Sonny Weaver, general manager of the Cleveland Browns, played by Kevin Costner, has to get ready for Draft Day and he has a big decision in front of him. Will he take a trade the number one pick who is a quarterback from the Wisconsin Badgers in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks.
That’s the beginning of the story of Draft Day and the story moves on other subplots. There is Jennifer Garner, who is a lawyer for the team as well as Weaver’s girlfriend in the story. He doesn’t want to be distracted by the fact that she’s told him that she is pregnant for the biggest day today.
Of course, Costner seems to be alone in making his choice for the draft, with the direction of the owner of the team. That starts a battle with his head coach, who is played by Dennis Leary. As far as he’s concerned, he does not want the player because he already has a quarterback. As a general manager, you would think that Weaver would want Leary’s input and have an idea who they would take in the draft. Of course, to make this more unbelievable, the quarterback trashes his office once he knows of the trade.
The movie moves along nicely with another subplot, which is where Weaver father dies and of course, there is a reading of a Will where he wants his ashes to be taken care of. I don’t know why Hollywood continues to lead audiences to believe that there is a reading of a will since there is no such thing to begin with. It doesn’t exist. If you’re a Trusts and Estates attorney or any kind of attorney for that matter and you see this movie, it’s another reason for them to laugh and say that this only happens in the movies.
Then there is the unbelievable conversation between Costner and Garner where Garner says that yes, it’s a really big decision to take the number one pick. Nothing is a sure thing and you never know what is going to happen. Of course, Costner does not even respond and talk about the number one pick in 2012, which was Andrew Luck, a quarterback, who did in fact turn the Indianapolis Colts around from a 1-14 team to a team that has been in the playoffs twice because of him.
Yes, these flaws are annoying but you don’t have to be a football fan to enjoy this movie. If you are a football fan, you may find that conversation to be a head-shaker but still, the movie is entertaining. I mean, let’s face it, Draft Day may be exciting for football fans but even if you’re not a football fan, you can see a good story of how a draft can be unpredictable even though some teams didn’t even take a pick in time, such as the Minnesota Vikings.
The characters drive the story home as well, whether it's the quarterback, who Coster questions carefully about his character, his arguments with his head coach and staff, and the conflict with the owner of the team. All this builds tension in the movie, making it more exciting for me.
I’m the first one to admit that I don’t watch the Draft and I probably won’t next year either. Yet Ivan Reitman does find a way to keep the movie entertaining through humor and the choices Costner makes during the draft which are full of surprises. With the flaws, I’ll still give this movie four stars.
Ron Hummer
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