What’s Aged the Worst?
P. Diddy as a sports agent; Jennifer Garner as the salary-cap expert; the 'how important is winning' call; a running back taken with a top-10 pick; Roger Goodell's cheered cameo; NFL involvement sapping the edge; Sonny's unpreparedness; the reliable-quarterback premise; Sonny bullying intern Rick
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:55Read transcript
- P. Diddy as a high-powered sports agent is unconvincing; the Bo Callahan scenes are meant to be stilted, but any Wire actor, such as Jamie Hector or Bunk, would be better.
- Jennifer Garner as the football-savvy salary-cap expert is worse: no chemistry with Costner, scenes in closets, pregnancy pressure that makes him less likable, and a 90s-style casting cliche.
- The co-host likes seeing a woman executive but not the illicit affair and the coach testing her football knowledge in the cafeteria, which feels like 1987.
- A GM dating the cap expert would get both fired now; the co-host jokingly supports them, and the subplot is called ludicrous.
- The "how important is winning to you" call is called idiotic.
- Taking a running back with a top-10 pick, combined with a linebacker at No. 1, is "bold font, not in today's NFL," especially given the Browns' 2012 Trent Richardson pick and Coach Penn's 28th-ranked offense.
- Ray Jennings's father was a Cleveland great, though the Browns had few great moments after 1993-94.
- Every Roger Goodell cameo has aged worst: fans cheer him at a time he was booed after bounty gate and the referee strike; they should have used a different commissioner.
- NFL involvement lends authenticity but saps the edge; a Ballers route would be better, the film is too chaste with one f-bomb, and Ballers and Uncut Gems show permission was not needed.
- Sonny is sold as a genius who knows nothing, not knowing who drafts fourth or the Jags GM's name and not scouting Callahan; the reliable-quarterback premise, Coach Penn's sexism and bullying intern Rick are added.