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(About Our Ads) "LEATHERHEADS" (2008) (George Clooney, Renée Zellweger) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor Moderate None Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Extreme None Moderate *Moderate QUICK TAKE: Dramedy: A 1920s era professional football player finds himself attracted to a sardonic and feisty newspaper reporter whose goal is to expose the truth behind the star rookie he hopes will turn around both his team and the fledgling league. PLOT: It's 1925 and Jimmy "Dodge" Connelly (GEORGE CLOONEY) is the middle-aged star of the Duluth Bulldogs, one of a few struggling teams in the new pro football league. Due to little public interest and thus low attendance despite the hulking presence of high school player Big Gus (KEITH LONEKER) who's recently joined them, his team is the latest to fold, which is something of an insult considering that college games routinely draw huge crowds. When he hears that more than 40,000 people attended a recent Princeton game -- mainly to see its star and famed WWI hero Carter "The Bullet" Rutherford (JOHN KRASINSKI) -- Dodge sets up a meeting with Carter's agent, CC Frazier (JONATHAN PRYCE). Promising Carter (and thus CC) a huge payday if he goes pro, Dodge convinces him to join his newly resurrected team, and makes sure that boozing sports reporter Suds (STEPHEN ROOT) gets the story right so as to garner public interest. Dodge isn't the only one interested in Carter, however, as Chicago Daily Tribune reporter Lexi Littleton (RENÉE ZELLWEGER) has been promised a promotion by her editor, Harvey (JACK THOMPSON), if she can prove allegations that Carter's war hero status is inaccurate. Feisty and armed with quick come-backs, she and Dodge immediately clash, although there's obvious budding romantic chemistry between them lurking just beneath the surface. Yet, and from that point on, Dodge must contend with Carter seemingly sweeping her off her feet, all while also becoming the new star of the team. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of anyone in the cast or are interested in the early days of professional football, they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For brief strong language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: GEORGE CLOONEY plays a middle-aged pro football player in a time when that was looked down upon. Sensing an opportunity, he finagles an agreement with Carter and CC to get the war hero to join their team and thus boost attendance. He's also drawn to Lexi but engages in various bouts of playfully antagonistic banter with her. He also drinks, uses some profanity, and gets in some fights. RENÉE ZELLWEGER plays a feisty and confident reporter who agrees to try to prove allegations about Carter's military service in exchange for a promotion at her paper. She smokes, drinks, easily holds her own against men, and is armed with a snappy attitude and comebacks, most of which are aimed in Dodge's direction. JOHN KRASINSKI plays a college football player and war hero who's lured from Princeton to play on Dodge's team. He says he doesn't drink, but does and gets drunk, and he doesn't correct the ever-growing tall tale of his supposed heroics in WWI. Beyond that, he's a nice if slightly cocky young man. JONATHAN PRYCE plays his promoter who's only looking out for his player's brand value and the amount of money he earns from that. STEPHEN ROOT plays a sports reporter who gets his stories from Dodge, and is nearly always seen with a flask, and often seems intoxicated to some degree. KEITH LONEKER plays a huge high school kid who doesn't really know his way around the game and literally hits (as in punches) some players and even a ref after misinterpreting his blocking order. JACK THOMPSON plays Lexi's editor boss who wants her to do a story that brings down Carter by exposing his questioned war hero status. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-13 rated dramedy. Profanity consists of at least 3 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Non-explicit, but sexually related banter and dialogue are present, as is the sight of a woman in her nightgown (nothing explicit) and some brief, lightly played passionate kissing. Some behavior may be enticing to imitate, including various comedy-based brawls and one fistfight. Other comedy-based contact is present, while a cop briefly shoots at fleeing suspects and there's a brief flashback to armed soldiers in a WWI era trench. Various characters smoke and/or drink, with some being intoxicated. Various bad attitudes are also present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE All of the following occurs during Prohibition. The coach holds a flask and Dodge takes a swig from it during a game. Suds drinks from his flask. CC and Dodge have drinks, and then have more. On the phone and about something