Draft Day is not the next great sports movie

Sports movies like to be metaphors for other things about life. Primarily they are about the struggles of guys, commonly about father-son relationships. A big one is the excellent Field of Dreams (which Kevin Costner is also in), but even such stupid kids fare as Angels in the Outfield is really just about how young Joseph Gordon-Levitt wants Danny Glover to be his new dad.

A typical sports movie has a big denouement regarding the “big game,” which makes an easy shorthand for something to care about. But the world of sports, as fascinating as it is to many people, contains a lot of things that aren’t inherently dramatic to those who don’t care as much. And the draft is one of those things. For casual or non-fans, the draft isn’t a big deal. Of course, to the teams and players it’s the biggest deal of the year.

Draft Day stars Kevin Costner as Sonny Weaver Jr, the general manager for the Cleveland Browns, recently having taken over from his father, although Sonny Sr. passed away soon after. Sonny is getting ready for the new NFL draft, which means wheeling, dealing, and scheming to figure out the best way to get his team into the championships. He has a few serious possibilities, including young hotshot Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman from last year’s Jackie Robinson biopic 42), legacy Ray Jennings (real footballer Arian Foster, as dull as dishwater here), and the next big thing Bo Callahan (Josh Pence). But say, maybe the obvious choice of star quarterback Bo isn’t so simple. Maybe there are simplistic and contrived reasons that he’s not the best fit, like that the Browns already have a quarterback (Tom Welling).

And uh oh, but Sonny has to also worry about butting heads with new coach played by Dennis Leary while simultaneously pleasing the big boss (Frank Langella). And double uh oh! Is his maybe girlfriend (Jennifer Garner) and team accountant whiz pregnant? And triple uh oh! Is Sonny’s mom (Ellen Burstyn) being terrible for no good reason? What a pickle! And the draft is only hours away! Will Sonny make the right “call” and draft the correct people? Will he pop the question and deal with his daddy issues? Oh, it doesn’t matter. Because it’s time for the draft!

As you may have guessed, this is a pretty insubstantial movie. Filled with slick editing and split screen cheesy effects, there are far too many subplots and characters that you won’t care about at all. The good scenes, which are Sonny maneuvering towards the best team, are fun and sometimes tense with unexpected twists and turns. The bad ones, like the minimal setup for “why we should care about this person” do not work at all. Luckily the movie is mostly not that, but because we barely care about anyone, we don’t really care about the outcome. Sure, Kevin Costner does decent work here in an understated, subtle way, but that’s also because he expresses very little emotion. It’s just hard to care about this one specific football team more than any other.

I did like most of the acting here, although Jennifer Garner doesn’t have much to do, which is unfortunate given how important her character is meant to be. Dennis Leary is a standout, wrenching much more humor from his lines than what was written. But in the end, this movie tries to grab a few tears from you but completely fails. And why? Because although you root for Sonny to succeed, you are not emotionally invested in him. If you want that sort of sports movie, go see The Wrestler. And bring the tissues for that one.