Review of Jerry Maguire (1996) by Gregory G — 20 Jun 2014

The ruthless enterprise of sports agents is the setting for this wildly popular, transparent romantic comedy by writer, co-producer, and director Cameron Crowe. Inspired by real-life agent Leigh Steinberg, Tom Cruise stars in the title role as a sports agent whose need for scrupulous self-improvement makes him a persona non grata; leaving him with one client, a cocksure football player (Cuba Gooding, Jr.

), and an employee, a single mother (Renee Zellweger), to help him regain his footing. Turning integrity into a rationalization for competition is the ultimate in hypocrisy. Crowe has an ear for dialogue and several lines became widely quoted, but there were also distracting moments where he went for the cheap laugh.

The filmmaking doesn't have enough zest to sustain our interest for the two hour and twenty minute running time. Cruise is more alive than usual but disappears into acting flourishes; Gooding is flamboyantly funny; Zellweger is radiant as the bland love interest.

In some of the smaller roles there is fine work by Bonnie Hunt as Zellweger's pragmatic sister, Regina King as Gooding's supportive wife, and Kelly Preston as Cruise's blunt fiancée. Six-year-old Jonathan Lipnicki got a lot of laughs by mugging for the camera.

Gooding won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. Cinematography is by Janusz Kaminski; music is by Nancy Wilson; James L Brooks is one of the producers. With Jay Mohr, Jerry O'Connell, Beau Bridges, and Eric Stoltz.