Review of Jerry Maguire (1996) by Trevor R — 30 Mar 2013

Cameron Crowe said "Jerry Maguire" is meant to begin where an inspiring 80's dramady would end. He's knowingly playing with some tired tropes here, and there's no doubt that things get very, very schmaltzy-- but by golly, it works.

Jerry the character nicely embraces the inherent celebrity pompousness of Tom the actor, and I really think it's one of Cruise's better performances. It's also perhaps his most Tom Cruisian, for lack of a better term (It seems P.

T. Anderson similarly saw the potential in this when he cast Cruise in "Magnolia"). I'm particularly fond of the scene in the hotel room, where he answers the phone as Cush and speaks to Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr, deliciously despicable without being a cartoon).

It's great stuff. The central relationship between Jerry and Renee Zelwegger's Dorothy deals with some hard issues with intelligence and maturity, and the journey to happiness and reconciliation of these two terribly damaged people is well-earned.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is loads of fun. Lil' Jonathan Lipnicki is a riot. "Jerry Maguire" is by no means a revolutionary work, but it's colorful, funny, and oh-so romantic.