Hey folks, Harry here... A Shy reviewer sent this mostly glowing review that was disappointed that the film didn't live up to its beginning. First off - this is an early screening, George's film isn't due out till December 7th - which means that the film that Shy saw was - well a bit rough. In the world of comedies, the testing process often benefits them greatly - as this is where they hone the timing, realize how the score needs to lend a hand and what beats to abandon. From the sound of the review, George is well on his way - with plenty of time to hopefully make the right decisions to turn it into a game-saving hail mary. Here's the Shy one...
Harry: Blah blah Edgewater, NJ blah blah first test screening blah blah "Leatherheads" with George Clooney and Renee Zellwegger. "Leatherheads" takes place in the 1920s, when professional football seems to have one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel. Clooney (who also directs) plays a player/coach who recruits a WWI war hero/All-American boy type (John Krasinski, The Office)to play on the team to hopefully revive their fortunes specifically, and the league's in general. Zellwegger plays a reporter tasked with going undercover to prove that his WWI exploits were greatly exaggerated. A romantic triangle forms, hijinx ensue. Through the first half hour or so of the film, I was thinking about starting this review by saying that there are two Joel/Ethan Coen films being released this year- "No Country for Old Men" and "Leatherheads". As a big Coen fan, I consider this to be high praise. Certain scenes recall "O Brother Where Art Thou" (a few cast members from this film are recognizable, including Stephen Root) and "The Hudsucker Proxy". However, while Clooney has definitely been influenced by his work with the Coens, the script, while funny in many parts, sputters just as often and just loudly enough to be, in my opinion, unable to consistently deliver on the promise of that first act. Characters as such as other members of the team, characters that the Coens would have had stand out and given their own moment or two in the sun, are indistinguishable here from one another, blending into the crowd like just another goldfish in a tank filled with a hundred of them. On my way home from the screening and thinking about what I was going to write, I pondered the questions, "Do the people an artist chooses to be influenced by and ultimately decide to emulate set a standard that may be too high for that artist to be held to? And if so, is that fair?" "Leatherheads" is good, very good in spots, and there is an audience out there who will appreciate it, but for people like us, who visit AICN and take the time to say what we like and argue our favorite film's merits, there's a strong possibility that they'll watch this and think about what it could have been with a more consistent script. Ultimately, in my opinion, "Leatherheads" is the film equivalent of a really, really good tribute band. That being said, this film has the potential to be this holiday season's big date movie, as it combines romance for the ladies and football for the guys. Clooney swings for the fences, and ends up with a long fly that one-hops the wall. I hope his efforts are rewarded by people not as picky as I was. No names, please, I'm Shy.
