Movie Review – Any Given Sunday (1999)

The professional level of football is one of the most intense sports in the world.

Those athletes are modern day gladiators, warriors of the gridiron.  To successfully play (and survive) at this level requires absolute strength, ability, and intelligence on the playing field.

And when it comes to the professional players off the field, for many of them it includes lavish parties, hot women, being the center of attention in the media, and a fair share of drugs as well.  For the ultimate highs on the field you’ll find the ultimate lows off of it.

Any Given Sunday, a 1999 football film directed by Oliver Stone, takes the audience into the darker side of football and what it takes to survive playing at that level.  In the film we see the starting quarterback get injured in the second half of the season.  He’s replaced by the second-string quarterback who gets injured the next play.  So it’s up to the third-string quarterback to not only prove himself but also survive on the playing field.  We see the inexperienced quarterback make a name for himself but at the cost of alienating his teammates and coaches.  Glory and stardom go to his head and it threatens to tear apart the team, just as they’re reaching the playoffs.

Any Given Sunday stars Al Pacino as the Miami Sharks’ head coach Tony D’Amato, an aging man who has won a championship with the team.  Cameron Diaz plays the role of Christina Pagniacci, the new owner and general manager of the team.  Christina inherited the football team from her father when he recently passed away.  She demands changes to the team, and if the city of Miami won’t build them a new stadium then she’ll move the team to Los Angeles.  Dennis Quaid is Jack “Cap” Rooney, the experienced quarterback who’s injured and forced to watch the game from the sidelines.  He only has a year or two left before retiring from the sport.  Jamie Foxx has the role of “Steamin’ ” Willie Beamen, the third-string quarterback who quickly becomes a star when he gains his confidence and shows off his skills on the field.  However, he’s also young and lets his ego get the best of him, and it nearly destroys the team.

Supporting them are James Woods as Dr. Harvey Mandrake, the team’s somewhat unethical physician; LL Cool J as Julian “J-Man” Washington, the team’s running back; Lawrence Taylor as Luther “Shark” Lavay, the captain of the defense; Jim Brown as Montezuma Monroe, the Defensive Coordinator; Aaron Eckhart as Nick Crozier, the Offensive Coordinator and future head coach; Matthew Modine as Dr. Oliver Powers, the assistant doctor; John C. McGinley as Jack Rose, a sports reporter who despises Coach D’Amato; Elizabeth Berkley as Mandy Murphy, a prostitute; and finally Charlton Heston as the Commissioner of the league.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Any Given Sunday follows the Miami Sharks as they play in the second half of the 2001 season.  The Sharks play in the Associated Football Franchises of America (AFFA), and they’re striving to make the playoffs and earn another Pantheon Cup Championship.  It’s been four years since Miami last won the championship, and the team’s owner, the media, and the fans are wondering if head coach Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) has what it takes to earn another championship.

The film opens in the second quarter in a game against the Minnesota Americans.  The Sharks have lost their last three games, but they’re still in the hunt for the playoffs.  Starting quarterback Jack Rooney (Dennis Quaid) takes a serious hit and is injured.  He has to be helped off the field and taken back to the locker room for imaging.  D’Amato sends in the second-string quarterback, Tyler Cherubini, but he’s also hit hard and is taken out of the game.

Now it’s up to the third-string quarterback Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx).  Beamen has been passed between several teams in the league for the past few years, but he’s seen little (if any) actual playing time.  In the huddle Beamen pukes, something that becomes a tradition for him during the remaining games.  Beamen’s inexperience shows as he not only doesn’t know the plays, but he also throws an interception before halftime.

Coach D’Amato gives the team a rousing pep talk during halftime, and in the second half they start playing better.  The Sharks make a comeback but ultimately lose the game to the Minnesota Americans.  Now they have four losses in a row and it’s seriously questioned if they’ll be making the playoffs.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

After the game, D’Amato drinks away his problems at an up-scale bar.  It doesn’t help matters that Jack Rose (John C. McGinley), a prestigious and somewhat obnoxious sports reporter, is riding D’Amato’s case and throwing insults and jeers at the head coach.  A high-profile prostitute named Mandy Murphy (Elizabeth Berkley) tries to cheer up Tony D’Amato, for a fee, but he rejects her.  This time.

