Movie Review: Leatherheads - Santa Clara Weekly

It’s time to talk about the Newman family. Not Paul and Joanne but the musical Newman’s. From 1930 on Alfred Newman was a major and I mean major force in film music. Composer of 200 scores and while musical director at 20th Century Fox he conducted and supervised 200+ more. If, for nothing else, you, yes you, would have heard his music countless times as he composed the 20th Century Fox fanfare and Cinemascope extension.

Here are a few other career highlights. Until 2006 he held the most Oscar nomination category record. Won 9 Oscars. In 1940 4 of the Oscar nominated scores were his. From 1938 to 1957 he had a score nominated every year. In that period from 1938 to 1946 he had at least 2 score nominated each year. He is the brother of film composers Emil and Lionel Newman, the great uncle of film composer Joey Newman, the father of film composers David, Maria and Thomas Newman. He is also the uncle of film composer Randy Newman.

In the film Leatherheads, directed and starring George Clooney there is a score by Randy Newman. RN created one of the all time great scores for the Robert Redford baseball film The Natural. RN’s score for Leatherheads is not in the same league. Few scores are. But his score is a fitting and apropos homage to the Roaring 20’s.

The film centers around the birth of real professional football. GC plays a washed up but not out middle age player trying to make the transition from the big time wrestling circus side show atmosphere to a game with actual rules. Renee Zellweger plays a crusading newswoman on the trail of a story. The story is an athlete phenom and star player ably played by John Krasinski. He is also a WWI hero. Or is he? That’s the story RZ is after. Lots of football pratfalls and attempts at comedy are on screen but few of them work.

What does work is the witty dialogue between RZ and GC. Pretty zingy stuff. In the last big game a radio broadcast is being done. There is more witty dialogue this time between RZ and the sports announcer who tells her she can’t say or use bad language on the radio. As witty as the byplay seems it was all lifted almost verbatim from a conversation of the same nature between Spencer Tracy and Norman Fell in the courtroom drama Inherit the Wind.

Fans of the Newman family and Marilyn Monroe devotees recall that Alfred Newman appeared conducting a suite of music at the beginning of the MM movie How to Marry a Millionaire. Like uncle like nephew. Look for Randy playing the piano and singing before and during the big bar room brawl scene late in Leatherheads. Look for the other Newman’s almost everywhere a quality score is needed.

Leatherheads rated 2.5 out of 4 Statue of Liberty plays.

Newman Family rated 4 out of 4. Thanks for the memories and great melodies past, present and future.