Given his history with athletics in movies, Kevin Costner is the perfect choice to play the role of Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the hapless, floundering, perennially mediocre Cleveland Browns. He’s got a lot on his plate. His father has passed away recently. His girlfriend Ali (Jennifer Garner) just told him she’s pregnant. And, oh yeah, it’s the day of the National Football League Draft, and he’s been told by Cleveland’s owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) that he has to make a big splash on Draft Day, or the next splash the Browns make might be a new GM. The parts of this movie that work the best are building up to the draft. The bits and pieces in the football war rooms, where the GM and staff huddle together to make the big decisions, tend to work best. The movie is loaded down with small parts and cameos and memorable character actors (Sam Elliott is the coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, Patrick St. Espirit is Seattle’s GM and Chi McBride is his associate, Timothy Simons and David Ramsey are a funny pair of younger scouts, and dozens of NFL and ESPN talking heads show up as well). It feels very authentic, if only because Ivan Reitman spared no trick when it came to emulating the NFL experience. After all, he has the NFL’s blessing, so he drops mentions of players both famous and infamous (Tom Brady and Ryan Leaf), mentions NFL teams by name, uses NFL logos, and even stages an impressive NFL Draft stage featuring Commissioner Roger Goodell. Reitman also does some cool things to liven up the scenes of folks on the telephone by going to a split screen format, but with some interesting dissolves and transitions, as well as some neat little moments where the diving line will shift one way or the other, but the character’s shoulder or arm stays in place, as if blurring the line between Cleveland and Seattle’s war rooms. A little too inside for people who aren’t NFL fans, and not inside enough for people that are NFL fanatics, Draft Day straddles a few too many fences. It’s funny, but not funny enough. It’s heartwarming, but not enough to be a romantic comedy. There’s some drama in it, but it’s not a strict drama. Perhaps it tries to do too much, what with having everything happening to Sonny at once while also trying to flesh out the lives of the three potential draftees. Still, it’s tough to fault a movie for being ambitious, even if it reaches a bit too far. The large cast is very good, and Kevin Costner is a great centerpiece to build your film around, especially in light comedy roles like this one. It just never quite comes together as much as I would have hoped. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.