Following the fourth loss in a row, team owner and general manager Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) has serious doubts about the future of this team with the way that head coach D’Amato is running things.  He’s been successful in the past, but she believes that he’s past his prime and on his way out of the game.  Her financial advisor is pushing for Christina to sell the team while people are making good offers.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Christina has D’Amato come to her house for a meeting, and she questions his intensity and play calling skills.  They won the championship four years ago, and now they’re a second-tier team.  She pushes for him to trade both Jack Rooney and Shark and bring new talent into the team.  D’Amato argues that her father never interfered with the team they way that she’s doing now, but she reminds him that back then D’Amato was a fighter and had intensity.  It’s no longer the case these days.

The next game has the Chicago Rhinos versus the Miami Sharks.  It’s near the end of the second quarter and Tyler Cherubini can’t find him rhythm on the field.  The Shark’ defense steps up and “Shark” Lavay (Lawrence Taylor) blitzes, sacking the Chicago quarterback and causing a fumble.  The Sharks recover the ball.  As Lavay gets up from the field, we see that he’s having some vision problems.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Coach D’Amato puts Beamen back into the game.  When Beamen tries to run the designated play, he runs into trouble against the defense.  The only way he seems to have any success is when using his athletic ability to run around and basically play backyard football.  He does what he wants to out there and just tries to make things work.  This infuriates some of his teammates.

But it works.

Beamen is able to score a touchdown and boost his confidence.  Coach D’Amato questions Beamen on why he isn’t running the called plays correctly, but Beamen just shrugs it off.  As long as his version works then the coaches can’t do anything about it.  In the second half of the game Beamen is calling his own custom plays, ignoring whatever the coach or offensive coordinator may want to run.  The Sharks win the game and the media treats Beamen like a hero.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

At some point after the game there’s a social event where the mayor (Clifton Davis) honors the Miami Sharks and everything they’ve done to help keep kids away from drugs.  The mayor is interested in meeting Willie Beamen, not the veteran quarterback Jack Rooney.  Willie’s girlfriend, Vanessa (Lela Rochon), is concerned that the stardom is getting to Willie’s head.  He’s become more aggressive and arrogant, and at the party he spends his time socializing with the other women.  Vanessa is also being snubbed by the players’ wives as she’s not married to Beamen, and her name hasn’t been mentioned yet by the media.  As far as they are concerned, Vanessa is a nobody.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

The team flies across the country for their next game.  Willie is sitting by himself and listening to rap music on the flight.  Coach D’Amato sits next to Willie and tries to talk to him.  After Willie mentions that his father is gone, D’Amato reveals that he lost his father when he was also a child.  D’Amato’s father died in World War II.  Still, Beamen doesn’t want to talk to his coach.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Willie Beamen is the starting quarterback for the Sharks when they play against the California Crusaders.  Things aren’t going well for the Sharks in the first half, and Beamen argues with the team’s star running back, Julian Washington (LL Cool J).  After the offense coughs up a fumble (on a busted play that also injures one of their teammates), Beamen and Washington argue with each other on the sideline.

The Sharks improve their score in the second half and win the game, sending them to the playoffs.  If they can win the next game against New York, they’ll secure home field advantage.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

The problems with Willie Beamen, though, continue to grow worse.  While the players are celebrating in the locker room, Washington has a meeting with coach D’Amato, offensive coordinator Nick Crozier (Aaron Eckhart), and quarterback Jack Rooney.  Washington is upset that Beamen’s style of play is not only reckless, but it’s taking away Washington’s number of carries with the football.  He just signed a big endorsement deal, but until he hits 2,000 yards of rushing this season, then the deal is void.  That’s an extra million dollars that Washington is trying to earn.

Rooney agrees with Washington.  He says that Beamen is lazy, he doesn’t know the playbook, nor is he coming in to study the game films.  He has no regard for his fellow players.  Washington confirms this and tells the coach how Beamen continually changes the designated play while in the huddle.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

The next week is a bye, and the players take it easy and have fun.  The media focuses its attention onto Willie Beamen, placing him on the cover of several sport magazines.  It goes one step further when Beamen stars in his own rap music video.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Jack Rooney pushes himself to recover from his back injury from the Minnesota game, but coach D’Amato notices him struggling in practice.  Despite Beamen’s attitude and sloppy passing ability, he tells Rooney to sit back and take a break.  There’s no point in further straining himself going into the last game of the season when the team already secured a position in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Dr. Harvey Mandrake (James Woods) has Luther “Shark” Lavay undergo a CAT scan.  He’s had several concussions and they need to know the extent of any damage to his brain.  The bottom line is that Christina Pagniacci wants Lavay playing in the playoffs.  They can always cut him in the off season.  She advises Harvey to tell coach D’Amato “what he needs to know.”

