Jerry Maguire (1996)

Director: Cameron Crowe

Story: Cameron Crowe

Cast: Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr.

Music: Nancy Wilson

Time: 138 minutes

Bottom-line: Passionate and entertaining; Cruise at his best 

Nominated for 5 Academy Awards and winning one, Cameron Crowe’s sports drama film stars Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr. in the lead roles, with Jay Mohr and Jonathan Lipnicki in the supporting cast. Mixing humour, romance, sport and drama in the right proportions, Jerry Maguire hits all the right notes to cater to a wide audience.

 

Cruise as Maguire - yelling "Show me the money!"

“Show me the money!”

Jerry Maguire (Cruise) is a stylish 35-year-old sports agent working for “Sports Management International”. After having an epiphany, he decides to write a mission statement (not a memo!) about the dishonesty in the sports business, and decides to try a new approach where he has fewer clients, so that he can give more attention to each. SMI fires Jerry and Bob Sugar (Mohr) takes his place. As Jerry leaves, an accountant and 26-year-old single mother, Dorothy Boyd (Zellweger) agrees to join him. Sugar turns all of Jerry’s clients towards SMI, but one client, Arizona Cardinals player Rod Tidwell (Gooding Jr.) sticks with Jerry, hoping that the latter can get him a $10 million contract. As time goes, Jerry becomes close with Dorothy’s son, Ray (Lipnicki), and also breaks up with his girlfriend. Jerry and Dorothy admit their love for each other, but with both of them having precarious jobs, how will the relationship thrive?

 

Zellweger as Dorothy

While films like Raging Bull focus a lot on the sport, the story also tells how an obsession with the career can tear the family apart. On the other hand, there are the feel-good sports films like Cinderella Man (also starring Zellweger!) and Jerry Maguire. Cutting right to the chase, the main story begins within the first twenty minutes (giving sufficient character intros) with Jerry’s current post, his epiphany and him being fired all being covered. The story builds around the romantic relationship between Jerry and Dorothy, as well as the friendship between Jerry and Tidwell, as they go from being purely agent-and-client to thick friends.

 

Gooding Jr. as Tidwell

Cruise was nominated for an Oscar for his role, and Gooding Jr. went on to win in the Supporting Actor category. Carrying his natural charm and charisma, Cruise shows that he can play an emotional character as well. As he fiercely supports his client on one hand, he also lovingly cares for Dorothy and Ray on the other. Gooding Jr. is pretty impressive too, with his pumped-up energy and animated body language defining his character. Zellweger packs more emotional content into her character than everyone else put together. At times, her expression so beautifully blends happiness, love and tears (look out for the famous line “You had me at ‘hello’”).

 

Lipnicki as Ray

In a world where everyone’s after money, Jerry Maguire – even though it is scripted – makes you think how life is more than just that. Importantly, it is about people – a friend, a lover, someone who looks up to you… how each of them matter in one’s life more than what one earns in his job. Jerry Maguire is more than just a sports film; watch it and be inspired.

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 83%