ANY GIVEN SUNDAY / (1999) *1/2 (out of four)

Starring: Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine, Bill Bellamy, Andrew Bryniarski, Lela Rochon, Lauren Holly, and Aaron Eckhart. Directed by Oliver Stone. Screen story by Daniel Pyne and John Logan. Screenplay by John Logan and Oliver Stone. Executive producers: Oliver Stone and Richard Donner. Running time: 162 minutes. Rated R (for strong pervasive language, nudity, football-related violence, and some sexuality). Released by Warner Bros.

By Blake French:

Here we have a film that has the impression of watching an angry father relentlessly lecturing and yelling at this child at the mall, without a clue of passion, depth, or humanity. The movie is loud and obnoxious, not failing to leave us without throbbing memorabilia: a headache! Half of Oliver Stone’s "Any Given Sunday" is like watching a professional football game up close and personal without the dubbed profanities and explicit remarks. The other half consists of a variety of blunt, unsympathetic characters getting into one verbal fight after another for reasons never really understood. Drowned in production overkill and shamelessly using every cliché in the sports movie play book, "Any Given Sunday" is one of the most ridiculously over anticipated movies in along time.

We do not care about any of the characters here, and the actors cannot get beyond their underlying stereotypes to make the movie intriguing. There is a powerhouse cast, with Al Pacino as a traditional coach of a professional football team, who has reportedly given up "everything" for his players. Cameron Diaz plays the team's owner, who sees the sport as big business and enormous wealth. Dennis Quaid (about fifteen years too old for his role) is an aging quarterback who requires recovery time after an injury. James Woods is the shallow and egocentric physician for the team. Jamie Foxx plays one of the most hated characters ever written, a football player named Willie Beaman, who represents the younger generation, selfish, arrogant, and concerned more about publicity and popularity than his loving and gracious girlfriend (Lela Rochon).

There are plenty of flat themes here, with the main characters all learning valuable lessons about sportsmanship and leadership. Even if the production was more of a respectable attempt at a behind the scenes look into football, Stone’s direction is violent and nervous throughout. He thinks we are more interested in watching collisions on the field, sprinkled with ranting and cursing, and when the characters are not hollering at one another, the deafening soundtrack, obviously intended to inspire MTV fans, makes you cringe.

What about the football action? Are you expecting top-quality film making and expert technique to inspire us as the players play their hearts out? If so, "Any Given Sunday" is clearly not your movie. The on-field action, shot with hand-held cameras, is some of the most confusing photography witnessed in movies all year. Just when you think the shot cant get any worse, the camera changes to an even worse angle, and then returns to the original location after the important stuff has already transpired. There is no breathing room, either, it is just one aggravating, irrigating, irrational sequence after another. The ending result is impersonal and astoundingly bad.

How about the performances from the all star cast? Al Pacino fails to capture his character’s substance because, or so it seems, he has such little confidence in the writing. He comes off as dual and uninspired. Cameron Diaz cannot do a whole lot with her character either; she is engulfed in the character’s selfish disposition. Dennis Quaid is boring and undeveloped. James Woods is tedious and unintriguing. LL Cool J’s role is too small and expected. The few supporting female stars, including Lela Rochon and Lauren Holly, are seen in a sexist light. Jamie Foxx delivers a performance that feels way too much like watching him be Jamie Foxx.

"Any Given Sunday" gets credit for a equitable commercial design, aimed squarely at young male audiences. There is plenty to please the target audience, lots of off-color humor, sex appeal, bare breasts, naughty words—hey, there is even a few scenes that may interest females. Its locker room sequence where several football players bare all. The style obviously has a lot of irony and guts, but the movie itself is dead in the water.