Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,454
Written 4/13/08
Invert Colors
Buy it... if a blend of authentic 20's jazz band ramblings and
comical impressions of both that style and early college marching bands
is consistent with your established taste for Randy Newman's music.
Avoid it... if you've never been able to tolerate the foundation of
1920's jazz that has defined many of Newman's famous scores, for
Leatherheads takes the style to parody levels.
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| Newman |
Leatherheads: (Randy Newman) Fluffy and warm period
comedies may be out of style, but Leatherheads pays about as much
attention to that as it did the fact that it's a football-themed film
released at the start of baseball season. In the 1920's, baseball was
already the pastime and professional football was nonexistent. A slick,
aging football player longing for the glory of his college playing days
pitches an idea to a money man regarding the concept of taking the best
college football talents and creating a professional league, which, in
the interest of money, happens. Leatherheads is less about the
historical facts (nor is it really a sports film at heart) than it is
about sharp character exchanges and silly laughs. Dumb physical comedy
and Golden Age romance are a strange combination for the modern age, and
in the process of trying to make the sparring between George Clooney and
Renee Zellweger into a mirror image of Spencer Tracy and Katharine
Hepburn, Leatherheads is an odd duck. Clooney's own direction
means well but the viability of its flighty charm has been questioned by
more than one critic. If you step back and try to imagine which composer
would be perfect to write snazzy high jazz for a 1920's picture (with a
touch of 40's romance), who better an answer exists than Randy Newman?
The famed songwriter is known for his period scores, his lovable comedic
sensibilities, and his mastery of the genre of jazz. All three would
play a major role in Leatherheads, a film very well suited for
the kind of jazzy slapstick that Newman can crank out in his sleep. With
the game of football not established as the testosterone-driven war of
masculinity that is often conveyed in its music today, Newman's
treatment of the sport has nothing more to rely upon than the trite,
source-like tones of a marching band, the lasting epitome of the college
football team sound. There are some distinct inspirations evident in the
music of Leatherheads, including a few anthems here and there, a
touch of Golden Age film score references, and the use of a George and
Ira Gershwin tune for good measure.
Together with Newman's trademark, swinging jazz, these
elements of tradition all combine for a good-natured period romp that
bounces with joy from start to finish. Whether or not you can possibly
enjoy any of this material on album is entirely another matter. A
pleasant and lazy title theme, with a slight hint of the slurs that have
defined Newman for decades, is given easy-going performances by
woodwinds and brass. The ensemble consists mostly of jazz band elements,
heavy on various tones of muted and open brass, and a piano with
occasional accompaniment from a moderate orchestra. With dueling
thematic performances by saxophone and clarinet, the score zips with
high style and is absolutely authentic to a parody representation of the
era and its famed style of music. Shifts in tempo and several sharp taps
of a cymbal accompany the conversational sparring, and the best moments
of
Leatherheads are those like the latter half of "Carter is
Blue," which picks up the pace and adds a honky-tonk piano to the
thematic mix. The opening three tracks make the most use of the
comically solemn and intentionally sparse marching band sound,
addressing the clumsy sport of football with an appropriately silly
musical representation. If the entire score consisted of this straight
parody work, then
Leatherheads would be insufferable. But going
back as far as
A Bug's Life, Newman has proven that his lengthier
cues of relaxing and elegant jazz can be quite rewarding, and
Leatherheads luckily features plenty of such moments. As the film
offers its big climactic sports moment at the end, Newman does shift to
a slightly more conventional and modern orchestral approach, providing
"The Ambiguity of Victory" with one momentous closing theme. Overall,
the jubilant title theme, as typified by the charming performance to
close the film in the cue "Into the Sunset," is heart of the score and
will stick with you after the 40 minutes of Newman's material on album
concludes. If you've never been able to enjoy Newman's usual foray into
20's jazz, a genre that has defined the foundation of much of his
career, then
Leatherheads will unequivocally drive you nuts.
Otherwise, it's a breeze that'll have your butt wiggling in your chair
before you know it.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check:
For Randy Newman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 20 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.11
(in 22,943 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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