On Leatherheads

Leatherheads, it turns out, is surprisingly and unfortunately boring. It tries to capture the feel of an old-time classic Hollywood movie, but old-time classic Hollywood movies aren't boring. They are also not self-consciously trying to capture their feel. The music is retro-sounding rather than authentic, the shots linger a little too long ... it's just not that good of a movie.

Part of me also groaned a few times at George Clooney's airbrush of the past. Could Renee Zellweger really be an ace reporter in 1925 for the Chicago Tribune? Would the Duluth Bulldogs really be an integrated team in 1925? The answer to both these questions may very well be yes, but I doubt it.

It was a disappointing movie. Clooney did so well with Good Night and Good Luck, which actually felt authentic rather than retro, and his Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is really fun. This ... not so much.

Even so, Clooney really knows how to make a movie look great and he milks certain shots and scenes for all they are worth. But when there's not much there to start with, you're just as likely to get blood from a turnip.