Review of Jerry Maguire (1996) by Gabrielle B — 23 Sep 2010
Sports agent Jerry Maguire has it all in life - except he really doesn't. He has an attractive fiancee, a friendly group of friends, and that first class plane ticket with the extra glass of orange juice.
He also has a problem with emotional intimacy that all of his ex-girlfriends will attest to. He and his fiancee have naked conversations and purport to share everything with the idea that knowing a person's life story forges a connection. He is a sports agent because he cares about sports, yet he neglects the values that would make him respect and love his job because those values are not commonplace in that business. This is Jerry's problem. He is almost, but not quite, what he wants to be.
An attack of conscience and a slice of bad pizza late at night have him writing down all of the things he has repressed, and jumping in. Predictably, he loses everything, fiancee, friends, and job. His shallow life is gone, and this has Jerry noticably whacked. Tom Cruise does a great job of playing the i've-fallen-off-the-edge, passionate, hug-craving Jerry.
The transformation from cold shallow sports agent to emotional, cracked, truly affectionate-to-the-point-of-sappiness, golly gee apple pie live with your heart and inspire people is quite believable, because one gets the sense that this is the person Jerry has had inside of himself all along, but somehow along the way it was twisted.
"We live in a cynical, cynical world," says Jerry. People always talk about the "Show me the money," scene, but that quote is really the heart of the film. Having the courage to care less about the money, to be yourself, to care about people, want quality over quantity in what you do, love and live well. THAT is what Jerry Maguire is really about. The sports agent thing is just a very appropriate plot. And ironically, Rod, Jerry's one and only client, is shown the money when he does just that, and becomes a fan favorite in a moment of spontaneous joy.
Tom Cruise is hated by many and love by many also, but theres one thing no one can deny, that if he gets a good part he can deliver.
And he did that here,.
To finish I must say this a great film, and Crowe delivers on every posible way, oh and I almost forget, "You had me at Hello!!!".
This review of Jerry Maguire (1996) was written by Gabrielle B on 23 Sep 2010.
Jerry Maguire has generally received very positive reviews.
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