Production Company: Universal Pictures
Director: George Clooney
Cast: George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Root, Ezra Buzzington, John Vance, Dan John Miller
Rating: PG-13 for some language and violence

By Gregg Tubbs

(UMC.org)—You’ve got to love an actor—twice named “sexiest man alive”—who is willing to spend the majority of a film wearing the most hysterical piece of sports headgear, all for the sake of a good laugh. Luckily those flimsy leather helmets aren’t the only source of comedy in Leatherheads, George Clooney’s rollicking homage to the early days of professional football. Throw in a magnetic college football superstar, a wise-cracking lady reporter, and a lovable team of football-fumbling misfits, and you’ve got all you need for a comic touchdown. And for extra points, if you pay close attention, you’ll discover weightier themes the need for heroes and how half truths can grow into convenient and useful legends.

In his directorial follow up to the very serious Good Night and Good Luck, Clooney takes a hard left turn into pure silliness. Leatherheads aspires to capture the elusive comic madness of the 1930s screwball comedies, which deftly combined slapstick, sexual tension and rapid fire dialogue—exemplified by classics like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday, both starring Cary Grant, the George Clooney of the time. While Leatherheads never reaches those heights, its energy, irreverence and overall conviviality overcome its few shortcomings. The film is at its best when it’s on the field, where the pratfalls and brawls are endless and milked for all they’re worth. Leatherheads also does a nice job at capturing the sepia-toned, smoky atmosphere of 1920s America, filled with speakeasies, newsboys and “dames” both classy and otherwise.

Dodge Connolly (George Clooney) is a roguishly handsome football pro with a few too many games under his belt and too few ahead. Copyright © 2008 Universal Pictures.

The film follows the story of two football players on very different trajectories. Dodge Connolly (Clooney) is a roguishly handsome football pro with a few too many games under his belt and too few ahead. He’s the captain of the Duluth Bulldogs, a motley team of former miners and farmhands, struggling to stay solvent. In fact, with all 25 pro teams in financial straights, the entire league could collapse before it even gets started. The big draw in 1925 is college football, and its brightest star is handsome Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), whose blazing speed on the field nearly guarantees a touchdown the moment the ball touches his hands. Further enhancing his allure are his WWI exploits, when he reputedly forced an entire German platoon to surrender to him and earned the nickname, “The Hero of Argonne,” and the Congressional Medal of Honor.

For Dodge, Carter Rutherford and his legions of fans and eager sponsors represent pro football’s salvation. For Carter, who is facing graduation, the rough and tumble pro league offers him the only chance to continue playing football, something he loves as much for the sport as for the adoring fans. After some crafty negotiations by his manager (Jonathan Pryce), The Hero of Argonne signs on to become the savior of the Duluth Bulldogs and as well as pro football. But there’s a hitch. Hot on Carter’s trail is Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), a newspaper reporter whose star is rising almost as fast as Carter’s. Though pretending to write a sympathetic profile on Carter, she’s in fact preparing to reveal his war heroics as a fraud.

College football's brightest star is handsome Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), also famed for his heroism in World War II. Copyright © 2008 Universal Pictures.

Leatherheads is designed to deliver laughs, nostalgia and a little romance, so reading too much into it would be a mistake. But central to the film is the idea of heroes—how we crave them, need them and sometimes even construct them. Whether they are war heroes or sports heroes (Carter is both), we want to believe in them, emulate them and project in them all that is best in us. When there is evidence that our heroes have failings and are human just like us, many of us turn a blind eye, preferring the illusion to the truth.

The theme of honesty is also explored. For example, we learn that Carter was less than heroic in the trenches, and he even admits to Lexie that “the facts are true, but the telling gets better each time.” Stories grow, get embellished and, as the Football Commissioner says, eventually “smell of legend” rather than fact. Because fame is so addictive, Carter struggles over coming clean, which will bring shame and destroy his celebrity status. Intriguingly, the film leaves us with the question of whether or not football and the country as a whole are better off with its hero intact—even if he is a fake.

Leatherheads provides a good natured, often hilarious look at a bygone era when pro football was more brawl than organized sport. With appealing performances by Clooney, Zellweger and Krasinski—and don’t forget those silly helmets!—Leatherheads scores.

Study Questions

The film seems to glamorize football before it had many rules. What do you think about the rules? Are they restrictive or do they provide necessary boundaries?

How would you describe the character of Dodge Connolly? Is he someone to admire? Do you know anyone like him?

Carter explains why he didn’t play college baseball, even though he was better at baseball than football. What does this tell us about his character?

Lexie claims she is only doing her job in exposing Carter. Do you agree? Are there things you would refuse to do as part of your job?

Do you think Carter’s manager was looking out for Carter’s best interest? Who else was he looking out for?

Carter’s manager seems motivated by greed. Was money Carter’s only motivation? What does the Bible say about lusting after money? (See 1 Timothy 6:10.)

Do you think Carter should have come clean about the lies surrounding his war record? Does God require us to “come clean” of our sins? (See 1 John 1:8-10; Ps. 32:5; Lev. 5:5.) What does God promise if we confess our sins (1 John 1:9)?

Why do you think it was hard for Carter to tell the truth about what happened in the war? Can you sympathize with him? Have you ever told a lie that was hard to set right?

What does the film have to say about heroes and hero worship? What are the characteristics of a hero or heroine? How would the Christian concept of heroism be similar or different from the vision of heroism in popular culture? Have you ever been disappointed by a hero of yours?

Dodge suggests that maybe Carter should leave his legend intact. Did you agree? Do we need heroes, whether all their exploits are true or not?