Michael at the Movies

The screwball comedy officially died out in the early '40s, but since then filmmakers have occasionally used elements of the genre in their work - particularly its rapid-fire dialogue and projectile wit. The results are sometimes good ("The Hudsucker Proxy") and sometimes not so good ("Under the Cherry Moon"). The latest cinematic remembrance of things past is "Leatherheads," a film about 1920s football that's a little closer to the efforts of the Coen brothers than to Prince.

The film begins with a clever illustration of the differences between college and professional football. The star of the Princeton team, war-hero Carter Rutherford ("The Office's" John Krasinski), is loved by all and hounded by reporters, and his fans come out in droves to watch him play. But pro football is a sad place, where war veterans and ex-miners come to roll around in the mud for little money. Things are bad and getting worse, and when the Duluth Bulldogs' lone sponsor pulls out, aging captain Dodge Callahan (George Clooney, who also directed) persuades Rutherford to hold off on law school and come, with his thousands of fans, to pro football.

But there are, of course, complications. Chief among them is Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), a Chicago Tribune reporter investigating Rutherford's war-hero story. And, naturally, both Rutherford and Callahan fall for her.

The war-hero subplot is one of the main problems with "Leatherheads." Obviously Littleton needs a reason to tag along with the team, but it takes up a lot more time than a simple plot device should. The attention it's given messes up the film's pace and muddles the third act.

But pacing isn't everything, and there are lots of nice moments along the way. As Clooney proved in his two previous films (the Charlie Kaufman-scripted "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Good Night, and Good Luck"), he has a real knack for period ephemera. "Leatherheads" is his least successful movie, but his attention to detail continues to impress. Everything here is old-timey, from the Universal Pictures logo to Randy Newman's jazzy score to the screwball dialogue.

But the script, by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, is lacking, and unfortunately the screwball dialogue comes across as forced. The rhythms are right, but the exchanges feel calculated in a way that the Coen brothers' pastiches never have. The dialogue in "Leatherheads" is trying too hard, and it draws too much attention to itself. The scenes between Callahan and Littleton come closest to recalling the great screwball comedies. They're nicely acted and nicely written, and witty in a way that the rest of the movie isn't. Much of the credit goes to Clooney's impressive performance. He has played these kinds of out-of-time characters before and understands how to make them work.

"Leatherheads" might never really come together, but it's a movie that's hard to dislike. The little things make it worthwhile.

3 stars