DRAFT DAY

DRAFT DAY

Grade: B

Starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Dennis Leary, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Welling
Written by Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph

DIrected by Ivan Reitman

Rated PG-13

 Reviewed by Paul Gibbs

Westerns and sports movies (usually baseball)  were always Kevin Costner's most comfortable genres. His recent comeback began with a western of sorts with the acclaimed history channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys, and now he's finally back playing the lead in a major theatrical film in the football comedy/drama Draft Day.

Costner plays Cleveland Browns General Manager Sonny Weaver, Jr, a man desperate to prove himself worthy of his job in a town obsessed with sports. On an NFL draft day that's already shaping up to be the biggest of his career, the general manager of the Seattle Seahawks (who apparently did not just win the Super Bowl in this reality) calls him up and offers him an incredible deal: the number 1 overall pick in exchange for his next three picks. This happens to be in a year when the almost certain number 1 pick is Bo Callahan (Josh Pence), a superstar quarterback everybody thinks will redefine the term franchise player.

The rest of the film is reminiscent of Ron Howard's 1994 drama The Paper, as we glimpse a day in the life of this job while Weaver juggles a Coach (Dennis Leary) who fights him on everything,  a mother (Ellen Burstyn) who is dealing with the grief of the recent death of Sonny's father, and a secret office girlfriend (Jennifer Garner) who just found out she's pregnant.

Director Ivan Reitman handles the comic and dramatic elements of the film nicely, but he makes some hyper stylized visual choices that get old the first time he uses them, and he unfortunately beats them into.the ground. The choices are bit puzzling from a no nonsense veteran like Reitman, and, to use an absurd analogy, play like a desperate, aging has been overcompensating for the fact that he hasn't made a really good movie since Kindergarten Cop and trying not to be upstaged by his own son (sorry for creating such a ridiculous scenario).

This is a movie that lives or dies on its cast, and thankfully, they deliver. Costner effortlessly brings back the charm and star quality of his heyday, showing the young stars of today how it's done so well that it makes you wonder why he ever slipped (hint: The Postman). He and Garner are even surprisingly credible together, especially considering that there's actually some vague acknowledgement of the age difference. And the conflict between Costner and Leary adds tension, with Leary memorable as an obnoxious jerk who you can't help thinking might be right a lot of the time.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I personally find football as interesting as Ben Stein giving a lecture on athlete's foot. And the storyline is formulaic and predictable. But it's a formula that works, mostly because Costner offers such a great star turn. Most audiences are likely to be pulled into this simple but engaging film whether or not they like the sport.

Draft Day is rated PG-13 for profanity and implied sexuality.