Any Given Sunday was just plain bad. Oliver Stone's latest attempt at
portraying falls flat on all sides. The main plot is screamingly simple
and
predictable, with the legend falling out and the new hot shot realizing
it's
all about the team. In an attempt to keep the movie interesting, Stone
pulls
in big name talent to spice up the movie. The problem is that these
plots
trail off into nothingness, creating a complicated web of stories a-la
Quentin Tarentino, without the good graces to tie them in. There is the
orthopedist (James Woods) who puts injured players into the game, the
orthopedists assistant (Mathew Modine) who has a conflict of interest
when it
comes to giving the players painkillers, the hooker (Elizabeth Berkley)
who
sleeps with the Pacino as a way for him to feel old, the legends wife
(Lauren
Holly), who refuses to let her husband retire, the league president
(Charleton Heston) who serves as a metaphor for the old timers along
with
inter-cut scenes from Ben Hur, the owners mother (Ann Margret) who is
secretly in love with Pacino and a myriad of players and coaches
(cameos by
Lawrence Taylor, Jim Brown, Dennis Quaid, and LL Cool J), each with
their own
story. Nothing ever happens with these characters though.
Next we move on to the Directing. In an attempt to make the
football
sequences seem more realistic, the camera shakes. Problem is the camera
shakes uncontrollably even before the game sequences. Whether it's
crowd
shots or locker scenes, the camera is in constant motion, loosing the
so
called "action" sequences. Relating back to the Ben Hur metaphor, the
big
game is inter-cut with the famous chariot race. And in the final play
of the
championship game, the final four seconds are drawn out into 60+
seconds of
lightning and flashes from a 1950's football game (Al Pacino plays his
father, who in yet another plot line is a deceased old time player).
Also
inter-cut are flashes of the crowds from these 50-'s games, needlessly
causing seizures and displeasure.
The moral of the story is that the team should transcend all,
whether it
be money, playing time, or even winning the game. When the main
character,
Willie Beaman (a decent acting job by Jamie Foxx) has his great
realization,
the audience applauds. I just couldn't do that. In a three hour movie
the
first two and a half hours showed him beating his girlfriend, throwing
her
out of his house, disobeying the coach, and mocking and fighting with
the
players. Then all of he sudden he reunites with his girlfriend and
comes in
to win the big game. At no point did I want this character to win, or
even to
play. He was smug and arrogant.
There is one thing that needs to be said though. This movie was not
made
for a person like me to view. It was designed and engineered for the
"urban"
population to enjoy. Stone did the same thing with films like "JFK" and
"Platoon".
Two bright spots in the movie. There was a Moby song in the
soundtrack
and Lawrence Taylor had a great speech about being great then falling
down.
Three years ago there would have been a third bright spot, that being
Elizabeth Berkley in the nude, but that's already been over done.
---
Stephen Pause
1.31.2000
Dairy Farmers For Quebec's Independence