Review of Jerry Maguire (1996) by Oliver C — 29 Jan 2011

In the 1960s, Buzzy Bavasi, the Dodgers gm, wouldn't even talk to the agent for Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, but a decade later, free agency and arbitration made the agent a vital part of the hot stove baseball business. By the 1990s, sports agency was a well-oiled machine, which made it an inevitable breeding ground for Hollywood stories. This one, in particular, featured input from well-known sports agents Lee Steinberg and Jeffrey Moorad.

It's not a bad story, with the villains being other sports agents, some players, and even Kelly Preston, playing the first girlfriend of Jerry Maguire. The love story between Maguire and his assistant overtakes the story, as it is prone to do so in a Hollywood extravaganza. Nevertheless, it is an interesting look into the human side of the business that is often wrought with leagalese and number crunching.