There's more to life than money

Rating: 7/10 (24 October 2013)

You wouldn't think a sports agent would be a good choice to be the central character in any kind of romantic film. It is a profession with a reputation for sleaze and slime. But Jerry Maguire is not your typical sports agent. Well, he is at the start of the film. But then he has an ethical epiphany. Unfortunately this epiphany gets him fired from his high-powered agency. Jerry is left with just one client, Rod Tidwell. Rod, a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, is brash, bold, bombastic and exceedingly self-confident. And with regard to Jerry he is interested in only one thing: "Show me the money!" When Jerry is cast out on his own with his one client he also has only one employee for his new start-up agency. That is Dorothy Boyd, a single mother who apparently was the only person at Jerry's old agency who shared his ideals. Or who was willing to admit she shared them anyway. She leaves her secure job to take a chance on Jerry and it becomes clear pretty quickly that she may have made a big mistake. But as Jerry flounders professionally he and Dorothy grow closer. They come to count on one another. They fall in love. At least they think they do. Their relationship is a challenge, a love story which it turns out may not include much love at all. Did they come together for love or for convenience? They know true love when they see it, as they do in the rock-solid relationship between Rod Tidwell and his wife. Seeing what Rod and his wife have only makes it more painfully obvious to Jerry and Dorothy what they are lacking.
So this is a rather challenging romantic film. The main characters don't fall instantly in love and settle into a life of constant bliss. If this relationship is to succeed they are going to have to really work at it. It is an interesting journey Jerry and Dorothy take and director Cameron Crowe was fortunate to have two excellent performers filling those key roles. Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger were at the top of their games here, playing off one another beautifully and creating two truly outstanding characters. The actors are certainly helped by Crowe's terrific dialogue, this is a script with so many memorable lines, both funny and poignant. Of course Cruise and Zellweger don't get all the best lines for themselves. Cuba Gooding Jr. shines, injecting so much life into the movie playing the outrageous Rod Tidwell. Bonnie Hunt provides some laughs as Dorothy's wary sister. Kelly Preston is a stunner, both in looks and in what she says as she plays another woman in Jerry's life. And there is also room for a wonderfully precocious child, Jonathan Lipnicki being incredibly endearing in that part. There's also Jay Mohr, Jerry O'Connell, Regina King, Beau Bridges...it is a really long list of quality performers and Crowe gives them all their moments to shine. There is a sense the movie struggles at times with the balance between comedy and drama. Is it a comedy that's trying to be dramatic or a drama that's trying to be funny? And how do you squeeze a romance into that mix? Oh, and it's sort of a sports movie too. Crowe really does have a lot going on here, maybe a little too much. But by and large it works. The movie manages to both entertain and charm you. And it is great to see the characters grow. Maybe even Rod Tidwell can come to learn that it is not all about the money.