Its blaring print advertisement quote compares Draft Day to Bull Durham and Field of Dreams. If you go in looking for a shred of either film, you’ll feel as cheated as this film’s Cleveland Browns fans feel after a pre-draft day trade. Brown’s GM Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner) gives up three future first round picks in order to move up from the seventh pick this year to the first.
Costner almost saves the film. His usual understated cockiness and charisma try their best to divert attention from this flick’s many fumbles. He battles a meddlesome owner (Frank Langella), a brash, sarcastic coach (a curiously bland Denis Leary), and a mom (Ellen Burstyn) who shows up on draft day itself with an urn full of ashes and pressing issues. It seems Sonny felt compelled to fire his own dad as coach not long before he died. The film has plenty of these illogical strands, including a secret romance between Sonny and his salary-cap managing sidekick (Jennifer Garner). Their affair seems thrown in almost like an intentional-grounding pass.
Did I say Cleveland Browns? Yep, the ever-protective NFL has actually given the go-ahead here to use its logos. That is not as surprising as it could be since the film is bereft of even an iota of controversy concerning any of a myriad of tumultuous topics in the league lately. No concussions, felony arrests or flashing of gang-signs are to be found anywhere.
However, let us give credit where credit is due. The film does do a fairly good job of stoking us for some draft day negotiating drama–again, largely due to Costner. Not many actors could pull off making Draft Day’s improbable series of draft day moves seem credible. Watching him actually have so much fun in his aw-sucks conning of fellow GM’s (despite being shown in split screen ad nauseam) is a delight.
Then yet another reminder of how cliched this whole thing is actually runs the film out of bounds again. Chief among the culprits is a series of potential draftees who are paper-thin caricatures who ought to be penalized for roughing the viewer. And as if the film isn’s busy enough already, an insufferable intern keeps popping up with an urgent message every time Costner and Garner try to get alone for some conferencing. Director Ivan Reitman helmed Ghostbusters. Here, despite the film’s sporadic good energy, it sadly feels more like Gamebusters.
2.5 Personal Fouls Despite a Game Ball For Kevin Costner (out of 5 stars)