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Willie Beamen is interviewed by Jack Rose on his sports show, and Willie discusses the racism in professional football.  Willie is upset that although black players make up the majority of players in the league, there have only been a few black head coaches and no black team owners.  It’s all about skin color according to Willie Beamen.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Coach D’Amato invites Willie Beamen to his home for dinner.  It’s actually an informal meeting that several players have attended during their career with the coach.  The discussion begins to turn sour when D’Amato brings up Beamen changing the plays on the field.  He’s not analyzing the defense and calling an audible at the line, but he’s changing the actual play while still in the huddle.  Doing so shows extreme disrespect to a lot of people in the organization.

Willie Beam states that he’s just trying to win.  D’Amato counters and tells Willie that the game itself is about more than just winning.  It’s about being part of a legacy.  But Willie doesn’t care about that stuff.  D’Amato informs Willie that Rooney, and not him, will be starting in the playoffs.  Rooney is a team player who knows the system and the playbook.

This infuriates Willie as he was the winning quarterback for the past two games.  Apparently it doesn’t matter that Rooney won the other games in the season.  Willie says that Rooney’s time is over and the game has changed.  It’s up to D’Amato to take some risks and play with a different style.

Willie then goes into his own history about how he unknowingly took a suit from a booster back in college, and the NCAA came down hard on him.  It cost him dearly in the draft as teams considered him a rule breaker.  That trend continued as Willie was transferred from team to team and not used to his full potential.

Coach D’Amato yells at Willie because of his attitude, reminding him that he’s not a hotshot receiver but a quarterback.  He’s supposed to be the leader of the team.  Willie doesn’t agree with this because once Rooney is healed, then Willie will be back on the bench.  Since that’s his fate, Willie tells the coach that he’s going to continue with his attitude and playing football the way he feels.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

This poor attitude of Willie Beamen’s continues when he attends a lavish house party.  Beamen disrespects his teammates and this causes another clash between him and Washington.  Washington tells Beamen that he has to earn the right to disrespect his fellow players, and he hasn’t earned it yet.

While Willie and his attitude are upstairs, Washington heads down and tells Lavay about Beamen’s behavior.  This infuriates Lavay, and he takes a power saw and cuts Beamen’s car in half.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

The team plays at home against the New York Emperors during the last regular game of the season.  It may be pouring rain, but Willie Beamen’s poor attitude has hurt the team more than the weather ever could.  The Miami Sharks get destroyed by the New York Emperors, and Miami loses home field advantage in the playoffs.  Tensions spread to the locker room, and Beamen and Washington get into a fight.

One day before practice, Dr. Oliver Powers (Matthew Modine) meets with Lavay, Montezuma Monroe (Jim Brown) and coach D’Amato in the coach’s office.  Oliver has learned that Lavay’s neck injury never healed correctly.  The wrong type of hit against him can cause everything from a seizure to sudden death.  Oliver recommends that Lavay no longer play football.

Unfortunately, Lavay is more concerned about receiving a huge bonus.  All he needs is one sack and three more tackles.  He’s sure that he can do that against Dallas in the playoffs.  Both Montezuma and D’Amato try to convince Lavay not to play, but Shark continues insisting that he’s needed and will take the risk and continue to play.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

They head onto the practice field, and Tony D’Amato confronts Harvey about keeping Lavay’s CAT scan results a secret.  Harvey tries to defend himself, claiming that no matter what Lavay was going to insist on keep playing out there.  He argues that he’s not going to stand in a player’s way of living their dream.  D’Amato doesn’t agree and Harvey is fired.  Oliver is then made the team’s physician.

After firing Harvey, Jack Rose tries to do a quick interview with Tony D’Amato.  D’Amato is still furious about Harvey’s actions, and he hits Jack and pushes him into a dugout.  His actions were caught on camera by Jack’s cameraman.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Later, when Jack Rooney is having a cookout at home, Tony D’Amato pays him a visit.  He informs Jack that he’ll be the starting quarterback in the upcoming game against Dallas.  The problem is that Jack wants out of the game.  He’s been playing hard his entire career, and those years of injuries are finally catching up with him.  Tony convinces Jack that his team needs him, and Jack reluctantly agrees to play against Dallas.

