Review of Jerry Maguire (1996) by Liam C — 21 Mar 2015

This film is so perfectly written, acted and directed that it feels like it is based off of a true story; and funnily enough when I saw the name of the film and looked at its poster, it very much looks like it is a biopic. Think about it, the down-on-his-luck protagonist whose name is the title of the film that only has a few people on his side with the one last client that everything depends on, it just screams true story, even if that also screams clichéd but life can be like that sometimes, as well as a Hollywood script, but nevertheless 'Jerry Maguire' is an excellent film. However, if this was based on a true story, I don't think the opening where he gets his epiphany would have happened as fast as it did in this. I really can't stress enough how excellent this script is and if 'Fargo' had been released in another year, I could see this easily winning an Oscar. The story was excellent, very well rounded and genre bending that had a little bit of everything in it and the dialogue was so well written that I was just hanging on to every word, I was really invested in this world. Everyone knows the classic catchphrases and quotable lines from this film, even if they don't know what the film is and at one point Jerry says, 'Truth, can you handle it?', and I refuse to believe that was just a coincidence. I remember watching a compilation of famous quotes a very long time ago and before I knew any better I thought the line, 'Love means never having to say you're sorry', came from this, just because of how it was all edited, but of course, we all know where that comes from.

I feel like this film is one you are either going to love very much or not care about at all and I hate saying things like that because whenever people have said, 'you're either going to love it or hate it', I've always found myself saying, 'I thought it was just okay' but the reason is because the reviews I have read that are negative all seem to say the same thing: That the film was a chick flick disguised as a sports movie or that if Jerry really wanted to do good he would have gotten another job and I feel like that's a tad cynical, the film is totally feel good but it's the best kind of feel good and it totally earns its emotions that it wants from the audience. The acting is outstanding by everyone, Tom Cruise gives an excellent performance and his character goes on a very exhausting and powerful journey and Cruise's range of emotions aptly convey this and he really gives weight to everything. Renée Zellweger did a great job in one of her early big breakout films, she had been working a while before, but when she was signed on to this film, she didn't even have enough money to take out of the bank, but this was one of the big ones, same for Cameron Crowe, the director, as this was his first film to really get out there. Cuba Gooding Jr. was just so fun to watch, his exuberance just made me smile so much and won a well deserved Oscar. Jonathan Lipnicki should have gotten an Oscar for just how nice it was to see him interact with Cruise et al, and this was his first film! He was one of the better child actors at the time and he really had quite a lot to do in this film and he did a great job. When he first showed up on screen, I was thinking, 'is that who I think it is?', and I was right, he's also another child actor that didn't just give up after only making a few films, which is nice.

My only real complaint with this film is a very minor one but some of the editing seemed very strange, sometimes there would be a quick cut whilst it looked like someone was still doing something. Or a scene in a diner where it focuses on a glass of water making you think it's going to be used to be thrown over someone because that would have made sense in context of what was going on, but it doesn't happen. And sometimes it faded to black, but not too often and as the film went on, it stopped. I understand it's a nitpick but that's all I can fault it for. It looked like the film had three end points where it could have wrapped up as the way each of the three scenes end look like a fitting finale, the scene in the house, (which would certainly have been a very sweet end but it would have left out a very crucial plot point), the deal in the interview and in the park but I like the order they are in and it just ends so well. The film has a very good timeless quality to it, even though it is so clearly the '90s but I find that endearing about it, it feels like a film that could have only been made in the time it was made and the beautiful cinematography really enforces that. Sure, the concept of the film could be made today but it wouldn't have the same quality about it that makes this what it is. I wanted this film to go on longer and that's an absolutely huge compliment towards it but that's just how I feel about it and it is also a film that makes handshakes look totally satisfying. With an excellent script, perfectly written characters and loving direction, 'Jerry Maguire', is just so perfectly put together and is an absolute wonder of a film.