Misses by an inch

Rating: 6/10 (23 September 2011)

Oliver Stone would have you believe that his Any Given Sunday is the most realistic film depiction of professional football, both on and off the field. On the field Stone does capture much of the excitement and passion which makes people love the sport. He also is probably reasonably accurate with much of his depiction of the off-field excesses of our modern-day gladiators. But both on and off the field he probably goes a little too far. He pushed it a little beyond the point of realism and believability. Modern professional football is a grand spectacle but perhaps Stone made it just a little too grand for this movie's good.
With Stone laying bare some brutal truths the NFL was never going to have anything to do with this movie. So the story follows the fictional Miami Sharks of the fictional AFFA. Their veteran coach Tony D'Amato has had a distinguished career but has the game passed him by? The team's owner certainly thinks so. Oh, by the way that owner, Christina Pagniacci, is played by Cameron Diaz. Cameron Diaz owns a football team? OK then. Well, it turns out daddy died and left his daughter the team. And Christina is no shrinking violet. She is driven and determined. Which is a nice way of saying she's a bitch. When she isn't making her coach's life miserable she's trying to blackmail Miami's mayor for a new stadium. She thinks she's in control but does anyone really respect her? The answer to that question may well disappoint her. Meanwhile his raving shrew of an owner is far from Tony's only problem. In the first game we see the Sharks lose their star veteran quarterback to injury. And then lose his backup. Enter Willie Beamen. And all hell breaks loose.
In no time at all Beamen goes from anonymous third-string quarterback to superstar. Really, I mean no time at all. Sorry Mr. Stone but I don't care how well you play you don't go from complete unknown to having your own rap video and your picture on the side of every bus in town in two weeks. Just one clear instance of the movie not really ringing true. Anyhow, Beamen's winning games and exciting fans but he's driving his coach and teammates nuts. He ignores the coach, makes up his own plays, does it all his way. And despite his success he ends up tearing his team apart. The coach sees this happening and tries to rein Beamen in but it's a futile effort. Especially when the owner doesn't back the coach. The Sharks are now winning games but there's conflict all over the place. Everyone's got their own agenda. The owner, the coach, the players, the doctors, everyone's pulling in their own direction. This seems destined for a spectacular blowup.
Stone has a great ensemble cast but there are two roles clearly more important than the rest. The movie is at its heart about two men, Coach Tony D'Amato and "Steamin" Willie Beamen. Al Pacino plays the coach and is as good as you would expect. A little over the top in some moments but the whole movie goes a little over the top in many moments. And Pacino is very good in the quieter moments such as heart-to-hearts with his two quarterbacks, the aging star and the young hotshot. Speaking of that young hotshot Jamie Foxx plays Beamen and captures all the character's excesses wonderfully while also conveying the hurt and frustration of a guy who never felt he was given a fair shot in football or in life. It's Pacino and Foxx who really have to carry the movie and they do a very good job of it. But they have plenty of support. Diaz is surprisingly effective in a role which certainly does not seem tailor-made for her. Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Matthew Modine, Aaron Eckhart, Ann-Margret...the list goes on and on. Notable performers who all add something to the film. There's also room for real-life football stars. Jim Brown we already knew could act. Lawrence Taylor is a pleasant surprise. He plays an old, broken-down linebacker facing the end of his career and his own personal demons. So basically, LT's playing himself. And he handles that very well.
So the cast is generally excellent and the story's entertaining enough so why is there the nagging sense that the movie's not quite as good as it could have been? One problem is the football action. Stone takes you right onto the field, capturing the sound and fury. But he goes too far. Realism takes a back seat as we're presented with a lot of rather cartoonish football, guys doing full-twisting double somersaults into the end zone and such. The game is exciting enough as is, Stone didn't need to crank it up past the point of truth. And a lot of the off the field stuff goes a little too far as well. There's a lot of craziness and excess. Our on-field warriors are wild men off the field. A little too wild at times to take the movie seriously. And then there's the central plot point, Beamen's rise to instant superstardom. The media makes stars quickly but not that quickly. It's just not really believable. Coach D'Amato tells us football is a game of grabbing that last inch. Any Given Sunday comes close but when we stretch out the chains it comes up just that inch short.