Pretty swell.

Rating: 8/10 (26 July 2018)

1996 seemed like a weird year at the movies.
People could finally laugh at horror movies with SCREAM, American culture's obsession with the end of the world led to INDEPENDENCE DAY and TWISTER's box office success, both FARGO and TRAINSPOTTING caught audiences and critics by surprise, and the whole sector of cinephiles stood together in disgust that a movie like THE ENGLISH PATIENT could win Best Picture.
I'm not a sociologist so I'm not sure how that amounts to when defining the cultural zeitgeist of the late 90s. However I will say that if there's any movie that, to me, properly distills what life felt like back then, I'd say it's either JERRY MAGUIRE or FARGO. Since I already saw FARGO, this Scavenger Hunt is dedicated to this instead.
Cameron Crowe missteps quite a lot since his heyday as director, but boy did he had a voice. The sensitive, emotionally broken vision he conjures transcends this otherwise melodramatic story into something we can all relate to. Beneath our grin and multi-million dollar facade, we are all still people with emotions and needs. The center of all this is the Space Pope himself Tom Cruise, reverting his TOP GUN swagger into a performance packed with charm and pathos.
Whereas FARGO captured the cynical extremes of human choices and how it affects all of us, JERRY MAGUIRE encapsulates a time where we get so fixated on fame and success to mend our lonely lives. And Cameron Crowe reassures us that sometimes, expressing your emotions won't cause the end of the world. Maybe it's okay to settle down and warm up to people once in a while. Even if you're on the hurdle towards your lowest point, all you can depend on is that one person who really cares about you for you.
It cannot possibly compare to the extended cut to ALMOST FAMOUS - because almost nothing can - but I was shocked that this still hits in the feels.