Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Any Given Sunday'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Often times when it comes to football, we as the fans only see the basics. We know how well the players on our favorite teams can play and we revel in the glory when things go right and we hang our heads in shame when things go wrong. We are simply tied to the results on the field, and rarely see beyond that.

We don't see the work that goes in day to day, the discussions that coaches have with their players. The struggles they face with injury or the pressure that management places on the team, and most importantly we are rarely privy to the most important part of the game...what it means to the people who are part of it. Thankfully Director Oliver Stone felt the need to delve into all those unseen aspects of professional football with his film, Any Given Sunday.

The Miami Sharks have seen better days. This once proud franchise has been to the top but now...it's barely mediocre. Its star quarterback is nearing the end of his career. Its passionate owner has been replaced by his finance obsessed daughter and Head Coach Tony D'Amato, once viewed as an offensive genius is now considered nothing more than a dinosaur in the game. But a stroke of unfortunate luck will jump start the franchise when dynamic quarterback Willie Beamen takes the field and leads the team to victory once again, throwing everyone's world upside down.  

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​This is a film that was considered controversial upon its initial release simply because the world that it portrayed, one that supposedly took us behind the scenes of professional football, was one that was...unpleasant to say the least. This is a world where the players love their women, their drugs and their good times through and through and the ownership side of the ball could care less about anything outside of money and is willing to see players put in harm's way to win and those are the likely reasons as to why the NFL refused to support the film.  

But beyond the sensationalism is a detailed look at the day to day struggles that a football franchise faces. Coach D'Amato, brilliantly played by Al Pacino, is under an incredible amount of pressure to win. Quarterback Cap Rooney, played by Dennis Quaid, is working overtime to avoid having his job taken from him by Beamen (Jamie Foxx) and Willie himself is out for one thing, to be the star he always wanted to be. As those storylines come together, you're treated to a dynamic you never see on television, how eleven men on either side of the ball manage to work together as a team when in reality they are each their own man and own mind. 

But perhaps the best part of this film is the fact that it shows just how much the sport means to these men. The legacy that comes with football and how incredibly addictive the sport becomes once it gets into your blood is on display in this story. It's what keeps every single character going, despite their motivations and it makes the film special in its own way.  Because for every business-related moment the story features, or selfish decision the characters deal with or make, there's always the game looming large, and that makes for a different kind of motion picture. One that will give you a perspective on the sport, you've never had before.  

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