JERRY MAGUIRE
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1996 Scott Renshaw
(Tri-Star) Starring: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renee Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Lipnicki. Screenplay: Cameron Crowe. Producers: James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, Laurence Mark, Cameron Crowe. Director: Cameron Crowe. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, brief nudity, sexual situations) Running Time: 135 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
There is an absolute poetry to the casting of Tom Cruise as JERRY MAGUIRE which I do not think could have been matched by the casting of any other actor. Cruise has spent much of his career playing cocky young go-getters, and when early scenes show him working a crowd as top-level sports agent Maguire, pressing the flesh and charming all comers with that blinding smile, you might think he's about to go on automatic TOP GUN pilot. Then Jerry describes his personal dilemma in voice-over, including a simple phrase -- "I was 35 years old" -- which is like a temporal slap in the face to anyone who finds it hard to reconcile Cruise's image with the fact that "the kid" isn't a kid any more. As the film explores a man's search for real fulfillment over financial success, you wonder whether Cruise might have cause to take the role personally.
He certainly takes it seriously, turning in the funniest and most confident performance of his career as Jerry Maguire, who finds himself compelled after a crisis of conscience to draft an idealistic "mission statement" for his sports management firm. The firm thanks Jerry by firing him, then systematically turning all of his former clients against him except one: Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a good-but-not-great wide receiver looking for a guaranteed contract extension. Jerry's only support comes from Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger), an accountant at the firm who is inspired by Jerry's idealism and follows him out the door. Unfortunately, Renee is also a single mother supporting a 6-year-old son (Jonathan Lipnicki), and her financial dependence on Jerry and his one client is further complicated by her growing emotional attachment to Jerry.
What is most impressive about Cameron Crowe's script is not just that it is so rich and funny, but that it keeps so many balls in the air without once feeling crowded or directionless. There are half a dozen intriguing relationships in JERRY MAGUIRE, and Crowe does justice to all of them: Jerry's complicated relationship with Dorothy; Jerry's contentious friendship with Rod; Dorothy's relationship with her protective older sister (the always wonderful Bonnie Hunt); Jerry's easy rapport with Dorothy's son Ray; even Rod's relationship with his strong, no-nonsense wife (Regina King). Only Jerry's relationship with his fiancee Avery (Kelly Preston) makes a kind of sit-com sense, because Avery is only a sit-com character, an under-developed and superficial plot device. Every other bit of character interaction soars because the characters are so carefully drawn.
They also are acted with uniform excellence, beginning with Renee Zellweger as the wistful Dorothy, who treats Jerry like an icon of a better life. The arc of her feelings for him -- from exhilaration to painful realism -- is rendered beautifully by Zellweger, and the emotion she can express with her face is sometimes enough to make you want to burst into tears. Cuba Gooding Jr. is an electrifying delight as Rod, whose pride interferes with his chances for stardom. He has a moment during an end zone dance which by all rights should be ridiculous; instead, Gooding makes it a glorious celebration. There is also the under-stated perfection of Bonnie Hunt's supporting work, and Jay Mohr in a marvelously despicable turn has Jerry's conscience-impaired protege. However, the most memorable cast member may be young Jonathan Lipnicki, who virtually re-defines scene-stealing. With his spiky hair, round glasses and a smile which rivals that of his celebrated co-star, Lipnicki brings a goofy energy to the screen, yet there is never a moment when he seems aware of his own adorableness. He is simply hilarious, and the affection between him and Cruise makes for some priceless moments.
Then there is Cruise himself, playing the terribly complicated role of a man who just wants to improve himself a _little_. JERRY MAGUIRE is a film which doesn't appear to end far from where it started, because Jerry is still a sports agent and still trying to make a good deal. He is not trying to turn his life upside-down, though it briefly ends up that way. He simply wants to find balance, and Cruise takes us along on that internal journey with skill and humor. In fact, JERRY MAGUIRE is not just about one man's journey -- Dorothy and Rod also make subtle changes in their attitudes which help them discover what is really of value to them. Cameron Crowe is not interested in some grand condemnation of yuppie avarice which has his characters throwing off their pin-stripes and pads for hair shirts and self-flagellation. Jerry, Dorothy and Rod just want to take small steps, to do what they do in life a bit better, and to be proud of they way they conduct their lives. JERRY MAGUIRE is a simple but thoroughly uplifting story which is as funny as it is touching, and it finds Tom Cruise no longer cruising on that famous smile...although he may have cause to smile at his own efforts to do what he does in life a bit better.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 agents of change: 9.
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