Draft Day

FLIX!


This film is exactly what the title says it is. It occurs on Draft Day. The NFL Draft Day to be exact. It starts in the morning as Kevin Costner (the supposed General Manager of the Cleveland Browns) is off to work. This is an important day for GMs as one might suspect. Along the course of this day we learn that this GMs dad had been the former coach, and that his son had fired him. An Accounting executive who watches the whole salary cap thing (Jennifer Garner) has been sleeping with the boss and the day before Draft Day is the day she decides to let him know she's pregnant. On top of all this, the Kevin Costner GMs father, who he recently fired, has died, and his mother decides today is the day there is an ash spreading ceremony.

Costner wants to make a great Ohio State Defensive linebacker pick that will truly help the team win, but the owner interferes and wants him to take the rock star of the day Quarterback. Costner agrees to save his job. But as the day progresses, many things happen, and the tension builds. The final scene of trading and finagling is worth the price of admission. That scene is a thing of beauty.

I can't say any more about the film's story-line. But I must say right up front, I am not a Kevin Costner fan. Unless he's in a Western. I think he is the greatest Western star of our generation. I like him even more than Eastwood. So there's that. I loved seeing Jennifer Garner back in the biz. She and her husband have started a family and she took some totally understandable time off, but now she's poking back into the biz and that's great. All at your pace, Jennifer. Even a little is better than none at all. Ellen Burstyn as the mother was wonderful and even the one-day shoot with Rosanna Arquette as the ex-wife was fun.

I liked this film but didn't love it. I loved the whole build up to the Draft Night wheeling and dealing, and that was great, but I don't know.....was there enough meat in the story?

So I am going to recommend you to go see it. I liked it at least that much. But don't rush out to buy it on Blue-Ray. I am glad I saw this movie. But if I see it one or two more times in my life, that's enough.

GRADE: C+

You know what? I've thought about it a long time and I have decided to own this on Blu-Ray. And I am going to make my wife pay for it at Christmastime. This was a wonderful movie. It was a while ago, but I'm upping my grade to a  B-.