Draft Day

Actors:  Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Tom Welling, Sam Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Chadwick Boseman

Rating:  8 out of 10,  I wasn’t too sure what to make of Draft Day when I first saw the previews, a movie about the NFL college draft.  Since Kevin Costner was in it I knew I was going to see it since my wife has a serious, almost troubling crush on him.  I was pleasantly surprised by a very strong movie which is kind of a comedic drama.  Costner plays the general manager of the Cleveland Browns (poor bastard) who’s trying to build a better team while also dealing with the recent death of an iconic father and a pregnant girlfriend as well as the whirling maelstrom of the college draft.  Costner is so good in sports related movies and he delivers again as a force of reason in the unreasonable world of professional sports.  Jennifer Garner is a great foil as the supportive and strong willed girlfriend. The film does a great job of building up suspense as we’re kept wondering to the final scenes whether he’ll succeed or fail spectacularly. This turned out to be one of the best movies I’ve seen all year.  My wife even said she wants to watch this year’s college draft day now that she knows what it’s all about.  At some point I’m going to have to tell her that none of the NFL’s GMs even remotely resemble Costner.

MVP:  Costner as Sonny Weaver plays the beleaguered GM with appropriate gravitas and humor