The film opens with veteran Miami Sharks head coach Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) trying to salvage a season as his team is falling apart. The Sharks have just dropped three in a row, and their aging star quarterback, Jack "Cap" Rooney (an out-of-shape Dennis Quaid, looking much different from the star running back he played in the 1988 film "Everybody's All-American"), is out for the rest of the year due to a knee injury. To make matters even worse for D'Amato, the team's new owner, Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) is more focused on her income than the actual players. Christina is the daughter of Tony's mentor, Jack Pagniacci, who had treated him like a member of the family. Christina, on the other hand, doesn’t even view him as a friend.
Tony is forced to turn to the team's third-string QB, Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) after his two top passers go down with knee injuries within minutes of each other. Beamen has little patience with D'Amato's playbook and starts calling his own plays in the huddle. Surprisingly, they get results and Beamen quickly becomes the toast of South Beach as he is next seen making his own rap video on Ocean Drive. Not everyone is happy, however. D'Amato feels frustrated that he cannot communicate with his new star. Running back Julian Washington (hip-hop star and St. Albans native LL Cool J) is angry because Beamen won't give him enough on-field attention for him to earn his lucrative endorsement deals.
The acting in "Any Given Sunday" is terrific. Al Pacino wisely avoids trying to be the second coming of Vince Lombardi, and the Tony D'Amato character possesses a similar personality to that of the Mayor Pappas character that Pacino portrayed in the 1996 box office flop, "City Hall." The only time when Pacino really seems like a traditional football coach is when he gives some Bill Parcells-like half-time and pre-game speeches.
The breakout performance, however, is turned in by Jamie Foxx, who seems to have modeled the swaggering confident Willie Beamen after Jets' wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Until now, Jamie Foxx has been best known for starring in the 1997 film, "Booty Call," which was universally panned by critics, and for his little-watched eponymous sitcom on the WB Network. His appearance in this film should do for his career what "Jerry Maguire" did for Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Even though this film runs over 160 minutes, we don't get enough of James Woods and longtime character actor John C. McGinley. Woods, who always brings fiendish delight to sleazy characters, is in his milieu once again as Dr. Harvey Mandrake, a doctor who will do whatever it takes to get players back on the field, regardless of long-term medical risks. McGinley is a hoot as egomaniacal sportswriter Jack Rose.
New York football fans will be surprised to find that old No. 56, "LT" Lawrence Taylor, has an important acting role here. He plays Luther Lavay, a blitzing linebacker who continues to play even when his doctors say that he is at risk for paralysis or even death from the next violent tackle.
"Any Given Sunday" entertains, but like a lot of football games these days, it drags on after some time. One cannot help compare this film with the aforementioned "North Dallas Forty," and when the final whistle is blown, "Any Given Sunday" is a good touchdown and a field goal behind its predecessor.
Starring: Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz & Jamie Foxx
Directed by: Oliver Stone
reviewed by Lloyd Carroll
