Tom Cruise works admirably hard, but the strain sometimes shows...

Rating: 6/10 (20 October 2005)

Tom Cruise gives one of his looser, less self-conscious performances as a sports agent, a self-described "shark in a suit", who loses his job with high-profile company and strikes out on his own; Kelly Preston is the fiancée he loses touch with, Renee Zellweger is the single mom whom he connects with, Cuba Gooding, Jr. won a Supporting Oscar as his number one client. Literate, yet occasionally pretentious, overextended comedy-drama that uses every conceivable romantic-movie trick to wring tears from its sugar-coated scenario: the single mom and her cute kid, the emotional client and his pregnant wife, the movie star grins in close-up from Cruise...they're all part of a cinematic formula, yet the film does work on a fantasy kind of level. Zellweger really shines in her role and gives the slick proceedings a gritty, naturalistic sheen that is both curious and perfectly charming. A big box-office hit that shows a fair amount of sophistication, despite the faint whiff of superficiality. **1/2 from ****