If you are in the mood for a film which is simply fun and mindless, "Leatherheads" is a good choice. It's a fictional story of the early days of professional football, a sport pretty much seen as, at best, third rate in the 1920s. It's also a decent choice as a date film, as in addition to sports, it has a bit of comedy and a bit of romance.
The story is about the Duluth Bulldogs, a team which played in front of mostly empty fields. However, when the team leader, Dodge Connelly (George Clooney), comes up with a plan to boost attendance, it's a huge hit. The team is able to convince a war hero, Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), to leave college football to play for the Bulldogs. Instantly, the team is hot and they start winning. But there are two problems heading their way....a nosy reporter (Renée Zellweger) who is out to expose Carter to be a fraud AND Carter's decision to leave Duluth to play for Chicago. What's next? See the film.
The story is a bit underdeveloped...especially the 'big game' at the end of the film (WHY was it so important???)....but the film had a light mood and a few laughs that really made viewing fun even if it didn't always make a ton of sense. Plus, I do appreciate the hellish working conditions the actors played in at the end of the movie...the actors were very game.
By the way, if you see the movie you might think having a black player on the team was an anachronism, but there were 9 black players in the league during the 1920s. Sadly, soon the league became white-only...but the color barrier was actually broken long before Jackie Robinson.
The story is about the Duluth Bulldogs, a team which played in front of mostly empty fields. However, when the team leader, Dodge Connelly (George Clooney), comes up with a plan to boost attendance, it's a huge hit. The team is able to convince a war hero, Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), to leave college football to play for the Bulldogs. Instantly, the team is hot and they start winning. But there are two problems heading their way....a nosy reporter (Renée Zellweger) who is out to expose Carter to be a fraud AND Carter's decision to leave Duluth to play for Chicago. What's next? See the film.
The story is a bit underdeveloped...especially the 'big game' at the end of the film (WHY was it so important???)....but the film had a light mood and a few laughs that really made viewing fun even if it didn't always make a ton of sense. Plus, I do appreciate the hellish working conditions the actors played in at the end of the movie...the actors were very game.
By the way, if you see the movie you might think having a black player on the team was an anachronism, but there were 9 black players in the league during the 1920s. Sadly, soon the league became white-only...but the color barrier was actually broken long before Jackie Robinson.