Review of Draft Day (2014) by Patrick L — 25 Aug 2014

"It may not be a touchdown but "Draft Day" scores because of Kevin Costner giving one of his best performances in years".

Movie Review: Draft Day.

Date Viewed: April 14 2014.

Directed By Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Dave, Twins, Kindergarten Cop and Stripes).

Written By Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman.

Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Chadwick Boseman, Frank Langella, Tom Welling, Rosanna Arquette,.

Ellen Burstyn, Terry Crews, Sam Elliott, Arian Foster, Sean Combs, Chi McBride, W. Earl Brown, Josh Pence, Patrick St. Esprit, Kevin Dunn and Wallace Langham.

I'm not a big fan of football movies but I was really surprised by director Ivan Reitman's sports drama. "Draft Day" is absolutely cornball to the extreme but I enjoyed this engaging football movie thanks to a terrific performance from Kevin Costner. After starring in four previous sports movies, "Bull Durham", "Field of Dreams", "Tin Cup" and "For Love of the Game", it's nice to see Kevin Costner back at the center field giving one of his best performances in years.

In "Draft Day", Costner plays Sonny Weaver, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are coming off from another losing season and they desperately need to re-energize their fan base by giving the team some star power. Weaver just fired his legendary father who was the Browns' coach at the time and he died just days ago.

Also, his girlfriend Ali (Jennifer Garner) tells him that she's pregnant with their child.

Meanwhile, the owner of the Browns, Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) tells Weaver "You better have a good draft day, Otherwise, you're history" and the new coach of the Browns, Penn (Denis Leary) doesn't like Weaver very much, in fact some people keep trashing Weaver's office for a variety of reasons. Then we get Weaver's mom (Ellen Burstyn) who wants him to take time to remember his father. For reasons never explained, Weaver's mom is best friends with Weaver's ex, Angie (Rosanna Arquette).

Despite dealing with all of these subplots, Weaver makes deals with the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos to trade for the number one draft pick. So far, a linebacker from Ohio State named Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman, from "42") is campaigning for a bid to join the Browns, the coach wants Weaver to take a talented running back from Florida State, Ray Jennings (played by real-life Houston Texans NFL star Arian Foster) and Weaver wants to get the famous Wisconsin quarter-back Bo Callahan (Josh Pence).

Some of Weaver's moves would probably get him fired but he's willing to risk everything in order to rebuild the Cleveland Browns. The screenplay by Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman is not exactly original but "Draft Day" works as a human drama (with a number of good laughs). Director Ivan Reitman hasn't been on a hot streak lately, from "Junior" to "Fathers' Day" to "Evolution" to "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and "No Strings Attached", his career seemed to be headed downhill but this is his best movie since "Dave".

I like the fact that "Draft Day" is set in the real NFL world. Like "Moneyball", "Draft Day" offers a glimpse inside the executive offices and we get to hear some of their conversations from some of the most powerful figures in the NFL. We even get cameos from famous sports figures such as Roger Goodell, Chris Berman, Rich Eisen, Jim Brown, Bernie Kosar and Deion Sanders.

I also enjoyed the chemistry between Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner, they're very good together. "Draft Day" may not score a touchdown but it does score as crowd-pleasing entertainment.