Jerry Maguire (1997, DVD)

Single mothers, "Scrooge"-like characters, cocky athletes, and love: what do these things have in common? They're difficult to work with in movies. "Jerry Maguire" is a funny and charming movie that not only uses all of these tricky devices interchangeably, but uses them well. So well in fact, it makes for a serious story that, ironically, remains lighthearted throughout. Tom Cruise stars as Jerry Maguire, a successful sports agent who resembles a modern day Ebenezer Scrooge. He handles nearly 100 clients at a large sports management firm, but it is obvious his vision has been blurred by...

I don t want to like Jerry Maguire, I really don t. For several painful months in late 1996, I had to endure the most annoying humans in the world becoming enamored with a catchphrase that simply would not die.* I had to listen to some butchered remix of a Bruce Springsteen on New York radio, complete with at least three distinct You had me at hello s. When the girl I was dating at the time told me that she liked both the line and the song, I had to resist the impulse to be incredibly cynical. (I succeeded, but was less skillful later at evading a reaction to learning that she had seen Cats...

I know what was going through writer/director Cameron Crowe's mind when he was making this script...he had a concept, and in order to pass it off to all the guys out there, he added in a lot of sports. Lets be honest, most guys don't like love stories, so if half the story is about the NFL and a cocksure receiver, it'll go off a whole let better than if Jerry was an interior decorator. Now I'll be the first to question the acting ability of Tom Cruise...after watching him ham it up in several roles that include but are not limited to (Color of Money, The Firm) one doesn't know what to expect..

I thought I was the only American who missed this movie when it hit the theaters. All I heard was the power of classic lines like Show Me The Money! and You Had Me At Hello! By the time this was released on video, everyone was talking about hundreds of other movies. Jerry was pushed further and further down my must see list; until I purchased it on sale. Then I realized it should have stayed on my didn t have to see list. Don t get me wrong, I liked this movie sort of. I think it was a great story, minus the last minute romance with his employee, Dorothy Boyd. I think Cuba Gooding, Jr., his.