There are definitely more deserving sports movies in the pantheon of great sports flicks but in a recent watch of Draft Day, it got my attention enough to make it Rewindable #2. It’s a flawed movie that entertains while it plays to the strengths of it’s main star, Kevin Costner, and overlooks some of the nuances that the NFL draft entails. The plot follows Sonny Weaver Jr, the GM of the Cleveland Browns on draft day and stitches an arc of his conversation and emotions around one of the busiest days in the NFL calendar. We see the trials in his relationship, his family life, the respect of his work colleagues and mostly the personal demons he faces. You can get a full review of the movie here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_Day if you want he blow by blow.

I had the pleasure of watching this with Mary and my older boys and I came away with a few immediate observations from them:

1. Mary was surprisingly entertained. She doesn’t know the nuances of the NFL draft process so the football parts needed a few pauses to explain the back story but she stayed with it. She likely wouldn’t sit through many other sports related movies.
2. My boys loved the drama of the draft day wheeling and dealing because it’s how they function in their fantasy football lives. They are always trying to trade some ball bag for a superstar, including future draft picks and no trade is too radical for them.
3. It resonates well with younger football audiences because they dream to draft their own team and do so in their Xbox Madden experiences. Trading players is their favourite part of the game really.

As always, we will use a similar methodology in breaking down the highlights of the movie.

Our categories for the golden Rewindables  include:

1. Most Rewindable moment – the moment where you are flipping the channels and you catch this part only to be sucked into rewinding to the start of the movie.
2. The “Did you touch my drum kit” award – not necessarily the quote that the world remembers but the one that someone who has seen the movie 25 times would know exactly what movie this is from. Bonus points if you know which show this quote is from.
3. Best “microwave” actor – the actor who hits the screen with their hair on fire and owns their scenes in such a dominating fashion. Small scenes, big value.
4. Best “Over the Top” acting moment – the actor who dials it up like this is the moment that he/she wants on the “In Memoriam” snippet at the 2044 Oscars.
5. The “What show have I seen him/her in before” award – you know, the actor who you’ve seen in 100 shows and never know their name. Every movie has that person.
6. The “That makes no sense moment” – You know what I mean when you see something that makes no logical sense. That moment.
7. Bonus category – Unanswerable questions – I love this stuff where the movie ends but the questions linger on. I have no answers but lots of questions.

Most Rewindable Moment

This is a hard one to peg. The indelible scene is likely the draft day sequence where Sonny makes a sequence of trades that would blow the minds of the most seasoned NFL veteran. We’ll save that for later as you will definitely stop and watch that last 20 minutes but would you rewind it?

The real moment that sucks you in is when Sonny walks into the Cleveland war room and tells the front office that he has acquired the #1 overall pick and likely prospective draftee Bo Callahan. The banter between he and Coach Vince Penn (played by Dennis Leary) is classic dick-swinging material and it sets up the chaos of the remainder of the movie. Sonny is a flawed man. making flawed decisions without the advice or backing of his team and it’s here that you realize that the countdown to the draft is going to be memorable.

The “Did you touch my drum kit” award

The most memorable quote comes at the end of the movie where after baiting the Seattle GM into trading his 3 – first round picks back to Cleveland, he caps off the baiting with the classic “trade me back my picks, you pancake-eater motherfucker”. It’s a reference to an earlier scene with that same Seattle GM was prioritizing his breakfast over the discussion with Sonny.

I also enjoyed the part where Sonny educates Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman) on the reasons he should get off social media. It goes something like this:

Sonny.: Don’t Twitter. For the love of Jesus, just stop. Delete your profile, get off the web, do not do this to yourself.
– Vontae Mack: I don’t know why you care what I do. I can do whatever I want, right?

The best quote happens between Ali Parker (Jennifer Garner, cap specialist) while spitting barbs at Coach Penn. She stops him dead in his tracks and asks:

“How is it that the ultimate prize in the most macho sport ever invented is a piece of jewelry?”

