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Review

Jerry Maguire

Director

Cameron Crowe

Year

1996

Rating

Reviewed by

Gon C Curiel a.k.a. Groucho

Review date

Thursday, January 01, 2004

Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a hotshot sports agent who has everything a man could wish for: Professional success, a gorgeous fiancée (Kelly Preston) and a shiny future in every way. However, one day, in the midst of this tumultuous existence, Jerry is attacked by his conscience in the way that he realizes how empty and dehumanized it all has gotten to be. He remembers the words of his mentor, Dicky Fox (Jared Jussim) and writes a memo, or “mission statement” as he prefers to call it, depicting his thoughts on this, and how he thinks the agency he works for should handle less clients, and earn less money, in order to give personal attention to each client, thus making everyone happier, even themselves. The memo, after being read by the whole office, gives Maguire cheers and applause. It also gets him fired.

Now Jerry must try to keep as many clients as he can, in order to stay in business. He’s willing to keep them and treat them as he thinks they deserve, and he really thinks he’s capable of handling his own business. Quite unfortunately, he manages to keep only one client—temperamental football player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.). What’s even worse, only one person from the agency quits to join him on his quest—idealist single mom Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger).

This movie is a mixture of countless genres, not giving one more importance than any other. It could be catalogued as a romantic comedy, but there are strong doses of drama as well. Cameron Crowe’s screenplay is so complex, it’s nearly exhausting, but it’s also fully satisfying. This movie is a bittersweet look as a man who’s born again, and every person around who has something to do with that transformation. There’s not one single character who’s not complex. Cameron Crowe, as writer/director, is simply amazing.

The cast is first-rate. Cruise simply couldn’t be better as Jerry, in fact, this could be called the role of his life (so far). Zellweger was almost a newcomer at the time, and what a find she was! Gooding had struggled for years as well, and here he found the right spotlight to show how good he is. Other members of the cast who shine as well are Jonathan Lipnicki as Zellweger’s little son, Bonnie Hunt as her sister, and many more.

This movie is also memorable for having quite a few memorable scenes, which mix dialogue with storyline and performances in a very special way. Those include the “Show me the money” classic, the “You complete me” moments, and the “Help me help you” struggle.

Great choice in music and endless pop culture references frame this great movie, only marred by occasional lulls that slow it down. Nevertheless, it’s a true winner that I truly love.

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Other reviews of Jerry Maguire (1996): Morris