Draft Day
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Written by: Scott Rothman & Rajiv Joseph
Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Ellen Burstyn, Frank Langella, Chadwick Boseman, Griffin Newman, Chi McBride, Patrick St. Esprit, Terry Crews, Arian Foster, Timothy Simons, David Ramsay, Wade Williams, Sean Combs, Josh Pence, Tom Welling, Sam Elliott, Kevin Dunn, Rosanna Arquette
Drama/Sport - 109 min
Written by: Scott Rothman & Rajiv Joseph
Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Ellen Burstyn, Frank Langella, Chadwick Boseman, Griffin Newman, Chi McBride, Patrick St. Esprit, Terry Crews, Arian Foster, Timothy Simons, David Ramsay, Wade Williams, Sean Combs, Josh Pence, Tom Welling, Sam Elliott, Kevin Dunn, Rosanna Arquette
Drama/Sport - 109 min
There are three truths in the pro-sports gospel even the most casual fans know: the referees are blind, even I could have caught that ball, and the GM is an idiot who knows nothing about the sport, let alone his own team. Being the GM of a perpetually losing franchise such as the Cleveland Browns must be one of the worst gigs in the pinnacle of America’s favorite sport. No matter what new recruit the Brown’s GM picks on draft day, with their luck, he will flame out, break his leg, or be ineffective in perhaps the most notorious under-performing team in the National Football League.
Draft Day comes across as a slick commercial for the NFL and the real world draft day which kicks off about a month from the movie’s release. Establishing its gridiron bona fides, ESPN commentator Chris Berman narrates the intro, current and former NFL stars pop up in cameos, and enough pigskin lingo is thrown around Vince Lombardi himself might say, “Don’t overdo it fellas.”
But Lombardi never coached in Cleveland, a football crazy town whose team and fans are habitually mocked around the rest of the country for being loveable losers even though football’s Hall of Fame is just a few miles down the road. Taking place during one day in the life of GM Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner), this day is the most important in his professional life, the draft day that will determine his employment status and legacy. Unfortunately for Sonny, the draft is just one life-altering event going down today.
To pile even more stress and distractions on top of Sonny’s already gargantuan decisions, his girlfriend/co-worker, Ali (Jennifer Garner), tells him first thing in the morning she is pregnant. Then, we learn Sonny is still in mourning because his father, Sonny Sr. and beloved former Cleveland coach, died last week. Script writers Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph really know how to pile on the drama with a side of extra schmaltz. Following the rule of thumb with most suspenseful dramas, everything worth happening in a man’s life should all occur on the exact same day.
Sonny has the seventh pick in the draft and his boss and team owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) tells Sonny in no uncertain terms, make a splash this year or you’re out. GMs only make headlines though when they draft big name quarterbacks or offensive studs. Sonny has his eye on defense though, specifically a linebacker, Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman). Sonny’s keen eye sees a future superstar in this kid but the rest of Sonny’s staff, led by his irritating head coach (Denis Leary), who has an obnoxious overt habit of waving his Superbowl ring around lest you miss it, want a splashy running back.
No matter what player Sonny picks, he is going to piss somebody off. Does he do what he thinks is best for the team or best for his career? The superior parts of Draft Day analyze this back and forth inner dilemma. Unfortunately for Sunny, the audience, and the film’s pacing, he is consistently interrupted by Ali and conversations they must have concerning their relationship even though she will still be only just a month pregnant tomorrow as well. Also, Sonny’s mom, Barb Weaver (Ellen Burstyn), is hovering around causing a ruckus by second-guessing Sonny’s decisions, feuding with Ali, and just being another nuisance he does not need today.
Draft Day will inevitably be compared to 2011’s Moneyball, the only other recent film spotlighting a pro-sports GM. Moneyball occurs over a marathon baseball season focusing on statistical minutiae and persuading folks about the new way to analyze athletes. It also takes the time to develop characters for you to care about. Draft Day is a one day sprint glossing over numbers and mechanics in favor of gut feelings and hunches. Doing his best but not quite succeeding in balancing the football with the one million other side plots crammed into a crowded script, director Ivan Reitman employs a few tricks to maintain our interest.