Fair question and something that really had never occurred to me before. Leave it to the Salary Cap specialist to blow your mind.

Best “microwave” actor

There is zero question that the person who lights the fire under this movie is Dennis Leary playing Coach Vince Penn. Even his back story is full of awesome:

Inherited the Cowboys on their ascension, coached them to a Super Bowl win, let go a couple of years later, wife hates Cleveland compared to Dallas, took the Browns job to prove he could build a team.

The fact is, he adds the confrontation that football represents, directly into every scene. He is an asshole, brazen and sure that everyone around him is inferior. Pure awesomeness as a coach and he is electric in this scene:

Best “Over the Top” acting moment

Well the end of the movie could fit into several categories in the Rewindables but it fits best here. It’s somewhat implausible but intriguing while the drama of what gets pulled off is fascinating. It starts with him convincing the rookie GM of the Jaguars to trade out of the number 6 pick by sweating him through the options he faces:

Once that manipulation is sealed, he then leverages the position of the Seahawks, who want to draft the stud QB, by trading them back for their original 3 first round picks capped by the “pancake-eating MFer” crescendo.

And to cap it off, he then sticks to the smug Seattle GM with the now infamous “I want all my picks back and David Goddamn Putney, just because I want to.” Classic dick swinging at its best. Enjoy the bravado.

The “What show have I seen him/her in before” award

This one has to go to my man Patrick St. Esprit who gamely plays the Seattle General Manager and one of the main antagonists in the show. Backed in discussion by another “who’s that guy?” Chi McBride, the two make a formidable team in maneuvering the draft day wars. This ultimately was the best role he has played on the silver screen but he has played other key roles in TV and movies such as Hunger Games, Smokin Aces, and War Dogs. Take some pride in this role Patrick, you made this movie flow and provided some sage experience up against Costner’s Sonny Weaver.

The “That makes no sense moment”

Where do you start here? Let me rattles some off for recap.

You wouldn’t take a linebacker with the number 1 pick, ever, ever, ever. You also rarely see a team take a running back in the top 10 (which they do at number 7)The Browns owner, after being embarrassed at the draft in not drafting Bo Callahan, flies back to Cleveland and arrives back BEFORE they have made 5 picks in the draft. The trading of picks through the last 10 minutes are equally improbable and indefensible but there was one glaring error in the film.

It is a well documented tradition that when the Commissioner of the NFL walks across the stage to kick off the event, he walks to a resounding boo. Does this sound like a boo to you? Forward to the 1:52 moment in this clip.

Unanswerable Questions and Wrap up

Who gets fired after this mess of trades is sorted out? – Sonny appears to have avenged himself here and will get a chance for the next few seasons. The Jacksonville GM is too green in his job and will get a pass for dumping the pick. Seattle’s GM did the right thing in the end and probably drafted the best player in the draft. He survives. Let’s go with Coach Penn getting canned first. He continues to shoot his mouth off and eventually Sonny swings the axe on him and his act.

Is Bo Callahan the franchise player everyone predicted? – Yes he was. He has too much going for him and the weaknesses that Sonny exposes, although it takes him time to work through the yips. $ Pro Bowls and he takes his team to a couple of Championship games before he’s done.

Do Sonny and Ali make it as a couple and as parents? – No chance. Sonny is too headstrong and won’t allow for her to take full control of his heart and family. It ends bad for Sonny, losing his girl, his child and eventually his job when he turns to the bottle after blaming his parents for his messed up life.

Draft Day is a flawed but amazingly enjoyable sports themed drama. There is something for everyone and even more if you like the football parts. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone watching the movie who can explain the nuances of football and the NFL Draft as it certainly overtakes the end of the movie. If you have football fans in the house, it’s got to be on your short list of movies to take in.

Let me know what you think. Message us back on Facebook or Twitter if you agree or disagree here.

Marco