Draft Day

In this backstage NFL Drama, phone calls, last-minute deals and spreadsheets are the real Super Bowl.

Feb 07, 2025

PRE GAME 🏈

Welcome back to Balls on Film! 👋🏻

I hope everyone has had a good week. It’s been a very busy one here, and I feel like I’ve not had much in the way of free time over the last few days, so I was glad to be able to sit down, watch this movie and tune everything else out for a while.

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll last week. Would you prefer to vote for the movie reviews going forward, or do you prefer when I schedule them in advance? I may do votes for movies some weeks and then I’ll pick sometimes too, if there’s a particular movie I really want to get to. If you guys have any preferences, please let me know.

It’s Super Bowl weekend, and whether you’re excited for the game itself, the commercials or the half time show, there’s no better time of year to watch a good football movie. Draft Day is a sports movie in the same way that Moneyball is a sports movie. If you’re looking for on-field action and big game scenes, it’s probably not the right movie for your Super Bowl weekend - but I think it’s seriously overlooked.

Let’s get to it!

FIRST HALF 🏈

As we all know, sports movies often follow a familiar playbook - underdog stories, last-minute victories, and rousing locker room speeches among other things. Draft Day takes a page out of Moneyball’s book and tries to break away from the usual formula, just set against the backdrop of a different sport. It shifts focus from the field to the front office and swaps touchdowns and field goals for trades and strategising on one of the biggest days on the NFL calendar. While it’s compared to Moneyball quite a bit, Draft Day still has plenty to offer and remains an overlooked gem.

When I think of Kevin Costner and sports movies, it’s baseball that first comes to mind. The Kevin Costner baseball trilogy (Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and For the Love of the Game) are three of my favourite baseball movies, and it was actually a little jarring at first to see him in a movie about football. Costner plays Sonny Weaver Jr, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, who must navigate pressure from the team owner, the coaching staff, the media and the fans on NFL Draft Day. Everyone is wants to draft star quarterback Bo Callahan, who is the talk of the draft. The entire movie begins with a big trade and unfolds over the course of the day, with Sonny having to make huge decisions regarding both his football team and his personal life. Even though he’s the baseball movie guy, Costner steps into this role pretty effortlessly and delivers a really strong performance - particularly in the excellent second half.

What makes Draft Day work is the way in which it makes the behind the scenes stuff feel so exciting. I’ve watched loads of basketball and baseball drafts and trade deadline days over the years, and to the average person who isn’t a sports fan, watching those would probably be pretty boring. Draft Day doesn’t shy away from exploring the intricacies of things like player evaluations and trade negotiations between front-office executives, but it presents it all in a really accessible way. Ivan Reitman (this was his last feature film that he directed prior to his passing) builds the tension throughout the whole movie with a countdown that appears on screen as we get closer to the draft. Think 24, but instead of Jack Bauer rushing to stop a terrorist, it’s Kevin Costner trying to navigate a football team’s future. There’s plenty of split-screen visuals too, that also help with that dramatic flair. There’s just enough jargon to please football fans, but not to the point where it would be off-putting or difficult to follow for others.

When this was released, it’d been a while since his last sports movie but Coster is in great form here. You feel the quiet desperation that he’s going through, with his job under threat and the mounting pressure from everyone around him. The way in which he slowly turns things around in his favour going into third act really makes for a great watch. Jennifer Garner brings out the best in a role that does feel underdeveloped, on the other hand. In fact, I’d argue that the whole side plot surrounding Weaver’s personal life could be removed from the film and it wouldn’t really lose anything. The scenes involving his mother and the tension there didn’t really do much for me. While it was there to underline the importance of his father’s passing and legacy, I still felt they without those scenes.

Chadwick Boseman is entertaining here, but feels a little underused. Considering he’s the hopeful draft prospect and where the story ultimately goes in the third act, I’d have liked to have seen his character developed a bit more. The whole supporting cast is good, and I particularly loved Denis Leary as Coach Penn, and his love-hate dynamic with the front office. He was almost my MVP pick for the movie. You can tell he’s having a lot of fun with it. Frank Langella is perfect as the team owner, who’s hands-off, but likes to take credit and steal the spotlight where possible. He absolutely nails it.

