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I
had hopes that this all-star cast, topped by Al Pacino, would pull
off a miracle and actually be a palatable film about people, hope,
miracles or something else, and not merely a documentary about
football. I was banking on Pacino. Pacino never let me down
before.
And
in his gritty, over-the-top style, Oliver Stone delivers on this
film about life in pro football. Pacino plays coach Tony
D'Amato of an NFL expansion league team from Miami called
"The Sharks." Although there is no NFL team called the
Sharks, this is the only false note in a movie that seemingly
captures the rough lifestyle and gamestyle of this heady sport.
Currently
the Sharks are in a slump, having lost their last four games and
desperately in need of a winning streak to propel them into the
playoffs. D’Amato is pitted against the owner and general
manager of the team, ruthless Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz),
in an all-out struggle for control and dominance of these players
and this promising team.
The
team is wracked by life and career-threatening injuries. In the
opening scene, quarterback Jack Rooney (Dennis Quaid) is knocked
out of the game with a back injury that might end his ability to
play. His second-string replacement is taken out with a serious
knee injury in the very same game, leaving only the third-string,
five-year benched quarterback-hopeful, Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx),
to fill this key leadership spot. In a dismal start, Beamen takes
to the field, vomits up his socks in the middle of the playing
field and throws away the ball in his next three plays.
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Beamen
works out his troubles after an orientation with coach D’Amato and
wins the next games, taking the Sharks to the playoffs. He begins to
lose everything when the yardage, the completed passes and his success
in the running game goes to his head. He throws away his relationship
with his girlfriend, throws away his relationship with the team, and
dismisses everyone around him as old, incompetent or all used up. And
each game he takes to the field and there delivers his signature to
the crowd: throwing up his breakfast.
This
film is multi-dimensional: It depicts the football lifestyle in
relationships, the football lifestyle in the high-stakes arena of
ownership and management, the party scene, and locker room hijinks.
There are injuries, dishonest doctors, football groupies,
$1,000-a-night hookers, and big-money homes, cars and living. And this
movie dares to tell the truth about the dangers, the stress and the
unhealthy desires that money, fame, power and raw testosterone bring.
Stone delivers.
In
this film, Stone delivers you right into the heart of the action, the
adulation and the roar of the crowd. There is never a quiet or dull
moment in this film as Pacino erupts, Diaz corruptly manipulates,
players collide on the field, assistant coaches pursue greatness and
the opponents threaten.
Early
in this movie Stone elicits sympathy for this team, admiration for
this coach and the desire to succeed. Through this story, you learn
that winning, competition and dedication are more important than
money, and winning is second to respect.
Even
if you don’t really like football, this movie is worth seeing. If
you are a football fan, this movie will enthrall you. I recommend it
with reservation, and for its depiction of truth give it 4 stars out
of 5.
[midge]
midge@lincolndailynews.com
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