Directed by: George Clooney

Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Root, Wayne Duvall

Classification: PG

Britain is not a country famed for its love of American football. Therefore it hardly seems surprising that George Clooney's latest directorial effort, Leatherheads, is being billed in this country as a rom-com, instead of a sports genre flick. It is very much the latter, with Clooney playing underdog Dodge Connelly, a player with perennial no-hopers, the Duluth Bulldogs.

Back in 1925 the sport was still in its fledgling stages, so when his team goes bust and he's faced with the prospect of having to find an actual job, Dodge goes off to woo college football sensation and famed war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski). With Carter playing for the Bulldogs, interest in pro football skyrockets and the money starts pouring in.

Of course, it couldn't be a true underdog story if it ran that smoothly and the rom-com element is introduced with the other plotline, that of Lexie Littleton. The sassy reporter from the Chicago Tribute, played here by Renee Zellweger, has been informed that Carter's glorious war story is not what it seems, and she's been given the task to expose his "lie" and uncover the truth about America's latest hero from the Great War. It all goes a bit pear-shaped when she succeeds in her mission - especially since both Dodge and Carter have fallen for her, thus setting up the typical love triangle of the rom-com.

However, I'd go so far as to say that Leatherheads doesn't actually work particularly well on either level, and instead works far better as an homage to the screwball comedies of the 1940s. George Clooney comes off very much as a 21st century Cary Grant, all smouldering eyes and witty banter, while the emphasis on slapstick recalls the likes of Some Like It Hot and His Girl Friday. A scene in which Lexie and Dodge end up stealing police uniforms is pure Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, and Zellweger's performance is clearly influenced by that of Rosalind Russell, but she never quite captures the same sparkle that made His Girl Friday such a joy to watch. Sadly, she just comes off as mildly irritating. Ironically enough, neither Lexie nor Dodge are particularly "nice" characters, yet Zellweger's scenes with Clooney are fraught with chemistry and she only seems to truly shine when Clooney is on screen with her. Left to her own devices, she morphs into a peculiar harpy.

Special mention must also go to John Krasinski for his portrayal of the war hero - many actors could be smothered starring alongside the charismatic Clooney, but Krasinski more than holds his own, creating an ultimately likeable character in Carter, and balancing a different kind of screen chemistry with his co-star and director. Their scenes together are among some of the most enjoyable in the film, particularly their fisticuffs down by the railroad tracks.

If the plot, chemistry and slapstick root the film in the screwball era, then so does the overall feel of it - aside from the references to prohibition and the Great War, you wouldn't think it was a film set in the mid-1920s. Zellweger's hair and wardrobe alone hark back to the golden age of cinema, rather than the era of flapper girls and art deco. Still, with its sharp script, steady direction and sassy performances, it's an enjoyable film that harks back to a golden age of filmmaking, and it simply reaffirms my faith in George Clooney as a director.

4/5