Collegiate Times

'Leatherheads' might make you want to dress up like your grandfather and try to buy a Coke with a penny, but that's about it.

In his third attempt behind the camera, director and leading man George Clooney appears to put saving the world on hold for a bit to teach audiences a lesson on the history of professional football.

Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, the leader of a group of boozing brawlers one might mistake for the Duluth Bulldogs, a struggling professional football team in a failing league. Connelly is an aging teenager somewhere in his ambiguous 40s, but he's decided to put the real world on hold to live out his passion, playing football in front of 30 or so half-asleep fans.

The tale "Leatherheads" is getting at is the grassroots days of pro football when collegiate games would draw a crowd pro players could only dream of. In this case, the crowds were flocking to see WWI hero turned gridiron sensation, Carter "The Bullet" Rutherford (John Krasinski) play for Princeton. With a play straight out of Major League Soccer, Connelly believes he can save professional football by paying Rutherford a ridiculous amount of money to play for the fledgling Bulldogs. "The Bullet" is a sensation, and crowds unlike anything Beckham witnessed flock to the stadiums and jumpstart the league.

Football is the only thing that really holds the film back. Prohibition-era America comes alive with greasy-haired men in crisp suits mingling through hazy jazz-fueled speakeasies. The one notable woman is journalist Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), a strong woman who might throw her drink in the face of an unwelcome suitor, but could just as easily convince him to do it himself. She's following "The Bullet" around to dig up a story shedding light on his military service.

This screwball comedy is a rare treat in a way, with its quick-witted characters and fast-paced dialogue it pays homage to an era of film. Co-written by Sports Illustrated's former back page columnist Rick Reilly, the film's strong points are surprisingly all off the playing field. "Leatherheads" is a weave of sharp one-liners and understated slapstick while a football game plays in the background.

As a director, Clooney seems to be stuck in the past. In his third effort he goes back to the 20s, while in the brilliant "Good Night and Good Luck," he took on the McCarthy-era 50s, and in his debut spy flick "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," we saw the 60s and 70s. With all the comparisons to the untouchable Cary Grant, it was only a matter of time before Clooney made a screwball comedy of his own, and while this one is better than most, it doesn't show the promise of his other works as a director.

Whether he knows it or not, and something tells me he knows it, Clooney is in charge of Hollywood. His outspoken political views and praise of his industry have made him a kind of self-appointed leader of whom I would have expected more than a call for football reform. Clooney thinks the professional game has too many rules, and most of us would probably agree with him, but why make this film? Am I saying Clooney isn't allowed to have a sense of humor? Yes, I think I am, at least not for something this empty.

One thing he won't have to worry about , though, is the Office's John Krasinski overcoming him anytime soon. "Jim's" appeal and comedic timing are nowhere to be found, and although they can't be expected, it's disappointing all the same. Rutherford is a flat character who gets consumed by the charm and intoxicating likeability of Connelly. I still want to pull for Krasinski, though, and hope that one day, many (hopefully) years from now when the Office has folded, he can separate himself from Jim Halpert.

"Leatherheads" looks and sounds great, but I can't trust it. It's been too long since a film tried to match the wit and charm of screwball comedies from the 40s, and this one can almost compete. Clooney, though, comes across a bit bipolar with this filmmaking jump to a light, refreshing comedy after championing his industry as the world's cultural leader. It's a good period film, and an encouraging diversion from most contemporary comedies, but as a football film it doesn't work and Clooney can do better.