Cable and streaming rewatch value; Chadwick Boseman as Vontae Mack; the versatile-linebacker profile; ESPN draft-telecast integration; Frank Langella as the owner; the Browns' draft-day chaos; Kevin Costner's throwback performance; NFL media cameos
The movie has aged best as a cable, on-demand, streaming or airplane movie that maybe never needed a theatrical release, like Million Dollar Arm, which the host helped produce. — Bill Simmons
In 2020 it would be a Netflix movie released two weeks before the NFL draft. — Bill Simmons
Split screen is offered as aged best because so much of the film is phone calls. — Bill Simmons
The split screens are countered as aged worst: the logic from the making-of is sound, but the effect is distracting and dated; the first host stays pro split screen. — Mallory Rubin
Chadwick Bozeman as Vante Mac comes across super likable and realistic despite limited screen time, though he is the smallest guy in several rooms. — Mallory Rubin
His undersized, versatile build is added as aged best for the era of flexible defenders, citing Derwin James and Isaiah Simmons falling in the recent draft. — Mallory Rubin
The ESPN telecast is used well, even Berman; filming at the actual 2013 draft at Radio City with real analysts and Goodell captures the event, plus good helicopter shots. — Mallory Rubin
Dennis Leary as a head coach is kind of liked and seen as realistic. — Mallory Rubin
Frank Langella as the owner is great, his second sports-owner role after Eddie, reunited with Kevin Dunn from Dave, and wearing sunglasses almost throughout. — Bill Simmons
The Browns doing crazy things on draft day has obviously aged best. — Bill Simmons
Sonny's "don't Twitter" advice is called aged best by one host; the co-host has it as aged worst because the NFL now wants players building online personas, though she backs never-tweet advice. — Mallory Rubin
Jacksonville having a terrible GM is offered as aged best; the co-host cites Jalen Ramsey and Josh Allen but notes the real 2014 Jags took Blake Bordell's. — Bill Simmons
Costner in a sports movie is the top aged-best item: he is undefeated, the Michael Jordan of sports movies, and the only actor the movie works with; Brad Pitt and Denzel are floated as the only alternatives. — Mallory Rubin
The NFL media cameos, including Chris Berman, Rich Eisen, John Gruden and Mike Mayock, are called aged best by both hosts. — Mallory Rubin
Dunn has been in a lot of stuff: Mississippi Burning, Hot Shots, 1492, Chaplin, Beethoven's 2nd, Little Big League, Nixon, Chain Reaction, Picture Perfect, Godzilla, Stir of Echoes, Snake Eyes, I Heart Huckabees, a bunch of Transformers movies, Warrior, and five years being really funny on Veep; he is hall-of-fame that guy, the award could be called the Kevin Dunn award, and there were no other candidates.
Kevin Kline is debated: apex is meant to be objective, when he had the most power or success, so A Fish Called Wanda is possible but he arguably has more power coming off this; another host puts it at Grand Canyon, five years after the Oscar and not so far removed from it; one host votes yes for Kline and tells the other two they vote no.
Grand Canyon tangent: a movie about somebody who made a wrong turn leaving a Laker game, which is a host's life every day driving home on the 101 and plays on every fear of a detour leaving the Staples Center.
Frank Langella, one host's actorly god, has been a lot of different guys: a hit Dracula in the 70s, the star of Mel Brooks' first movie The Twelve Chairs, really good on the Showtime show Kidding, and his falling for Whoopi Goldberg is in the running for weirdest celebrity couple of the last 30 years, with Eddie called a great movie.
A host goes yes for Langella as his signature performance because he dials it up, having asked Ivan Reitman whether to scale back and been told to go for it, bulging his eyes at the window like a maniac while Dave balances the budget; another agrees it's his most fun performance but doubts it's his apex, and the group settles that Dracula was probably his apex.
Nobody else in the movie qualifies: Sigourney had peaked, and Kevin Dunn is a maybe who is coming up next.
