The Rules Are There Are No Rules

Leatherheads

*** out of ****

Kristen and I went to see the movie Leatherheads last weekend. The movie wasn't very well-received by critics, but we took a chance anyway and both enjoyed it, even if Smidgen spent most of the movie doing lunges in Kristen's belly.

The movie is at its finest when exploring the humorous origins of pro football, and how the dynamics of the game changed, for better or worse, with the introduction of structure and rules. It didn't provide a steady stream of laughs, but it had a handful of laugh-out-loud moments and more than a few chuckles.

I love the snappy, fast-talking dialogue that the Coen Brothers are famous for (O Brother Where Art Thou, Hudsucker Proxy), and Leatherheads has some fine moments in this regard, thanks to the romantic banter between leads George Clooney and Renée Zellweger. Also, the 1920s production design of Chicago and the Midwest is an added visual bonus.

There are plenty of jokes that fall flat, and things take a serious turn near the end, which seemed a little out of place with the screwball antics of the rest of the movie, but all is forgiven when Clooney rides away on his old timey hog at the end.

So what sports movie review would be complete without using the sport in question to make a wrap-up analogy? Here goes. Leatherheads is like a long march across the field and into the red zone. But due to a penalty and/or broken play, it is unable to score the touchdown and has to settle for a field goal. It still puts points up on the board, but not as many as it could have.