Real human beings

Rating: 9/10 (23 March 2015)

Jerry Maguire is a comedic drama starring Tom Cruise, Renee Zellwegger, & Cuba Gooding Jr. among others. The story follows a sports agent named Jerry whose life is inadvertently turned upside down when he decides to write a "manifesto" describing how his fellow sports agents really act behind closed doors. And so begins the journey of Jerry Maguire.
The acting is uniformly excellent across the board starting with a very down-to-earth performance from Tom Cruise as the title character Jerry. This character isn't necessarily unlike any of his previous characters. He starts out as basically a jerk before evolving into a sweet, caring individual. The thing that I believe sets his character of Jerry apart from the others that he's played, is the fact that he's actually acting like a real human being and not just some random drone that the writer created. He breathes life into Jerry in a way that I'm not sure another actor could have. I'm not the only one who thinks this either - Cruise was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. Of course, Jerry would not be who he is throughout the movie without the help of his co- worker Dorothy Boyd who is played with a very sweet girl-next-door quality by Renee Zellwegger. I'm usually not a fan of hers, but for the first time in her career she showed me something that was very similar to that of Tom Cruise...she was able to create a fully rounded 100% human being who is very relatable. She's a single mother who carries herself very independently. She's not necessarily supremely confident in her actions, but she's definitely learned throughout the years of raising her son on her own that she doesn't really need anyone in her life except her son. At least that's what she thought. The final member of the cast to really make a lasting impact is Cuba Gooding Jr. who plays Rod Tidwell - a Wide Receiver for the Arizona Cardinals and Jerry's sole remaining client. This is a man who only wants to provide a great living for his family and against all odds he believes that Jerry Maguire is the man who can bring him to that promise land. That belief is heard loud and clear in one of the movies most talked about scenes where Rod and Jerry are on the phone together and Jerry is trying to persuade Rod into keeping him as his agent. Rod: "It's something very personal, a very important thing. Hell! It's a family motto. Are you ready Jerry? I wanna make sure you're ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money. Show! Me! The! Money! Jerry, it is such a pleasure to say that! Say it with me one time, Jerry." Jerry: "Show you the money." Rod: "No, no. You can do better than that! I want you to say it brother with meaning! Hey, I got Bob Sugar on the other line I bet you he can say it!" Jerry: Yeah, yeah, no, no, no. Show you the money." Rod: "No! Not show you! Show me the money!" This conversation alone shows just how much of a report Jerry and Rod have together and that report is exactly the reason why Rod decides to stick with Jerry as his agent. The conversation also proves that Rod Tidwell is also, just like Jerry and just like Dorothy, a complete 100% human being and it's Cuba Gooding's performance that proves it. He was also nominated for an Academy Award and he won for his performance.
The beauty of Jerry Maguire and the thing that makes it so watchable is the fact that it's a very human story with very relatable characters. That's the main thing I look for in a movie...even if it has an extremely predictable story and a predictable outcome - the movie can overcome all of that as long as it has those relatable characters for us to follow along on this journey with. Over the years Jerry Maguire has also kind of taken its place among pop culture lore. Some of its quotes are still used today by several people around the world. That just goes to show how the lasting power of a movie like Jerry Maguire goes a very long way and that's a good way to judge a movies greatness in general years down the line.