Jack’s revelation to his coach becomes a heated argument with his wife Cindy (Lauren Holly).  Cindy is furious that Jack wants to quit the game after this season.  She knows that he still has two or three years left in him before retiring.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

The team finishes preparing for their game against Dallas, and then they head out to Texas.  Coach D’Amato makes a rousing speech before the game and the Sharks storm onto the playing field.  The game progresses and the Sharks find themselves down 21-10 late in the second quarter.  Jack Rooney leads his Sharks down the field and runs in for a touchdown despite taking a severe hit from the defense.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Rooney is too injured to continue, so D’Amato switches to Willie Beamen.  While walking to the playing field he gives Willie a bunch of tips on how to properly read the defense.  It’s a crash course for becoming a better player.  As far as becoming a better teammate, that’s up to Beamen to solve.

D’Amato’s tips work and Beamen is able to read the defense and counter their moves.  The Sharks’ offense is able to march down the field and score a touchdown.  During one of the plays, Dallas’s star defensive back is hit so hard that his eye is popped out.  The medical staff carefully pick it up and place it on ice.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

Late in the fourth the score is close and Dallas has possession of the ball.  The go for it on a fourth down play, knowing that if they can gain a first down then they’ll win the game.  Lavay goes all out on a blitz and stops the runner short of the first down mark.  The problem is that, like Oliver warned, Lavay hit the Dallas player the wrong way.  Lavay is knocked out though it looks like he’s dead.  As the coaches and medical staff check him, Lavay finally opens his eyes and asks if the sacked the guy.  After being informed that he did, Lavay has a big grin as he’s carted off the field.  He knows that he just earned a huge bonus at the cost of his health.

Since Dallas didn’t convert on the fourth down play, Miami now has possession of the ball.  Willie Beamen leads the offense down the field, and they score their game-winning touchdown in the last couple of seconds.  Miami advances to the next round of the playoffs!

Any Given Sunday (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

The film then jumps to the end of the season as coach Tony D’Amato gives a farewell speech to the media.  We learn that although Miami won their next game and advanced to the finals, they lost the championship game to San Francisco.  During his speech D’Amato drops a bombshell.  He’s not retiring.  D’Amato will instead be the head coach and general manager for a new franchise team out in New Mexico.  On top of that Willie Beamen will be his franchise quarterback.

Any Given Sunday ends as Christina Pagniacci and the media are stunned by Tony D’Amato’s announcement.

So is Any Given Sunday a good film?

As a whole, Any Given Sunday is a great film that takes a look at the intensity in the world of professional football.  We see how big money, lucrative contracts, drugs, hot women, stardom, and even a crooked medical doctor can all have negative effects on the players themselves.

We see the rise in Willie Beamen’s stardom while he simultaneously falls amongst his coach and teammates.  He allows his poor and selfish attitude to get the best of him.  Does he really learn from this experience in the end?  Allegedly he does, but it’s not really shown in the film.  Any Given Sunday is dominated by Willie’s incredibly selfish attitude, and in the end he’s rewarded by becoming a franchise quarterback.

Don’t look for this film to be a role model to aspiring NFL players.  If anything, the film promotes the lavish lifestyle and bad behavior that occur with some of the players.  We see them doing drugs, being with multiple women, living the fast life, and there are no consequences.  The biggest negative effect we see is Lavay receiving a significant injury in the final game, all because he was trying to earn a financial bonus.

Any Given Sunday (1999) – movie trailer

Any Given Sunday will be enjoyed by many football fans.  While the message in the film is certainly questionable (remember that it is an Oliver Stone film), the film itself is of high quality, and the cast list is quite impressive.  There are a lot of familiar faces in this film.

Tony D’Amato – “On any given Sunday you’re gonna win or you’re gonna lose. The point is – can you win or lose like a man?”

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Willie Beamen – “I’m trying to win coach. I ain’t trying to disrespect nobody, but winning is the only thing I respect.”

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Tony D’Amato – “You’re a goddamn quarterback! You know what that means? It’s the top spot, kid. It’s the guy who takes the fall. It’s the guy everybody’s looking at first – the leader of a team – who will support you when they understand you. Who will break their ribs and their noses and their necks for you, because they believe. ‘Cause you make them believe. That’s a quarterback.”

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Tony D’Amato – “That’s what a leader’s about: sacrifice. The times he’s gotta sacrifice because he’s gotta lead, by example. Not by fear and not by self-pity.”

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Commissioner – [of Christina Pagniacci] “I honestly believe that woman would eat her own young.”