Leatherheads (2008)

 

Dang - I could have used this for my salute to football films a few years ago. 

Synopsis: Conniving Prohibition-era rogue singlehandedly transforms professional football from a chaotic, cash-strapped anarchic carnie venture into the soulless and exploitative big-money institution we know and love today. 

Blurb From the DVD jacket: “Nothing comes between love and a little competition” [This film is set during the Roaring Twenties, but you wouldn’t get that impression from the jacket photos]

What Did I Learn?: Being the slickest operator in Duluth is sort of like being the world’s tallest midget. 2) Goddamn rules are ruining the game of football. 3) You’re only as young as the woman you feel. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You want to re-live those thrilling days of yesteryear when muscle-bound jocks crashed into each other on the gridiron for nearly no money. 

Really?: 1) Gee…Stephen Root doesn’t have much to do in this film, does he? 2) So, wait - George Clooney was pushing 50 when he made Leatherheads. I had a bit of trouble believing a guy that age - who obviously has highly-developed communications and people skills - would still be playing some sort of pre-rules football instead of managing the team or doing publicity for it. 

Rating: Leatherheads is an entertaining, albeit lightweight romantic comedy. The film doesn’t quite pull off the Hepburn-and-Tracy vibe it tries to achieve, just as it also doesn’t really tell us that much about the very early days of professional football, but it does provide a few laughs and some witty banter between Zellweger and Clooney. 7.5/10 stars

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379865/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0