Cameron Crowe does it again

Rating: 10/10 (4 April 1999)

Cameron Crowe is one of my favorite filmmakers after only three films to his credit as director (he also wrote FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, which was a little rough around the edges but still good, and THE WILD LIFE, which was a huge mistake). SAY ANYTHING and SINGLES were classics, and now comes JERRY MAGUIRE, which is the first time he's made a film about people his age or around that. It manages to avoid being cynical and at the same time avoid being saccharine in its tale of a sports agent named Jerry Maguire who, thanks to a memo(or mission statement) that came from a brief bout of conscience, loses his job and his fiancee, and must not only claw himself back but admit to himself that he did in fact write that memo and really does believe in it.
Tom Cruise has spent half of his career coasting, and half of it giving great performances when he works with a real director. This fits in the latter category. As the script shows Jerry's growth in small steps, so does Cruise. It's not until he really has grown and has something to lose (his marriage) that he has a big emotional scene at the end, and this feels earned, rather than cheap, as it does in so many other movies. And while he is the star here, Cruise doesn't horn in on everyone else, but really plays off of everyone else, and even allows them room to steal the movie.
As for the rest, a lot has been said about Cuba Gooding Jr., and among the people who were nominated for Best Supporting Actor, he would get my vote. He also felt honest and was funny and energetic. And the rest of the cast is good as well. But the real force, for me, anyway, came from Renee Zellweger. I think it was Gene Siskel who said he felt the movie might have started out being more about sports, but when Zellweger was cast, it was shifted towards her character more simply because she lights up the screen. Now, from what I've read, I don't think the movie was edited towards her, but she certainly does light up the screen. She has the two best moments of the movie; when she finds out Jerry's dumped his fiancee, the look on her face is incredible, and I also loved her line to Jerry after his big speech near the end, "You had me at hello." A great moment in a great movie.