ANY GIVEN SUNDAY R
Starring Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, L.L. Cool J, Matthew Modine, Ann Margaret, Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor, Bill Bellamy, Randy Quaid, Lauren Holly, Charlton Heston, and Elizabeth Berkley
Eric says: ****** 1/2 (6 1/2)
You know when you start to make a simple sandwich? Maybe just some deli ham and swiss cheese on whole wheat. But the provelone sure looks good. And salami would go well with that. Cheddar would provide a nice little bite. Let's mellow that out with some turkey. Another piece of swiss. Some beef bologna. Now such a large sandwich certainly needs some lettuce and tomatoes. Might as well add a slice or two of pickles. And slap on a sourdough roll instead. Then you eat it. Not un-tasty. Took too long to eat. All of the ingredients didn't exactly compliment each other. You feel a little bloated afterwards. You are satiated, but wished that you'd stopped somewhere around the salami. Welcome, my friends to Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday.
Probably the best sports drama that I've seen. That isn't saying much. Stone bombards us with 2 hours and 40 minutes worth of everything he can think to. It felt longer. Sunday revolves around the last part of the season of a ficticious team and league, the Miami Sharks. I'd be interested to find out if an NFL license was too costly or if Stone preferred to create the teams and leagues himself. Anyway, the Sharks are coached by an aging genius who still feels an innate connection to Lombardi, Halas and Brown. (If you don't recognize these names, the movie really isn't for you. It really is a football movie.) Pacino is this proud man who feels the game passing him by. Not only are the Sharks sinking, but his aging star QB, Cap Rooney (believably played <on the field and off> by Dennis Quaid) has just been sidelined with a career-threatening injury, the replacement gets injured the very next play, the third-stringer vomits regularly, he has to pay Elizabeth Berkley for, um... companionship, his great linebacker is one hit away from death, and the new owner is itching to make the team more profitable just so she can sell it.
Pacino is, as usual, successful in his role. The coach bristles with intensity and a love of the game. While not his finest performance, any fan would be pleased. Cameron Diaz is the owner who for once isn't the straight (wo)man in a comedy, or the eye candy to the leading man in a romance. She actually gets the chance to act. Her character, Ms. Pagniacci, is living and working in a man's world. Therefore, she tries her hardest to emulate those qualities - ruthlessness the foremost one. She pities her perpetually sauced mother, a literal football widow, entertainly played by Ann Margaret. Diaz also gets to cuss, drink, shout, convince team doctor James Woods to lie about players' physical conditions, leer at Charlton Heston, and talk down to the mayor. Through it all, though, Diaz lets us sense her vulnerability just buried underneath the hardened surface. The scene where Pagniacci cries is actually clumsy and redundant, since Cameron had so effectively conveyed the character's inner struggles. Mr Cool J is his usual pleasant presence in movies he's in - equal parts brash, nice, and egotistical . His star running back is desperately trying to reach a certain number of yards to attain a bonus in his contract. He doesn't want anyone to stand in his way. Quaid really isn't given much to do.
Jamie Foxx and Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor are the big-play guys in this game, far overshadowing Pacino. Foxx, usually an idiot by trade is the quarterback forced into action and the spotlight. He is able to convey multiple emotions as the character changes throughout the story. Yes, we see his comic side, but more is present. The athlete starts out a heap of nerves, unable to remember plays as gigantic chunks of humanity fly by. He progresses from there to cocky, to humbled, then finally lands on content. Each step of the way, Foxx embodies the part. Lawrence Taylor, on the other hand, hadn't even acted before. Now he lands a significant role in a major mition picture. And they let him talk. He is legend-in-the-making Shark Lavay, a great player with very little time left in his career. He decides to play despite numerous concussions and spinal damage, knowing that one hit could potentially end his life. The emotion in his face when he tries to bargain with the coach to let him play and try to earn another $1 million suggests not only familiarity with the situation, but also the chance at a real acting career.
Over-all, the football action is just a blur, but that's great. I only played in high school. Even then, not even for 2 years. But in that time, I do remember that everything is just a flash of colors and grunts. When you're playing, you're not afforded the luxury of a view from the middle of the field, zooming in when you please. You're at eye level with 21 other guys just running around and hitting each other. It seems as though Stone preferred us to see the game that way, as players might. Speaking of Oliver, he shows up (too much) as the main commentator for the Sharks, joined by former Oklahoma Sooner and Dallas Cowboy coach Barry Switzer. Other cameos include Dick Butkus coaching an opposing team, Seattle Seahawk Ricky Watters, former 49er Jamie Williams, and current 49er wide receiver Terrel Owens as the Sharks' second-best receiver behind MTV dude Bill Bellamy. A special cameo appearance by the Dallas Cowboys' home - Texas Stadium.
A good football game ruined by too much hoopla - sounds like every Super Bowl.
David says: ??
Frankly, I'm not interested in football.Ow! that hurt. It's looks like it could be a good flick - Pacino is worth watching, but for me, not in this subject matter .