Jerry Maguire: A Quick Review

I usually don't like Tom Cruise, I find him incredibly annoying...just take a look at him...but I watched "Jerry Maguire" in spite of that because I am semi-open minded when it comes to movies...only semi...

I got to say he came through in this one.  "Jerry Maguire" came out in 1996 and was written and directed by Cameron Crowe.  It stars Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Regina Hall, and Bonnie Hunt.  The movie was nominated for 6 Academy Awards and won one...for Cuba Gooding Jr. as Best Supporting Actor.

Tom Cruise plays Jerry Maguire, a sports agent.  He's fired from his old job and starts his own company, taking Renee Zellweger's character, Dorothy Boyd along for the ride.  Jerry signs a famous (though completely fictional) football player on to his company.  This is where Cuba Gooding Jr. comes in as Rod Tidwell.  Regina Hall plays his wife and Bonnie Hunt plays Dorothy Boyd's sister.  They both have names, but I don't feel like finding them.  Anyway Dorothy Boyd and Jerry Maguire are thrown into a ridiculusly fast moving and flawed relationship.  I guess that happens when your ex-fiance brutally punches you in the face (this happens to Jerry Macguire.  Dorothy Boyd is widowed and has a young son).  Yeah, horrible and random plot description. If you don't like it then go to Wikipedia and they would be happy to ruin the entire movie for you.

The whole cast was great. Tom Cruise actually wasn't annoying when he narrated parts of the movie.  It worked out nicely.  I personally am partial to Renee Zellweger, mainly because I love her.  And she had some strange chemistry going on with Mr. Tom Cruise the Scientologist.  I also don't think Cuba Gooding Jr. should have won an Oscar.  Maybe that's just me though.  1996 could have been a dry year in Hollywood for supporting actors.


The director of photography was Janusz Kamiński.  I love this man with every fiber of my being.  He is a great cinematographer and works on most, if not all of Steven Spielberg's movies.  Visually you won't be dissapointed because he is a complete genius.   

The movie was a tad long and there were some pointless scenes.  If you watch it you can pick them out for yourselves.  It'll be a fun time.

People should watch this movie if for nothing else then to actually experience Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Cruise saying "Show me the money!" and Renee Zellweger saying, "You had me at "Hello"."  I was waiting the entire movie to hear her say that.

Oh yeah and there's a Bob Dylan song in the credits...so have the decency to stay for it.

One more thing.  The back of the DVD box claims that this is a romantic comedy.  Yes, there is romance in "Jerry Maguire." Yes, there are also several moments of comedy.  But it's a lot more than that and I felt lied to.

This review was kind of a stream of consciousness.  I enjoyed "Jerry Maguire."  Some great acting and cinematagraphy.  Ok that's about it.  And one more thing.  I just found out that William H. Macy was also nominated in 1996 for Best Supporting Actor for "Fargo."  He should have gotten the Oscar.  "Fargo" was a great movie and William H. Macy had a great performance and then Cuba Gooding Jr. stole his Oscar.

-Joseph Sbrilli