she's just said, Lexi tells the person on the other line, "No, I haven't been drinking." CC suggests that he and Lexi have a nightcap, but she declines the offer. Dodge asks various players if they want to go out for a drink, but they all turn him down (due to their new curfew). We see a flashback to Carter in a trench at night during WWI. He states that he normally didn't drink, but did then, and we later see him passed out or at least in a deep sleep in the trench from that. People drink in a club, including Lexi. CC orders a bottle of whiskey in his hotel. The clerk starts to say they don't provide that, but changes his tune when CC bribes him with cash. CC tells Carter to let him buy the latter a drink. Carter says he doesn't drink, but CC says he will after the news he's about to give him. Carter later appears intoxicated and drinks more liquor straight from the bottle. Later, he and Dodge share his bottle. Dodge orders whiskey in a bar where others drink. Later, various soldiers and others drunkenly sing a war song. Suds drinks from his flask at a game. Lexi then asks if she can have some of his "giggle water" (he agrees as long as she leaves him some) and we later see her drinking from that flask. BLOOD/GORE Dodge's date states that she has to pee. Following a big barroom brawl, one man has a slight cut on the bridge of his nose, while Dodge and another man have shiners. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE After a younger player makes a sarcastic comment about Dodge's age, we then see a free for all fight on the field (played for comedy). Some viewers might not like Lexi equating something else to being like the world's tallest midget. Some viewers might not like a person commenting about something being from Duluth to what sounded like "East Jesus." Despite Prohibition being in effect, various people drink in various scenes. When Lexi joins the guys in the press booth, one of them comments that Rutherford says she knows her stuff, prompting another to reply sarcastically that maybe Rutherford knows her stuff (meant sexually). In response, Lexi calls one of them "fatso." Some viewers might not like a gag that uses suicidal thoughts as its genesis. While fleeing from the cops, Dodge and Lexi find themselves at the edge of a building's floor, with a man below them threatening to jump. Realizing they can get away if they act that way, Dodge starts spouting fake suicidal lines, and then he and Lexi leap down into the outstretched blanket waiting to catch the other man. During the above and after accidentally knocking out some cops raiding a club, Dodge and Lexi don those men's uniforms to disguise themselves. Intoxicated and feeling betrayed by Lexi's plans to use his off the record admission to her in her story(about his "heroism" in WWI), Carter sarcastically says that maybe he should have left $20 on the nightstand for her. With the implication being that CC bribed him, a soldier changes his tune about what really happened in WWI with Carter. Some soldiers harass a young kid and then one makes fun of Dodge's age. While he never self-promotes the legend of his heroism in WWI, Carter doesn't correct the distorted facts (at least not until the end of the film). Along the same lines, CC defends his client, only because he's a cash cow for him. Some kids throw stuff at players before a game and then run off. FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS A pistol is fired into the air to signal the end of a game (the same is heard again later in a different game). We see a flashback to Carter in a trench at night during WWI. The soldiers carry rifles, there's the sound of distant explosions, and there's some brief gunfire. Later, the Americans capture the Germans at gunpoint. A cop fires a handgun at Dodge and Lexi as they flee up a stairwell following a Prohibition raid. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Get the hell off me, sh*t for brains," "You're only as young as the women you feel," "We're creaming these mutts," "Maybe you're going deaf, old man," "What the hell?" "Sheesh," "It's like being the world's tallest midget," "Knuckle-heads," "Where the hell is everybody?" "Fatso," "A hell of a player," "I'm nuts about you," "Slow down there, Kaiser," "Gerries" and "Krauts" (Germans), "Oh nuts," "You look like hell," "A hell of a thing," "Hell of a crowd" and "Let's get this damn thing started." Some of the comedy-based brawling (including hitting people over the head with various things, such as a chair and bottle) might be enticing for some kids to imitate. One player howls and barks like some sort of canine during the game. Dodge and Lexi leap from the edge of a building's floor down into an outstretched blanket (there to catch a miscellaneous, suicidal man). To pull off his trick play, Dodge punches an opposing player unconscious (while everyone's attention is diverted elsewhere). