Draft Day

I can’t imagine most contemporary audiences getting very excited about Draft Day, a formulaic, late-80s style Hollywood yarn about an ageing NFL general manager (Kevin Costner) who must learn to believe in himself in order to overcome powerful forces working against him to put together a winning team. I’m not even sure today's movie-goers want to see Kevin Costner anymore, but I still do, and this is exactly the type of role he does best. Not being a football fan, I’m not sure how authentically the film presents the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing of the annual NFL Draft--but my lack of knowledge and interest did not prevent me from connecting with this picture. Screenwriters Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman construct an “inside baseball” football narrative that can be easily followed by non-fans like me. In perhaps the clearest measure of the film’s success, watching it got me interested in watching the actual draft.

Producer/director Ivan Reitman populates the film with strong performances by terrific actors in a light and breezy cinematic style. (He even got me to like Jennifer Garner for the first time in a movie). I didn’t know till the end credits that this was a Reitman picture, but when the name of the director of Meatballs, Ghostbusters, Twins, etc. came up, it made sense. Much like when I saw Reitman's Kindergarten Cop, I was kind of shocked by how much the movie engaged me. This is basically a lightweight comedic drama about attractive people making phone calls, yet this old pro is able to keep it visually interesting and narratively suspenseful. I didn’t think it was possible to make a sports picture more devoid of actual sports than Moneyball, but this film does it. Yet I was still able to clearly understand what was at stake for every character on the day of the draft. The movie is a modest but welcome return to form for Reitman and Costner. It all goes down easy, like the greatest light beer you’ve ever had.

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