Let’s just not speak of Diddy’s appearance, though, which feels so jarring watching the film now. 😬

Despite some of the personal drama feeling a little unnecessary, there were so many little details that I really appreciated about this movie, as a sports fan who is always interested in the inner-workings of teams and front office decisions. There’s a moment where a talent scout calls Weaver with info on draft prospect Bo Callahan, who everyone expects to be picked first. It’s a very random point about a prior birthday event that brings his character into question, and it feels so authentic and like many stories you’ve heard as part of front office and player rumours when it comes to sports teams. There’s a ton of other really nice touches too, like actually featuring NFL branding, filming at the draft and even featuring the commissioner too, that add a ton of authenticity.

Draft Day is entertaining throughout, but it’s when it reaches its conclusion, that it really comes into its own. It’s what elevated the movie from being good to great for me. It’s understandably compared to Moneyball quite a bit. While it doesn’t quite reach the same heights, it’s a nice reminder that sports movies don’t need to feature a ton of action, or even focus on the actual game at all, to be exciting.

Draft Day is available to rent or purchase on most digital platforms and currently available to stream on Netflix.

HALFTIME 🏈

Let’s take a break for halftime.

Here’s what else I’ve been watching this week:

Anora

I’ve got to be honest, 45 minutes or so into Anora, I was ready to give up on it. I found everything about it utterly insufferable. It did pick up somewhat after that, and I did end up enjoying it more. I’m glad that I stuck with it, but I just don’t quite get the awards buzz and the sheer level of hype. Am I the only one?

Anora is available via digital stores now.

Severance

You know the ‘it’s been 84 years’ meme? That’s how I felt about the return of Severance. After an excruciating wait, the best show on tv is finally back and better than ever. Severance reminds me of shows like Lost in a lot of ways - big mysteries that keep revealing more and more layers. Unlike a lot of those shows, though, Severance actually delivers plenty of payoff and answers as it goes along. It never feels like nothing is happening, even if the intrigue is ramped up further and further each week. I still want to know what’s actually going on with the goats though.

Also, how amazing are the opening credits? You check it out below.

Severance is available to stream on Apple TV Plus.

Since it’s Super Bowl weekend, I checked out this YouTube video featuring some of the event’s best commercials from the last 25 years. What have been your favs?

As usual, let me know what you’re watching or what you’re planning to go see. Let’s get back on to the field!

SECOND HALF 🏈

Let’s jump into some awards and bonus content.

BEST SCENE 🏆

The whole draft itself is thrilling stuff, but this final scene where Weaver’s whole day and plan comes together is particularly awesome.

MVP AWARD 🏆

Kevin Costner takes this one. His performance in the last half hour or so of the move earns him this award alone.

TRIVIA HIGHLIGHT 🏆

Per IMDb:

Chadwick Boseman agreed to take the role as Vontae Mack after a Skype call he had with director Ivan Reitman. Boseman first wasn't sure if he wanted to play another athlete, or do another sports movie right after 42, where he played Jackie Robinson. Boseman was 37 years old during filming, playing a college aged character.

BEST LETTERBOXD REVIEW 🏆

I genuinely snort-laughed at this.

BONUS FEATURE 💿

There’s loads of great extras for this one.

Here’s Kevin Costner on making the movie, and why he took on the role.

Here’s Denis Leary on his part in the movie, taking to Rich Eisen, who also appears as himself.

And a really cool ‘making of’ feature:

POST-GAME 🏈

I hope everyone enjoys the Super Bowl this weekend, if you’re planning on watching. I mentioned last week that the conclusion of the Super Bowl always signals the beginning of the countdown to baseball season for me - my favourite time of year. With pitchers and catchers reporting soon, I thought we’d go back to baseball next week - and let’s make it back-to-back Costner too, with Bull Durham.

As always, let me know what you thought of Draft Day and let me know what else you’ve been watching, and what you’d like me to review next.

See you next week! 👋🏻

~James

Balls on Film

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