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 3 "s" words, 12 hells, 2 damns, 1 ass (used with "hole"), 7 uses of "G-damn," 3 of "Jesus" and 1 use each of "Christ" and "Christ's sakes." SEX/NUDITY Rebuking a stranger's romantic overtures, Lexi says the man's just acting like a baby who's missing his momma's bosom. The man is taken aback by such language in public, with her then adding several related comments, such as asking if there's something wrong with hers that he doesn't like (leaving the man flustered, played for comedy). In her railroad sleeping car, Lexi removes her dress, revealing her in her full slip (and we see a bit of a nipple shape beneath that). She then realizes to her shock that Dodge is already in there in the upper berth, and demands that he leaves, but he playfully says he won't. They get into some banter, with her sarcastically asking if wants to play dirty. He playfully replies maybe later, as he's a little tired now. When Lexi joins the guys in the press booth, one of them comments that Rutherford says she knows her stuff, prompting another to reply sarcastically that maybe Rutherford knows her stuff (meant sexually). We see a shirtless guy in the locker room. About a flapper he's with at a club, Dodge tells Lexi, "You're only as young as the women you feel." When she asks about his intentions with that flapper, he says it's the usual, with Lexi sarcastically replying if that means putting her in shoulder pads and knocking her about. Lexi then purposefully changes the beginning of that woman's last name to start with "Miss Nipple." Lexi suddenly and passionately kisses Dodge and they continue doing a bit of that. Intoxicated and feeling betrayed by Lexi's plans to use his off the record admission to her in her story(about his "heroism" in WWI), Carter sarcastically says that maybe he should have left $20 on the nightstand for her. SMOKING Lexi smokes several times, while CC smokes once and many minor and miscellaneous characters (including a boy) smoke in various scenes (mostly cigarettes, but also some cigars and at least one pipe). We see Carter's image in a billboard ad for cigarettes (another one without him is later seen). TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The film's historical accuracy and/or artistic license taken with the early history of pro football. Prohibition. Being a female newspaper reporter in 1925. Football players wearing leather helmets in the early days. Serving in a war. What defines being a hero. VIOLENCE Most of the following is played for comedy. In various scenes throughout the film, there's standard football contact during games (nothing as bone crunching as often seen in films about more recent pro games, but we occasionally seen characters being carried off the field on stretchers -- although that's mostly played lightly and/or for comedy). After a younger player makes a sarcastic comment about Dodge's age, we then see a free for all fight on the field, with tussling, punches thrown and landed, and a chair or something similar bashed over someone's back and/or head (all played for comedy). Gus tries to kick a field goal, but the football sharply veers away and hits someone in the band in the stands. Another kick hits a lineman in the rear and/or scrotum while he's bent over. Dodge reassigns Gus to play as a lineman and tells him to "hit" (block) anyone who comes through the line. Not understanding that as the play starts, Gus then punches two opposing players in the face. When the ref races over, he then punches that man as well (all played for comedy). There's a Prohibition raid of a club, with everyone scrambling to get out, including Dodge and Lexi. They flee from some cops, with Dodge closing a door on some. When he opens the door, the two cops have been knocked out. As they flee up a stairwell, one cop shoots at them (all played for comedy). While he's intoxicated, we see that Carter's sleeve is on fire (played for comedy). Dodge and Carter agree to fight, with Carter delivering a punch that knocks Dodge to the ground. They then prepare for more, but then start listing the areas of their respective bodies they'd prefer not to be injured. Accordingly, they agree just to punches to the face, and we then see a quick montage of just that, all played for comedy. Some soldiers harass a young kid and then one makes fun of Dodge's age. That prompts a big barroom brawl, with many punches thrown and delivered, while a chair and liquor bottle are bashed over different people's heads (all played for comedy). Some kids throw stuff at players before a game and then run off. To pull off his trick play, Dodge punches an opposing player unconscious (while everyone's attention is diverted elsewhere). As Lexi zooms off, Dodge falls off the back of that motorcycle and lands hard on the ground (but he's okay). Reviewed April 1, 2008 / Posted April 4, 2008