BEFORE: I suppose if I watched "Friday Night Lights" on a Wednesday, I can watch "Any Given Sunday" on a Friday - either way, I'm two days ahead of the game, right? This is the other movie I picked up yesterday at the $5 DVD store - they're running it on AMC this week, but my ban on that channel remains in effect.
THE PLOT: A behind the scenes look at the life and death struggles of modern day football gladiators and those who lead them.
AFTER: I guess Oliver Stone couldn't get the rights to use the names of real NFL franchises - since this movie focuses on the Miami Sharks, and not the Dolphins. Someone got real clever with the team names - the Raiders became the Crusaders, the Bears became the Rhinos, the Cowboys became the Knights...a freeze-frame on the Sharks' schedule also mentions the Minnesota Americans, Houston Cattlemen, New York Emperors, Colorado Blizzard, Washington Lumbermen, and Oregon Pioneers. OK, so someone had fun coming up with the names - but the Kansas Twisters? Wisconsin Icemen? Orlando Crushers? Now you're just being silly...
Al Pacino is a great choice to play Tony D'Amato, a head coach in the NFL (or whatever they call this fictional league...) as a middle-aged guy who's made a lot of mistakes, down on his luck and looking to recapture some of that elusive football glory. Dennis Quaid is Jack Rooney, the aging quarterback who might be past his prime, but is under pressure from his team (and his wife) to keep pushing for another season or two. And Jamie Foxx is Willie Beamen, the 3rd-string QB who has to take the field after injuries take out strings #1 and 2, and has to learn how to lead the team FAST if they're going to make the playoffs.
I didn't learn much about the actual game of football, since the film concentrates more on the behind-the-scenes conflicts, like the ones between D'Amato and the team owner (Cameron Diaz), or Rooney and his wife (Lauren Holly), or the coaches (Jim Brown, Aaron Eckhart). Even the off-field partying done by the players (LL Cool J, Bill Bellamy) and the conflicts between the shifty team doctor (James Woods) and the more upstanding assistant doctor (played by FOH Matthew Modine - I delivered a check and some SAG paperwork to him about a year ago, nice guy...)
The most believable performance, for me, came from Lawrence Taylor, playing Luther "Shark" Lavay. Of course, we know he can play football, but as a player worried about his health, his age, and his bonus - who knew he was such a good actor? Or does that not count as acting, since he lived that life for so long in the NFL?
Oliver Stone inserted himself into the movie, playing Tug, one of the main announcers in the Shark broadcast booth. Ann-Margret also appears, playing Margaret, the widow of the team's old owner (interesting to see her as Cameron Diaz's mother...) and some more stunt casting with Charlton Heston playing the football commissioner - in an earlier scene in Tony's house, the famous chariot race from "Ben-Hur" is playing on a TV in the background. And if you're a REAL hardcore football fan, look for cameos from Dick Butkus, Warren Moon, Johnny Unitas and Y.A. Tittle, playing opposing coaches...
All told, this was a flashy piece of football spectacle. It looked (and sounded) gorgeous - except for some of that hyper-editing and shaki-cam style that the kids seem to like these days...football really needs to be seen on FILM, and not on crappy video (I suppose maybe it looks good in hi-def, but I wouldn't know...)
But what's missing was a lot of the HEART that I've seen in other films this week. Someone should make Oliver Stone watch "We Are Marshall" or "Friday Night Lights" - maybe he'd realize then that really is about how you play the game... I suppose Pacino comes close to being inspirational with his "Football is a game of inches..." speech in the final game.
Oh, and if you watch it, stay tuned through the end credits, you won't be sorry. I know it's a long film (2 1/2 hours) but there's a press conference that Tony D'Amato gives during the credits that you won't want to miss...
RATING: 5 out of 10 tackling dummies
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