Browns finally get it right in ‘Draft Day’
Finally, the Cleveland Browns get it right.
They hire a real actor like Kevin Costner and make him their General Manager, letting go all of the clowns who used to run the franchise, and Costner and the Browns strike it rich on “Draft Day.”
Costner finagles the top pick away from Seattle with three (count ’em!) first round picks, including this year’s No. 7 selection, then doesn’t pick can’t-miss quarterback Bo Callaghan. Instead he picks linebacker Vontae Mack, a player he likely would have been able to pick by sitting tight at No. 7.
If that’s not bad enough, Costner proceeds to trade away three second-round picks to Buffalo, which is freaking out because Callaghan is now in free fall, all the way down to No. 6. Costner then calls Seattle back to retrieve the three first round picks he was fleeced out of only hours earlier.
Never heard of Callaghan or Mack? You missed the Costner signing in transactions and SportsCenter?
Oh, that’s right (repeat after me), it’s only a movie.
“Draft Day,” starring Costner, Jennifer Garner and Denis Leary, is in theaters now. The real NFL Draft isn’t until May 8, when Cleveland fans can get back to the real world of their No. 1-in-their-hearts, No. 4-in-the-AFC North Browns.
If you’re interested in two hours of entertainment, go see “Draft Day.” If you are a die-hard fan of the real thing, stay away. You’ll likely be disappointed.
“Draft Day,” of course, is the Hollywood version of the NFL Draft. Costner plays Sonny Weaver, son of a legendary Browns coach of the same name. Garner is his capologist and love interest (did I mention Hollywood?). Leary is his head coach.
The movie is a whirlwind of NFL Draft action and most of it is about football. Most, not all. There are many scenes that are pure Hollywood.
Like the one when Weaver’s mother, played by Ellen Burstyn (more on her later), shows up with an urn full of his dad’s ashes and wants him to go to the practice field to say a prayer and spread them. On Draft Day!
Football junkies will see through that farce in a heartbeat. What this movie is is a story loosely based on football and how a lousy franchise that can’t ever seem to get it right, finally does.
It’s fun and entertaining. You’ll likely love it if you are a Costner fan, as am I. Think “Field of Dreams” centered on the NFL Draft.
Steelers fans will love it simply because it centers on the team and city we all love to hate. Figures it would take a gaggle of Hollywood writers to make the Browns respectable again.
There are touches of reality, like a cameo by Jim Brown, the last great draft pick the Browns ever made. Some ESPN and NFL Network personalities also appear, as do several former and current NFL players, like Ray Lewis and Arian Foster.
There are a few references to the Steelers, but they are quite understated, as they should be in a movie about the Browns.
There is one Steelers reference that is so subtle, I’ll leave it up to you. Go see the movie and let me know whether Burstyn’s scarf worn toward the end of the movie is a Steelers scarf or simply a black-and-gold neck adornment.