Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr and Renée Zellweger. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe. The film released in North American theaters on December 13, 1996, distributed by Gracie Films and TriStar Pictures.
The film received mostly positive reviews and, on a $50 million budget, was a financial success, bringing in more than $270 million worldwide.
Plot
Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a glossy 35-year-old sports agent working for Sports Management International (SMI). After suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of stress and a guilty conscience, he writes a mission statement about perceived dishonesty in the sports management business and how he believes that it should be operated. He distributes copies of it, entitled "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business". His co-workers are touched by his honesty and greet him with applause, but the management sends Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Maguire's protégé, to fire him. Jerry and Sugar call all of Jerry's clients to try to convince them not to hire the services of the other. Jerry speaks to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), one of his clients who is disgruntled with his contract. Rod tests Jerry's resolve through a very long telephone conversation, which culminates in the famed "Show Me the Money!" scene. Meanwhile, Sugar secures most of Jerry's previous clients. Frank "Cush" Cushman (Jerry O'Connell), a superstar football prospect from Southern Methodist University expected to be #1 in the NFL Draft, also stays with Jerry after he makes a visit to the Cushman home. Leaving the office, Jerry announces he will start his own agency and asks if anyone is willing to join him, to which only 26-year-old single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger) agrees. The two had previously bumped into each other in the airport and Boyd had told Maguire personally how inspiring she found his "memo".
Jerry travels to the NFL Draft with Cush and convinces Rod to come too, to meet representatives of other NFL teams. Though Rod at first feels neglected compared to the superstar Cush, Sugar contacts Matt Cushman (Beau Bridges), Cush's dad, while Jerry is in the lobby with Rod and re-signs Cush to SMI. Jerry is devastated and turns to his fiancée Avery (Kelly Preston) for support, but she rebukes him and he breaks up with her. He then turns to Dorothy, becoming closer to her young son, Ray, and eventually starts a relationship with her. However, Dorothy contemplates moving to San Diego as she has a secure job offer there. Jerry concentrates all his efforts on Rod, now his only client, who turns out to be very difficult to satisfy. Over the next several months, the two direct harsh criticism towards each other with Rod claiming that Jerry is not trying hard enough to get him a contract while Jerry claims that Rod is not proving himself worthy of the money for which he asks. Jerry marries Dorothy to help them both stay afloat financially and to keep her from moving away. He is emotionally and physically distant during the marriage, but is clearly invested in becoming a father to Ray. Although Dorothy is in love, she breaks up with him because she believes he does not love her.
Before the start of a Monday Night Football game between the Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, Sugar attempts to steal Rod, but is rebuked by Rod and Jerry. The two reconcile soon after. Rod plays well but appears to receive a serious injury when catching a touchdown. He recovers, however, and dances for the crowd, which cheers wildly. Afterwards, Jerry and Rod embrace in front of other athletes and sports agents and show how their relationship has progressed from a strictly business one to a close personal one, which was one of the points Jerry made in his mission statement. Jerry then flies back home to meet Dorothy to tell her that he loves her and wants her in his life. He says to Dorothy "You complete me" to which she replies "You had me at hello". Rod later appears on Roy Firestone's sports show. Unbeknownst to him, Jerry has secured him an $11.2 million contract with the Cardinals that will allow him to finish his pro football career in Arizona. The visibly emotional Rod proceeds to thank everyone and extends warm gratitude to Jerry. Jerry speaks with several other pro athletes, some of whom have read his earlier mission statement and respect his work with Tidwell. The film ends with Jerry, Dorothy and Ray walking in the park and stumbling across a Little League baseball game. When the ball lands near them, Ray throws it back; a surprised Jerry then comments on his natural throwing ability (and possible future in sports), much to Dorothy's dismay.
Cast
Cameos Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., former NFL quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe, Troy Aikman, and Warren Moon, German ice skater Katarina Witt, then current Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer, and former Detroit Lions coach Wayne Fontes play themselves in the film.
Other NFL players that make cameos as themselves are Tim McDonald, Johnnie Morton, Rick Mirer, Rob Moore, Ki-Jana Carter, Herman Moore, Art Monk, Kerry Collins, and Dean Biasucci.
Sportscasters Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Roy Firestone, Mike Tirico, and Dan Dierdorf also make cameos.
Former NBA basketball player Brent Barry is featured in the film as an athlete who wouldn't sign an autograph for a young boy.
Actresses portraying ex-girlfriends of Maguire include Alison Armitage, Emily Procter, and Stacey Williams. Reagan Gomez-Preston also had a minor role in the film as part of the Tidwell family.
Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell makes a brief appearance in the film as a copier store clerk.
Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay makes a cameo as Jerry Maguire's boss.
