Draft Day posterDraft Day is perfectly likable, but it wouldn’t really make the cut for anyone’s fantasy team of sports movies. It’s superficial entertainment geared toward the ESPN Sports Center crowd, with a bit of chick-flick appeal — sort of a rookie version of Jerry McGwire meets Moneyball.
Kevin Costner plays Sonny Weaver, the general manager of football’s Cleveland Browns who is tasked with ‘making a splash’ on Draft Day if he expects to keep his job. It’s a dramatic day that can have a life-changing impact on the lives of front-office personnel, coaches, players and NFL hopefuls across the country. Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number-one draft pick. But his decisions come with consequences, personal and professional.

Jennifer Garner plays Weaver’s love interest and the team’s salary-cap manager. She’s perfectly likeable in the role, but the age difference between her and (a still quite attractive) Costner makes the romance seem a bit creepy even as the plot tries to turn the trophy-girlfriend stereotype on its head. Draft Day pic

The movie has some fun cameos from pro football players and broadcasters, and a decent supporting cast that includes Chadwick Boseman (42), Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and a buffed up Tom Welling (Smallville).
But the dialogue sometimes borders on cheesy and the movie definitely crosses the 50-yard-line in predictability. Still, it should score well as a DVD rental or airplane flick.

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