Kevin Costner raised the sports bar so high with Bull Durham that every time I see him in another sports movie I can't help going "I wish this was as good as Bull Durham". I had that reaction for about the first thirty minutes of this (along with wondering "is Kevin Costner still a film star... this movie acts as if he is") but once I shook that off and appreciated the film for what it was I enjoyed it. I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in the cinema, but it's solid pay TV fare, helped by an unusual setting - the NFL draft. I'm not super familiar with the system and even now wouldnt pass a quiz but I gather its important and involves trading players.
Costner managers a Cleveland team and is having a rough week - his dad has just died, the team owner Frank Langella doesn't really trust him, his girlfriend Jennifer Garner is pregnant, he has to pony up for the number one draft pick but doesn't suspect he's right.
The crux of the plot involves investigating the background of this quarterback and I liked the way that unfolded - uncertainty over his mental toughness, then finding out he was unpopular with teammates, and then all of a sudden he goes from being super popular with team managers to incredibly unpopular.
The film felt hampered by being too nice to people - everyone is basically good even the owner of the team; all the general managers are nice to each other. Surely there is more vindictiveness and aggression behind the scenes in professional sports? At least cut-throat competition - this seems relatively benign.
Also much of it seemed underdeveloped such as the relationship between Costner and mother Ellen Burstyn (to be honest the only-talked-about storyline of Costner having to sack his own father sounded more dramatic than this film) and Jennifer Garner has a really thankless role as Costner's girlfriend - they jazz it up by having her as the salary cap person, but she's still just the girlfriend. (She should have dumped him in the opening scene or something - might have given the movie some energy). The Greek Chorus of radio commentators is irritating, esp the guy who craps on about Cleveland.
Still it's beautifully shot with all that American NFL colour in the stadiums and the cast on the whole feel real. Not a great sports movie but a decent one and at least its different.
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