Cleveland Rocks

Draft Day

Who doesn’t love a good sports movie? From inspirational films like Rudy to comedic movies like Major League, sports films can span many different genres. There is also one actor that has become synonymous with sports films, in particular baseball films. Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and Tin Cup are just a few sports movies that star Kevin Costner. This year, Costner is back in the sports world, this time in the NFL as a General Manager on the biggest day of the year, Draft Day.

Sonny Weaver, Jr (Costner) has the impossible job of being the General Manager for one of the NFL’s most heartbreaking teams, The Cleveland Browns. After being hit with news of the death of his legendary coach father AND learning he is going to be a dad himself, Sonny has to push all that aside and focus on the most important day on the NFL calendar, draft day. His stress level is raised even more when the owner of the team subtly hints to Sonny that he will lose his job if he doesn’t make some sort of splash during the draft. What better way to make a splash? Trading draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks to receive the number 1 overall pick in the draft. But after the ‘dust’ settles after the trade, Sonny wonders if the splash he just made will get him kicked out of Cleveland anyway.

I’m going to say this right up front…Kevin Costner was born for sports films. Costner seems to bring his all when he is involved in a film about sports. Costner doesn’t disappoint in Draft Day either. Is this Field of Dreams? No, but his performance as Sonny Weaver is solid. Costner is able to give the audience his ever changing emotions and is able to get the audience to root for him to succeed.  There isn’t another performance that really stands out, but Costner is surrounded with a great cast. The small squabbles that Costner has with his coach, played by Denis Leary, were pretty fun to watch. This is because, in my opinion, Costner and Leary (both good actors in their own right) have two different acting styles which translate well to their respective characters. So when they argue, it seems natural and not over acted at all. The other thing I liked about the film is that it gave a glimpse into the life of a General Manager of a NFL team for the fair-weather NFL fan. The pressure and the stress these guys go through to build a winning team, especially with a team like Cleveland, who haven’t been successful for a while.

Lionsgate decided on Ivan Reitman as director for this drama. Reitman, better known for his comedies like Ghostbusters and Evolution, was a good choice by Lionsgate. Reitman has a good knack for mixing both comedy and drama very seamlessly. Since he knows how to do this very well, Reitman creates a comforting tone for the movie and always makes sure the film never takes itself too serious.

Most critics have said that the film is formulamatic and predicable. Do I agree with them? Yes, yes I do. But I believe these to be good things. I know this is a bit contradictive on my part by some of my other reviews, but the acting was above par and the film didn’t try to be something it wasn’t. This is a film about a guy dealing with a lot of personal and professional stuff on a very stressful day. PERIOD. It doesn’t try to be a romantic comedy or a compelling drama on top of all the rest.

If you are like me and enjoy Costner’s sports films, then Draft Day is for you. Look past the predictability and just enjoy Costner ‘wheel and deal’ as the Browns GM.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time.