As a GM on draft day, Sonny is on the phone a lot. One-sided phone conversations do not work too well on screen so Reitman shows us a screen split vertically by a black line showing both parties walking and talking and the whole reason I bring this up is the black line is fluid. Characters walk in front of it, behind it, and it even moves left and right; this is a new and engaging way to highlight what would normally be throw-away scenes.
Draft Day will make football fans very happy. It is not in your face realism like 1999’s Any Given Sunday or Disney feel good, family friendly fare like 2000’s Remember the Titans. It is tense football intrigue punctuated by some less than thrilling personal drama. Even though there are some noticeable shortcomings, Draft Day is strong enough to recommend to all sports fans and their less than interested significant others. Remember, only true fans know what is best for their team; these idiot GMs wouldn’t know a football if it hit them in the face.
Draft Day comes across as a slick commercial for the NFL and the real world draft day which kicks off about a month from the movie’s release. Establishing its gridiron bona fides, ESPN commentator Chris Berman narrates the intro, current and former NFL stars pop up in cameos, and enough pigskin lingo is thrown around Vince Lombardi himself might say, “Don’t overdo it fellas.”
But Lombardi never coached in Cleveland, a football crazy town whose team and fans are habitually mocked around the rest of the country for being loveable losers even though football’s Hall of Fame is just a few miles down the road. Taking place during one day in the life of GM Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner), this day is the most important in his professional life, the draft day that will determine his employment status and legacy. Unfortunately for Sonny, the draft is just one life-altering event going down today.
To pile even more stress and distractions on top of Sonny’s already gargantuan decisions, his girlfriend/co-worker, Ali (Jennifer Garner), tells him first thing in the morning she is pregnant. Then, we learn Sonny is still in mourning because his father, Sonny Sr. and beloved former Cleveland coach, died last week. Script writers Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph really know how to pile on the drama with a side of extra schmaltz. Following the rule of thumb with most suspenseful dramas, everything worth happening in a man’s life should all occur on the exact same day.
Sonny has the seventh pick in the draft and his boss and team owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) tells Sonny in no uncertain terms, make a splash this year or you’re out. GMs only make headlines though when they draft big name quarterbacks or offensive studs. Sonny has his eye on defense though, specifically a linebacker, Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman). Sonny’s keen eye sees a future superstar in this kid but the rest of Sonny’s staff, led by his irritating head coach (Denis Leary), who has an obnoxious overt habit of waving his Superbowl ring around lest you miss it, want a splashy running back.
No matter what player Sonny picks, he is going to piss somebody off. Does he do what he thinks is best for the team or best for his career? The superior parts of Draft Day analyze this back and forth inner dilemma. Unfortunately for Sunny, the audience, and the film’s pacing, he is consistently interrupted by Ali and conversations they must have concerning their relationship even though she will still be only just a month pregnant tomorrow as well. Also, Sonny’s mom, Barb Weaver (Ellen Burstyn), is hovering around causing a ruckus by second-guessing Sonny’s decisions, feuding with Ali, and just being another nuisance he does not need today.
Draft Day will inevitably be compared to 2011’s Moneyball, the only other recent film spotlighting a pro-sports GM. Moneyball occurs over a marathon baseball season focusing on statistical minutiae and persuading folks about the new way to analyze athletes. It also takes the time to develop characters for you to care about. Draft Day is a one day sprint glossing over numbers and mechanics in favor of gut feelings and hunches. Doing his best but not quite succeeding in balancing the football with the one million other side plots crammed into a crowded script, director Ivan Reitman employs a few tricks to maintain our interest.
As a GM on draft day, Sonny is on the phone a lot. One-sided phone conversations do not work too well on screen so Reitman shows us a screen split vertically by a black line showing both parties walking and talking and the whole reason I bring this up is the black line is fluid. Characters walk in front of it, behind it, and it even moves left and right; this is a new and engaging way to highlight what would normally be throw-away scenes.
Draft Day will make football fans very happy. It is not in your face realism like 1999’s Any Given Sunday or Disney feel good, family friendly fare like 2000’s Remember the Titans. It is tense football intrigue punctuated by some less than thrilling personal drama. Even though there are some noticeable shortcomings, Draft Day is strong enough to recommend to all sports fans and their less than interested significant others. Remember, only true fans know what is best for their team; these idiot GMs wouldn’t know a football if it hit them in the face.
Comment Box is loading comments...
