Draft Day

The countdown clock is rolling…Sonny Weaver Jr (Kevin Costner) the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns has a decision to make. Sonny has the first pick in the NFL Draft. Whomever he selects, his job, the job of Coach Penn (Denis Leary) not to mention the future of a billion dollar franchise and the hopes and dreams of a city ride on what he decides.

Draft Day is the latest entry in the sports drama from Kevin Costner, no stranger to epic sports films such as Bull Durham and Tin Cup. Draft Day is about the hours leading up to the NFL Draft and the turbulent drama, relationships and chaos enveloping the beleaguered General Manager of the Cleveland Browns…Sonny Weaver Jr. The film opens with Weaver's girlfriend and colleague, Allie (Jennifer Garner) announces to him that she is pregnant with their child. As the day continues Weaver works the phones with various general managers, all of whom try to fleece him for draft positioning. With pressure mounting by owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) Weaver succumbs to the rip off deal proposed by the Seattle Seahawks GM to move up to the top pick in the draft. As news of the trade is leaked via the Twittersphere, everybody and their brother is up in arms as the previously expected pick of fearsome linebacker Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman) is now thrown into doubt and the projected top pick in the draft, Wisconsin Quarterback and franchise making player Bo Callahan (Josh Pence) is within reach for Sonny.

As the film continues, Weaver investigates the curious Bo Callahan via his head of security who uncovers some bizarre behavior by the top prospect. Meanwhile Weavers mother arrives at Sonny's office to honor her late husband (who died the previous week) Sonny's dad and former coach of the Cleveland Browns…whom Sonny fired. Through the day Weaver is left to resolve his issues with Allie in between screaming matches with his owner, players, coaches and basically any body he makes eye contact with. There are plenty of cameo appearances with real NFL players and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, including a rather pointless appearance by Sean "P-Diddy" Combs as Bo Callahan's agent

THE VERDICT: Draft Day is ultimately a story about choices, their consequences and ultimately redemption set again the wheeling and dealing of what has become an important day for sports fans. Comedy directing legend, Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes) takes a departure into the realm of the sports drama to helm DraftDay. Reitman expertly guides his characters through the standard sport films clichés and keeps the film at a high level so that hardcore sports fans as well as non sports fans can appreciate the film. The film is a well paced whirlwind drama that makes for an enjoyable outing at the movies.

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Yes the draft math and fantasy trade scenarios are totally unrealistic, but that's what makes it so fun. It's a well made movie, with brisk pacing and scenes that will make you smile. It's a good time.

With the NFL Draft season officially in full swing, if you haven't already, now's a great time to see "Draft Day" the movie! Even if it does stand to reason, foretelling whether or not it would be received more positively by non-football enthusiasts and resonate less with true football fans (as some critics have deduced), is nonetheless a rush to judgment.

In any case, the box office draw doesn't differentiate one over the other. The entertaining sports vehicle about the NFL draft not actual gridiron game play goes against formula.

We've seen football films that keep to standard rough and tumble field action, which fit the bill. However, the focus here in itself, is a good departure as a movie on the managerial side of the sport of interest for either group.

Being a non-fanatical Monday morning quarterback, I enjoyed watching a view from behind-the-scenes for a change of pace, and getting a crash course in the extraneous details of what occurs in a crucial 24-hour period-similar to TV series "24"-leading up to the draft day ceremony.

As for the question of is it realism or Hollywood hype? Co-star and former professional football player now actor Terry Crews, who said he was an 11-round draft pick in 1991, in a pre-release call-in interview to the Steve Harvey Morning Show, stated that "Draft Day" was the first movie endorsed by the NFL.

So would the League sign-off on a film that represents a 'day-in-the-life of' a general manager played by sports cinema veteran Kevin Costner, managing the real-life Cleveland Browns, if it didn't measure up? Most likely not.

Sure, football fans will probably have a better understanding than will others of the evolving events being dramatized on the big screen, but I believe that's meant to give the rest of the audience a microcosmic picture of the high-pressured inner-workings and how it all comes together.

It presents an intimate look at the level of intensity that comes when the selection process rises to fever pitch (forgive the baseball reference) and how the lives of the hopefuls looking to get picked, as well as their families, hinges on the manager's final decision.

The film works well at drawing you into the thought-provoking/judgment-making job of Costner's character Sonny Weaver, while also keeping you glued to the countdown timer. The spliced boiler room frames meld cohesively to sustain moviegoers' heightened curiosity for the anticipated outcome.

Jennifer Garner is low-key as Costner's girlfriend, though a far cry from her starring lead role in TV's "Alias." Hers, along with Ellen Burstyn's portrayal, brings necessary added value to balance out the storyline.

As the father of a potential student draftee, Crews delivers a meaningful, non-comedic performance. The elements put in play, overall, make for a finely crafted sports entertainment feature everyone can enjoy.

This evenly paced sports film will not rank as one of the best movies in its genre but it is overall solid as a stand alone movie. I enjoyed the acting of Costner, Leary and the athletes depicted as being the draft picks. The visuals on panning to the stadiums and front offices of Buffalo, Houston, Kansas City and Jacksonville was a nice touch. The background stories away from the football theme did not gain traction and the personal relationship between Costner and Jennifer garner did not seem real. If you are not a football fan I would skip the movie all together. The biggest issue for me is that that the draft pick interaction between Seattle, Cleveland and Jacksonville seemed way to far fetched. I do not believe it to be realistic. I will give it the benefit of doubt however since I do know that the trades on draft day can be amazing and one sided.(Hershel walker to Vikings from Dallas as one example) Draft day marches down the field well but it needs to settle for a field goal. (Sandcrane)

Sports films typically have a love/hate relationship with viewers - most never finding that honest middle ground that satisfies everyone's wants and desires. On one hand, you have the preposterous comedies that cap seriousness, sacrificing dramatic acting in exchange for a series of cheap laughs and feel-good moments, like Rookie of the Year, The Waterboy, and Caddyshack. Then, there's the beloved and devote dramas that live on in film infamy, which includes but is not limited to Rocky, The Natural, and Raging Bull. Finally, you have Kevin Costner's greatest hits, like Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and For the Love of the Game. And, even though Kevin Costner has left the baseball diamond and thrown his last fastball, he clearly has found a memorable position as the GM of an NFL franchise in Draft Day.

The only real complaint about this film is that it doesn't incorporate actual NFL players - at least not in the manner that Moneyball involved them. Players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are still stars in the Draft Day universe, however, the Cleveland Browns are a team compiled of fictional players - which probably isn't the worst thing since the Browns severely lack star-power now that the former face of their franchise, Trent Richardson, is no longer on the team. However, this is a miniscule problem in the long run, and the plot progression of the fictional players is allotted the proper time to plant their seeds of worth.

Overall, Draft Day takes full advantage of telling an engaging behind-the-scenes tale using the world's most popular league as a vehicle. From the film's trailers, the film might appear to be one giant commercial for the NFL, but thankfully it turns out to be a well-scripted, charming experience. Draft Day is a fun-loving popcorn flick through and through, but it's also exactly the kind of perfectly balanced story that draws people to the movies, incorporating just enough drama, subtly placing humor in stressful situations, and fulfilling its promise to reveal a compelling mystery that will keep everyone on their toes. For anyone that loves football or is interested in the power-play politics that that place behind the proverbial curtain, you'll have an absolute amazing time watching this feature.