leatherheads

Rarely does one find a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be and successfully achieves its goal. In a day when movie-makers try to attach any and every film to some deeper meaning of life, Leatherheads provides a sigh of relief.

The aging Dodge Connelly (George Clooney, who also directs) captains a struggling football team of misfits in the pre-NFL 1920s. In order to attract a wider audience, Connelly petitions Princeton football heartthrob and WWI hero Carter Rutherford (The Office's John Krasinksi) to leave school and play for the Duluth Bulldogs. While waiting to meet Rutherford, Dodge starts to flirt with the fiery Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), who happens to be a newspaper journalist assigned to get the inside scoop about Carter's wartime days.

Carter joins the team, Lexie follows him for her story and Dodge grins happily in the hopes of acquiring some national recognition and financial stability. However, both Carter and Dodge quickly fall for Lexie. Subsequently, Dodge becomes jealous of the attention Carter receives-spots on billboard advertisements and adoration from love-struck high school girls-and the pompous authority he assumes on the team.

The quick-witted, firecracker banter between Zellweger and Clooney is the real pleasure of the film. The two Oscar winners help to provide both amusement and nostalgia, successfully transporting the audience to the age of speakeasies and bar fights. The film also features the power of the newspapers of the era, a time when someone like Carter-he's "good for the country... a war hero!"-can easily rise to iconic status. Krasinski doesn't stray far from the Jim Halpert-everyman personality, but it fits perfectly as Carter's story unfolds.

Football fanatics seeking an inspiring or educational trip to the early days of the sport, beware. The game sequences are filled with comic plays and dangerous tackles, an homage to the unrestrained, crowd-pleasing beginnings of football.

Leatherheads is light and breezy and leaves you with exactly what you expected-a half grin on your face and a slight ache for the past.