agreeable substitute. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)

Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)

Drawing from movies rather than life, Leatherheads often feels like a likable exercise in retro style rather than a film with a compelling reason to exist on its own. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)

Baltimore City Paper (Cole Haddon)

Leatherheads, director/star George Clooney's take on the origins of professional football, reintroduces the screwball comedy to modern audiences. Except for a few thematic elements and a random tame curse word, it could have--and maybe should have--been ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Baltimore City Paper (Cole Haddon)

The Seattle Times (Moira Macdonald)

What saves the movie, though, is something very old-fashioned indeed: movie-star charisma. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The Seattle Times (Moira Macdonald)

Newsweek (David Ansen)

Leatherheads," George Clooney's nostalgic comedy about the early, no-holds-barred days of pro football circa 1925, is meant to evoke the snappy romantic comedies of the '30s. The archetypes are in place: RenÃ©e Zellweger's ambitious gal reporter Lexie ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Newsweek (David Ansen)

Sean the Movie Guy (Sean McBride)

Has enough of the screwball comedy flavor to appeal to fans of Preston Sturges or George Cukor. Sports fans, on the other hand, will be disappointed. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Sean the Movie Guy (Sean McBride)

New York Post (Lou Lumenick)

AFTER the twin triumphs "Michael Clayton" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" almost anything George Clooney does as an actor or filmmaker runs a risk of disappointing by comparison. Especially when "Leatherheads," the first film Clooney's directed where ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)

The Denver Post

Slapstick meets screwball in "Leatherheads," an amiable valentine to an era of breakneck repartee, bathtub booze and anything-goes gridiron warfare. The setting is 1925 Duluth, Minn., home base of the Bulldogs, a rough-and-ready pro football team in ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The Denver Post

kids-in-mind

An enterprising professional football player (George Clooney) hires a college football star (John Krasinski) to give a much needed boost to his failing team and the failing business of professional football. At the same time, a journalist (RenÃ©e ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at kids-in-mind

ShowBIZ Data

Leatherheads, studio publicists have said, is intended to be a kind of throwback to those movies of the '40s and '50s called "screwball comedies." And Rafer GuzmÃ¡n in Newsday applauds George Clooney, who both stars in the football film and directs it, ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at ShowBIZ Data

Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)

With George Clooney and Renee Zellweger as stars, â��Letherheadsâ�� has to have at least some entertainment to offer, and there is special interest since Clooney is directing. Although far-fetched and a mess, the filmâ��s period setting (the 1920s) and ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)

MTV (Kurt Loder)

"Leatherheads" is a movie of steady, if unspectacular, pleasure. Nominally a story about the birth of professional football in the mid-1920s, when the sport was mostly a collegiate attraction, the picture is really a fizzy salute to the screwball ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at MTV (Kurt Loder)

Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (Gina Carbone)

There's a strange little war movie living inside Leatherheads. What isn't inside is a football film. Not enough of one, anyway. If this were American Idol, Randy Jackson would say it was pitchy and all over the place. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (Gina Carbone)

Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

Leatherheads goes on a good 20 minutes too long, and there's very little in it that makes a lasting impression, but it's easy to watch while it's unspooling -- much like, you know, a lot of Cary Grant comedies. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

The New York Sun (Ruth Graham)

From "Philadelphia Story" through "Dumb and Dumber," one of the most tried-and-true cinematic formulas is the competition between two men for the same woman. Another is the ragtag underdog sports team that goes up against a bigger team that's all brawn ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The New York Sun (Ruth Graham)

Washington Times (Christian Toto)

Leatherheads proves you can't make 'em like they used to, no matter how hard someone like George Clooney tries. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Washington Times (Christian Toto)

Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)

Everyone's too mannered, and most everything's too slow. Especially for a throwback. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)

Box Office Mojo (Scott Holleran)

Leatherheads is Hollywood's latest George Clooney vehicle, supposedly a comedy about a football team in 1925. But Leatherheads is actually an unfocused, overloaded and self-indulgent mess. Digging right in with the roar of a pre-professional football ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Box Office Mojo (Scott Holleran)

cinemattraction (Brandon Fibbs)

This has been a good spring for comedies that look backward in time for their inspiration. Last month, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day harkened back to an age of zany films that embraced farcical situations, mistaken identities, hidden secrets, slapstick ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at cinemattraction (Brandon Fibbs)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

All that earnest effort sinks "Leatherheads" with wooden performances, contrived scenarios and an utter lack of the charm and grace that highlights those classic romantic comedies of the 1930s. Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, an aging football star in ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)

It wouldn't be at all accurate to say that I disliked Leatherheads; I simply found myself kind of stunned that all the good stuff didn't somehow add up to more. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)

San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)

Oh brother, George, where art thou going with this? ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)

Premiere Magazine (Ryan Stewart)

Leatherheads isn't poorly made, but it's easy, hang-back material from a director who's already proven himself up for a challenge, and that's hard to accept. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Premiere Magazine (Ryan Stewart)

Wolfpack Productions (Sujit 'Chief' Chawla)

So while Leatherheads has football as its centerpiece, the movie was really about the playful banter between George Clooney and RenÃ©e Zellweger. Now let me first say, I love John Krasinski on The Office and he seems like a really nice guy. But he was ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Wolfpack Productions (Sujit 'Chief' Chawla)

Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)

When a film stars three people you adore and still falters, the instinct is to blame the director. But that's tricky when the director is one of the people you adore. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)

Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

George Clooney, wearing his director's cap along with his movie star crown, has tried mightily to whip up a frothy, frisky and frolicsome frappe of snappy dialogue, slapstick comedy and smart-aleck romance. He and his writers and co-stars and crew fill ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

Zellweger and Clooney do have screwball chemistry, but the screenplay, by sportswriters Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, is rife with scenes done better in the classic romantic comedies it admires. ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

The Seattle Times (Moira Macdonald)

You can't accuse George Clooney of being stuck in a rut. After a run of strong dramas â�� starring in "Michael Clayton," directing "Good Night, and Good Luck," executive producing and acting in "Syriana" â�� this generation's Cary Grant decided to direct ...read the complete Leatherheads movie review at The Seattle Times (Moira Macdonald)

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