Kevin Costner in a sports movie. That’s all that needs to be said.
Draft Day (Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Dennis Leary, Chadwick Boseman, Frank Langella) – Followers of my movie reviews know that I am not a big fan of Kevin Costner’s acting ability … except in sports movies. Let’s name them: Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, Tin Cup, and For Love of the Game. As an actor, he is a great baseball player. His accomplishments as a director are more impressive (Dances With Wolves, The Postman, and Open Range). Draft Day is most certainly a sports movie.
Football fans will love this inside look at the NFL football draft. Costner plays Sonny Weaver, general manager of the hapless Cleveland Browns. Sonny’s father was the recently deceased Browns’ legendary ex-coach, and his dad’s legacy hangs over Sonny like a dark cloud. He is under pressure to turn around the perpetually moribund Browns (in real life, they are one of only small handful of teams never to even played in a Super Bowl). In the film, the Browns will have an early draft pick but the owner (played by Frank Langella) wants him to trade up to in order to take the consensus #1 college quarterback. Sonny likes a linebacker (played by Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get on Up) and thinks he already has a good quarterback.
The film is all about dealing with his dad’s legacy, the know-it-all owner, the smart-ass head coach (Dennis Leary in a poor performance), his annoying mother (Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn), and his current girlfriend (Jennifer Garner, who keeps getting throw-away roles despite my stinging reviews of her acting).
The best part of the film is the draft itself: the deals, the maneuvering, the cameos, and the atmosphere of Radio City Music Hall. This is pure voyeurism with a touch of melodrama that is worth the cost of admission now that this film has hit the pay-for-view market.