Jerry Maguire (1996)

Directed by: Cameron Crowe | 139 minutes | action, drama, comedy, romance, sports | Actors: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt, Regina King, Jonathan Lipnicki, Todd Louiso, Mark Pellington, Jeremy Suarez, Jared Jussim, Benjamin Kimball Smith, Ingrid Bear

Some movies are timeless in the social consciousness while on their own they are not as memorable as their reputation suggests. For example, ‘A Few Good Men’ is certainly not a bad film, but the phrase “You can’t handle the truth” by a hunted Nicholson is probably all that the average movie viewer will remember from this Tom Cruise film. Even people who haven’t even seen the film are familiar with this short piece of dialogue. Another film from the 1990s starring Cruise has suffered a similar fate. ‘Jerry Maguire’, the film about an idealistic sports manager Maguire who drives a young Renée Zellweger on a whim, offers pleasant entertainment for a few hours, but would not have become as well known as it is today without a few little phrases . Because, whoever says “Jerry Maguire” (or “Jerry Ma-fucking-guire” as fiancé Kelly Preston puts his name), says “You complete me”, but above all “Show me the money!” and “You had me at hello.”

‘Jerry Maguire’ can boast no fewer than five Oscar nominations in the major categories, with the statuette being finalized for supporting actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. It is a film that puts a sore finger on the immoral aspects of the sports management industry and the American glorification of (sports) heroes and explicitly denounces the pursuit of big money. In unmistakable dialogues and imaginations, this very superficial culture of glamor and shrewd “agents” who go about bringing in an athlete who can fill the cash well is undermined. That’s quite refreshing, although it all happens in an unsubtle way. Practically from the first scene, the idealistic nature of the film becomes clear: Maguire stands at the bedside of a recently recovered injured football player, who just manages to recognize him and assures him that he will try to play an important game, because he will then have a lot of money. can get in. He will have to do this by now at the risk of his own life. The athlete’s brother glares at Maguire and calls him an asshole when he says with a smile that even a tank can’t stop his brother. It is the cause of conscience for Maguire, who writes a memo in which he argues for fair, personal treatment of customers and without letting money predominate.

From the moment Jerry writes his memo, the contrast is clearly visible between Maguire’s personal approach and the underhanded way in which his colleagues work. It gets almost slapstick and parodying at times, which in a way benefits the film. The fact that many criticisms are made so thick makes the story almost feel like a parable or fairy tale. From this point of view, the end of both the romantic and the business story is more acceptable. When Jerry eventually finds success with his lone athlete standing and he hugs Jerry first after his win, and asks an athlete under contract to fellow agent Jay Mohr why they aren’t in such a relationship, this doesn’t seem like a realistically intended moment. of Crowe, as well as an idealistic approach with a wink.

The happy ending of the romance between Dorothy (Zellweger) and Jerry can actually only be accepted by a right-thinking viewer as an ideal final image, and not as a realistic relationship. Now there’s definitely chemistry and erotic tension between Zellweger and Cruise, but Dorothy’s decision to marry Jerry, who proposes as romantic as a “Love with Joey” coupon, borders on idiocy. However, Zellweger still manages to sell this reasonably well. After all, she wants it so badly that she is blinded by love. One benefit to the viewer is that her stupid decision leads to an intelligent, honest conversation about the status of her and Jerry’s relationship. She confronts him with his real feelings and realizes that she will not maintain a marriage with him at all costs if his heart is not fully involved. It would be a shame if they already know for sure that one doesn’t love the other enough, but out of a kind of courtesy, in fact, waste years of both their lives. Jerry fears he won’t be able to “give his soul” that he’s just not “built that way”. The ensuing breakup is the only sensible thing Dorothy can do, and the dilemma has been nicely observed by director Crowe, but the Hollywood romance that resurfaces in the last act and leaves Dorothy weak in the knees isn’t consistent with this. . “You had me at hello” ends a potentially tear-jerking scene, but it lacks impact due to its incredibility.

Fortunately, the incredible moments in ‘Jerry Maguire’ do not sink the film. The performances are too strong for this, starting with protagonist Tom Cruise. Cruise initially plays the usual arrogant “hot shot” that he’s been playing since ‘Risky Business’ and ‘Top Gun’, but he still hints at some interesting nuances. He is also often funny. When he has just been fired from his office and leaves, taking some fish from the aquarium with him, his slightly manic “exodus” is infectious, and his drunken appearance with Dorothy is almost hilarious. The excellent supporting actors contribute a lot to the success of the film. Bonnie Hunt as Dorothy’s concerned, drily-comedy sister, Regina King as hubby Rod Tidwell’s rock-solid rock, and Dorothy Ray’s (Jonathan Lipnicki) cute (unobtrusively) adorable son steals many of their scenes. Zellweger has never been cuter than here, with her disarming loyalty and tenderness, and Gooding, Jr. brings liveliness to this long, overcrowded film with his energetic portrayal of the sympathetic, apparently tough Rod Tidwell who seems to be first about money – as witnessed by his “Show me the money” – but in fact puts love first and above all his family a stable want to offer in the future. There is almost never uncertainty about the (good) ending of the film, but this predictability and even the long duration of almost 2.5 hours are of minor importance in this perhaps not brilliant, but nevertheless entertaining film.