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Any Given Sunday, 1999, 160 minutes, Rated R
By Lisa R. Foeman
"Any man’s finest hour - his greatest fulfillment - to all that he holds dear
is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the
field of battle…Victorious!" These words, coined by the legendary Green Bay
Packers’ coach Vince Lombardi, introduce Any Given Sunday. But don’t be
surprised when at film’s end you can’t reconcile the quote with what actually
transpires in the film. You’re not alone. Sunday definitely will not earn Oliver
Stone a 12th nomination for an Academy Award. Not even close! |
Warner Bros.
Dennis Quaid,
Jamie Foxx & Al Pacino |
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Sunday has a simple plot: when the Miami
Sharks star quarterback, Cap Rooney (Dennis Quaid) is injured, the unknown third-stringer,
Willie Beaman (Jamie Foxx), replaces him. Seizing on this golden opportunity, Beaman
displays a brand of athletic prowess heretofore unseen by the Sharks. Pressured by the
aggressive, win-at-all-costs co-owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), aging coach Tony
D’Amato (Al Pacino) with help from the showboating Beaman leads the Sharks to the
playoffs.
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The quality of the sound design in the football sequences
is incredible. Grunts and growls intermingled with deadpan silence and slow motion action
transfer the viewer from the seat to the field. In stark contrast to the brilliant sound
design is the annoying monotony of the on-field, tight camera angles. While
up close shots
of the line or the quarterback is appreciated, the true football fan wants to see the
plays develop through a wide camera lens - at least occasionally. After a while, my head
started to spin and my eyes began to cross from the wild speed of the zoom lens.
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The plethora of real-life former and
current football players - Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor, Johnny Unitas, Dick Butkus, Irving
Fryar, Barry Switzer, Terrell Owens to name a few - who either acted or were seen in cameo
in Sunday, was impressive. On the surface, they add credibility to the football flick.
However, one can’t help but wonder if the time spent showing them detracted from the
development of the main characters, all pretty much one dimensional. It isn’t like
Stone didn’t have plenty of time to give the characters some substance - the movie
exceeds 2 ½ hours in length. “When is it ever going to end” was the mantra
constantly racing through my mind.
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Fortunately within the 2-½ hours, some issues worthy of
dialogue did rear their heads. Is professional football a racist organization capitalizing
on the athletic abilities of black players and caring nothing for their safety or health?
Witness Pagniacci’s directive to the team doctor, Dr. Oliver Powers (Matthew Modine),
to clear Shark Lavay (Lawrence Taylor) to play in the playoff game despite the fact that a
misplaced tackle could paralyze or even kill him. Was the DMX song “My Niggas”
and the repeated use of the “N word” really germane to the movie? Was the rather
lengthy camera shot of a black player’s dangling penis in the locker room just
another example of blaxploitation by a white director?
As you purchase your ticket to view Sunday, remember to deprogram yourself by erasing your
expectations and buy snacks. Hunger pangs certainly will roar as you watch this one.
M
January 2000
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