Kevin Costner picks a winner in Draft Day

I’m a bit of a sports nut. I know the rules to all the major sports, and can spout off frivolous stats (especially baseball of course, I’m a St. Louisan) with the best of them. I have a soft spot for sports films. Say what you want about a lot of Kevin Costner’s films (see my review of 3 Days to Kill earlier this year), but he knows how to make a sports film. I love Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, and yes, even For Love of the Game. I loved Draft Day too.

As the title states, this is the story of a single day in the life of a football GM on the day of the NFL draft. Costner plays the GM of the Browns, a long suffering franchise seemingly always on the cusp of just about ready to break out, but never finding their stride. What I like about Costner’s other sports films, and there is plenty of in this film too, is they have heart. It’s not just a tale of events, they pull you in and you root for the characters to excel. At different points in this movie, you don’t know if things are going to go right for the team or not, but in the end you are definitely satisfied with the result. I think this is a great stereotypical “guy’s film” since it is heavy sports related, but I think it’s a movie my wife would enjoy too.