Well crafted and enjoyable but lightweight

Rating: Null/10 (21 January 2002)

This is a well-made, entertaining film with excellent performances, but it is let down by a lack of substance. Tom Cruise is perfectly cast as Jerry Maguire, a sports agent seemingly as superficial and go-getting as any in his business, until one day he gets back in touch with his conscience, issues a touchy-feely mission statement, and is duly fired by his corporation. Renee Zellwegger is as sweet as only she can be, playing widowed mother Dorothy, who follows Jerry into the wilderness and into a relationship. And Cuba Gooding Jr earned an Oscar for his stand-out role as Rod Tidwell, a fearless wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, and the only client to stick with Jerry.
The problem is that while Jerry may be a tad more personable than fellow agents, the film fails to demonstrate that his change of heart leads to his doing business any less materialistically or more ethically than they do. Clearly, he isn't helped by Tidwell, who is portrayed as charismatic, straight-talking and family-loving, but also fixated on getting big bucks - as exemplified in the great "Show me the Money" scene. Indeed, if the film has any message at all, it is that there is precious little scope for ethics in the sports agency business, and that Jerry's moralistic crusade is doomed to failure - but it's unlikely that this is what writer/director Cameron Crowe was actually trying to say.
Correspondingly, on the romantic front, the movie is rather lightweight and vague. Jerry and Dorothy have their inevitable getting togethers and breaking-ups, but on none of the occasions is there a great deal of passion or thought. Again, we could put a cynical spin on the movie - Dorothy only wants Jerry as a father for her cute son Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki); and Jerry wants a son more than a wife - but it's doubtful if that's what Crowe wants us to think.
It's a pity; Crowe could have made a stronger film if he'd given his characters some tougher choices, and had been willing to sacrifice a bit of the fun for some real conflict - conveyed by action as well as words.