CHRISTINE MCGRATH
Review: Draft Day
By Christine Petralia
Image courtesy of Summit Entertaiment/Lionsgate
April 9, 2014
What a great sports film. And what great roles for Kevin Costner and Denis Leary. I’ve recently been getting into football, and I really enjoyed Moneyball, so I was pretty pumped to not only see Draft Day, but also see a sneak preview of it.
Unlike Moneyball, Draft Day focuses on the 12 hours of draft day in football. Cleveland Browns General Manager Sonny Weaver Jr. (Costner) has to fight to get the number one draft pick after 13 years of bad luck. His prospects include someone every team wants and a few underdogs, who pull at the heartstrings of Weaver.
In 12 hours, he has to deal with the trading with other teams to get draft picks and the pressure to create an amazing team. In addition, he has to deal with the recent death of his father, the old Browns coach, the news that his younger girlfriend Ali (Jennifer Garner), the team’s money manager, is pregnant, the team’s owner and the team’s new coach Vince Penn (Leary). Both the owner and Penn want great players to make a splash – which are much different from what Weaver wants. Not to mention, a few players and their agents have called up pushing to get picked.
Weaver struggles throughout the film to decide whether he should follow his heart or do what everyone else wants. In the end, Weaver not only goes with his first choice, he manages to get back his picks for the next few years and works deals to get other players he and the team ultimately want. Everyone is happy and Weaver’s job is done.
I feel Costner did a great job portraying the struggle and internal conflict he was having with picking the right team. The pressure he felt, you could feel. And you can only just breathe a sigh of relief and smile when he finally works his magic during the actual draft. And when you find out who he picked first? Oh man, get the tissues.
I liked everything about Draft Day. I liked the plot, the humor, the drama and the little bit of romance. You literally leave the theater smiling and liking football even more. And you gain a new appreciation for all those coaches, GMs, owners and players in the NFL.
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