Reception
Critical response
The film received critical acclaim, with a 85% positive reviews on the film-critics aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. Its critical consensus states: "Anchored by dazzling performances from Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renée Zellweger, as well as Cameron Crowe's tender direction, Jerry Maguire meshes romance and sports with panache."[2] Cuba Gooding, Jr. won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell, the Arizona Cardinals football player who sticks with Maguire. Cruise was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the movie marked Renée Zellwegger's breakout role. The film itself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and crew members on the film were nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing awards.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3/4 stars, writing that there "are so many subplots that Jerry Maguire seems too full" and also commented that the film "starts out looking cynical and quickly becomes a heartwarmer." He concluded that the film "is often a delight" and "is about transformation: About two men who learn how to value something more important than money, and about two women who always knew."[3] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote "An exceptionally tasty contempo comedic romance, 'Jerry Maguire' runs an unusual pattern on its way to scoring an unexpected number of emotional, social and entertaining points. Smartly written and boasting a sensational cast, Cameron Crowe's shrewdly observed third feature also gives Tom Cruise one of his very best roles..."[4]
Box office
The film debuted at number one.[5] It earned $17,084,296 its opening weekend, and eventually grossed $153,952,592 in North American box office and approximately $119,600,000 overseas for a $273,552,592 worldwide total, on a budget of $50 million.[1]
Legacy
Jerry Maguire spawned several popular quotations, including "Show me the money!" (shouted repeatedly in a phone exchange between Rod Tidwell and Jerry Maguire), "You complete me", "Help me help you", and "You had me at 'hello'" (said by Renée Zellweger's Dorothy Boyd after a lengthy romantic plea by Jerry Maguire), and "Kwan", a word used by Cuba Gooding, Jr. Tidwell meaning love, respect, community, and money, also spelled "quan" and "quawn", to illustrate the difference between himself and other football players: "Other football players may have the coin, but they won't have the 'Quan'". These lines are largely attributed to Cameron Crowe, director and screenwriter of the film. Zellweger said of filming the famous "hello" line, "Cameron had me say it a few different ways. It's so funny, because when I read it, I didn't get it—I thought it was a typo somehow. I kept looking at it. It was the one thing in the script that I was looking at going, 'Is that right? Can that be right? How is that right?' I thought, 'Is there a better way to say that? Am I not getting it? I just don't know how to do it.'"[6] A video blog "Everything Is Terrible" is running a campaign to salvage remaining VHS copies of the movie.
Accolades
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten Top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Jerry Maguire was acknowledged as the tenth best film in the sports genre.[7][8] It was also voted by AFI as #100 on its list of 100 Passions.[9] The quotes "Show me the money!" and "You had me at 'hello'" were also ranked by AFI on its list of 100 Movie Quotes, ranked #25 and #52 respectively.[10]
Academy Awards
- Best Actor (Cruise, nominated)
- Best Editing (Hutshing, nominated)
- Best Picture (nominated)
- Best Screenplay – Original (Crowe, nominated)
- Best Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won)
Chicago Film Critics Association
- Best Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won)
Directors Guild of America
- Outstanding Directing – Motion Pictures (Crowe, nominated)
Golden Globe Awards
- Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Cruise, won)
- Best Film – Musical or Comedy (nominated)
- Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (Gooding Jr., nominated)
Image Awards
- Outstanding Actor – Motion Picture (Gooding Jr., nominated)
Satellite Awards
- Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Cruise, won)
- Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Gooding Jr., won)
- Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Zellweger, nominated)
Screen Actors Guild
- Outstanding Actor – Motion Picture (Cruise, nominated)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress (Zellweger, nominated)
Writers Guild of America
- Best Screenplay – Original (Crowe, nominated)
American Film Institute Lists
Soundtrack
The movie soundtrack includes:[11]
"Secret Garden", originally a Springsteen track from 1995, was re-released in 1997 after its exposure in the film and on the soundtrack, and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.[citation needed]
The film was scored by director Crowe's (now former) wife, Nancy Wilson,[12] who was a member of the rock band Heart.
Home video releases
- Jerry Maguire (1997),
- Jerry Maguire (1997) Deluxe Widescreen Presentation,
- Jerry Maguire (2002) Special Edition,
- Jerry Maguire (2008) (+ BD Live [Blu-ray}
Based on
Sports agent Leigh Steinberg was the inspiration for the movie, and acted as Technical Consultant on the crew.[13][14][15][16]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Jerry Maguire (1996)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=jerrymaguire.htm. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
- ^ Jerry Maguire at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "Jerry Maguire". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961213/REVIEWS/612130301/1023.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (December 8, 1996). "Jerry Maguire". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117911551?refcatid=31.
- ^ "Jerry' Ties With Slowing 'Michael' at Box Office". Los Angeles Times. January 6, 1997. http://articles.latimes.com/1997-01-06/entertainment/ca-15963_1_box-office. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ Lovece, Frank. "Renee Zellweger talks about 'My One and Only'", Newsday, August 26, 2009. WebCitation archive.
- ^ American Film Institute (June 17, 2008). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
- ^ "Top 10 Sports". American Film Institute. http://www.afi.com/10top10/sports.html. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
- ^ "Jerry Maguire (1996)". http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/passions100.pdf?docID=248. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Jerry Maguire (1996)". http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0931686.html. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Jerry Maguire (1996) - Soundtrack". Internet Movie DataBase. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116695/soundtrack. Retrieved 2011-12-29. "Verified by viewing of end titles."
- ^ "Jerry Maguire (1996) - Full cast and crew". Internet Movie DataBase. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116695/fullcredits. Retrieved 2011-12-29. "Verified by viewing of end titles."
- ^ "10 Questions with Leigh Steinberg". Sports Hollywood. http://www.sportshollywood.com/asksteinberg.html. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Leigh Steinberg (Miscellaneous Crew)". Internet Movie DataBase. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0825781/. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ Whiting, Sam (January 11, 1997). "Meet the Real Jerry Maguire / Leigh Steinberg was the model". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://articles.sfgate.com/1997-01-11/entertainment/17740432_1_maguire-leigh-steinberg-steinberg-s-newport-beach.
- ^ Epstein, Benjamin (December 28, 1996). "Representing the Interests of 'Jerry Maguire'". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1996-12-28/entertainment/ca-13101_1_jerry-maguire.
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