I’m not a
stickler for accuracy in film. But I can’t stand when things look aged,
that should be brand new. It’s a great disservice to the people of the
time. Leatherheads takes place in the twenties. Sometime
amidst the usual George Clooney rambling he reads a Ladies Home Journal.
It looks as though it has seen a hundred years of readers pawing through
it. And that’s because it probably has. In another scene a poster
is hung that looks sun damaged and faded, but it’s supposedly brand new.
They clearly had a confused props person that assumed authenticity is best
displayed by what we recognize as antique. The film itself was an antique
without the charm. The only character with a twinkle in his eye was that
boy from The Office. The story was weak and the imagery was
horrific. The only upside to Leatherheads is the brief history of
football. As someone who knew nothing of the sport, I can confidently say
I would make a fine sports journalist now that I have seen this movie, just
like Ms. Zellwegger.

For those
of you who don’t know the game, listen and learn. There is a rectangular
field with lines that span its width. The field is part grass, part
mud. There is a ‘Y’ shaped sculpture on either end of the field.
The ball is sometimes kicked in between the upper half of the ‘Y’. If
done so successfully the kicking team scores three points. Fat people
shouldn’t kick the ball. There are two teams, with opposing players that
sometimes like to punch each other. The best looking player gets to stand
fully upright with his hands on an overweight man’s butt while this large man
squats. The good looking one usually yells about it being too warm.
The overweight man with his backside in the air passes him the ball under his
legs. It is the goal of each team to get the ball across the line closest
to the sculptures. The man whining about the temperature throws the ball
towards that end of the field, where it will hopefully be caught by a
teammate. This is difficult because it is hard to distinguish players
when they are covered in mud. If the ball is caught past the farthest
line, or taken past the line, it is called a touchdown. If a player is
punched in the face by opposition, resulting in the ball being dropped or not
caught, it is incomplete. Players are not allowed to run with the ball in
your shirt.

Review by G. Goodman