Without the presence of director and star George Clooney and co-star John Krasinski, Leatherheads would most likely be a terrible movie. With their combined charisma and comedic chemistry with one another, they manage to create a decent, albeit largely forgettable, entertainment experience out of an otherwise flawed film.
The movie is at its best when focused on the hijinks of Prohibition-era professional football, which barely resembles the sports and entertainment monolith that is the modern NFL. Back then, college football was seen as the legitimate pursuit, with pro football seen as a vagabond activity no better than professional wrestling. It is in this world that we're introduced to Clooney as Dodge Connelly, the star player for the Duluth Bulldogs of a fly-by-night league where teams close up shop mid-season. In a desperate attempt to save his franchise after it loses its only sponsor, Dodge convinces college star and war hero Carter Rutherford (Krasinski) to leave Princeton and come play for the Bulldogs.
Clooney is solid here, using his trademark old Hollywood charm to power the movie. Even if his box office tallies don't show it, he's a true movie star who can carry a movie like this on force of personality alone. He and Krasinski exhibit genuine chemistry when paired together, with Krasinski contributing the wide-eyed likability he brings to The Office, minus the smirks thrown to the camera.
The movie is at its worst when focused on anything involving Clooney's love interest Lexie Littleton, as played by Renée Zellweger. I don't mean to be so harsh toward Zellweger, even though she was the only element of the movie that I wasn't interested in seeing, as it isn't all her fault. Some of it certainly is, with her annoying line deliveries through the side of her mouth like some old-time gumshoe and failure to establish any sustained chemistry with either man she is paired with in the movie. But ultimately, she was poorly cast, and you have to figure that some of those delivery choices are as much to blame on director Clooney as they are on Zellweger. She just isn't strong enough a presence to go toe-to-toe with Clooney and match his charisma, which is unfortunate given how much of the story is given over to their supposed romance.
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