Any Given Sunday (1999): Oliver Stone’s Sports Movie, Starring Pacino, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, Jamie Foxx

In Any Given Sunday, two-time Oscar winner Oliver Stone takes on professional football, a new subject for him.

The movie’s tale is elevated by the appealing all-star cast.

Al Pacino plays Tony D’Amato, the head coach of the Miami Sharks, who won back-to-back championships four years ago.  Early on, he is contrasted with the new, aggressive team owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), who has little enthusiasm or patience for the finer points of the game. Matter of fact, she is only concerned with the bottom line.

The longtime strongman of Tony’s team has been “Cap” Rooney (Dennis Quaid), a 39-year-old quarterback, but Christina refuses to renew his contract. When Cap is injured during a game, third-string rookie quarterback Willie Beaman (Jamie Foxx) goes on in his place and becomes a major star.

But Beaman is mostly interested in fame and money, and he has little regard for Tony and team work.his teammates.

Any Given Sunday also stars James Woods as the team’s doctor, LL Cool J as a star running back, Jim Brown as a former football great turned Sharks’ defensive coordinator, Ann-Margret as Christina’s alcoholic mother, Bill Bellamy as a wide receiver, Elizabeth Berkley as Tony’s favorite prostitute, and Charlton Heston as the football commissioner.

Like other Stone pictures, Any Given Sunday is over-plotted and overlong, running close to 3 hours!

Credits

MPAA: R

Running time: 165 Minutes.

CAST

Al Pacino as Tony D’Amato