Jerry Maguire

As I mentioned before, I'm about to get married (again) to a wonderful woman who happens to have a 6 year old son. I work (when shit is normal) in the service industry, and often have trouble finding inspiration and joy from what keeps a roof over my head. I'm turning 34 this Saturday.

Jerry Maguire is a movie about a guy who, after breaking up with his fiance, meets and falls for a single mom while also dealing with a job where he struggles to find inspiration and joy. He is 35 years old.

I relate to Jerry Maguire.

Spoilers for Jerry Maguire to follow.

Even though our stars align at this point in my life, I still loved Jerry Maguire even as a 10 year old. For some reason I was very susceptible to emotional driven movies aimed at adults when I was that age. Having revisited most of those movies as an adult, it's clear that any theme or deeper meaning just went over my head. I was simply too young to understand adult problems. But for whatever reason, I understood the emotion. I understood that these characters were feeling things, some sad, some happy. I don't mean that in any depressing kind of way of course, it's just the way i found my connections with movies. I WAS MOVED BY ART. Even as a 10 year old. Bitch.

And for whatever reason, I thought Tom Cruise was the coolest. Maybe it's because I knew us small boys gotta stick together. Either way, I was a fucking Tom Cruise fan from day one, and Jerry Maguire was definitely my shit.

In the movie, Jerry Maguire is a hot shot sports agent (!) who finds himself having a crisis of conscience. He represents athletes who generate generous profits for both his company and himself, but at sacrifice to their own well being. One of the very first scenes in the movie has Jerry standing at the foot of his client's hospital bed as the athlete struggles to remember not only his agents name, but his wife and son's as well. As Jerry is leaving the hospital, the athletes son stops him, and questions his Dad's health to Jerry, saying that it's his fourth concussion. The kid is clearly worried about his fathers health. And Jerry, whose beeper goes off right as this is happening, calmly and charmingly assures the kid that his Dad is tough as nails, and can take anything.

"Fuck you", the kid says to Jerry. He runs off.

YIKES.


And then you get the famous phrases and freak out scenes and "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"

And they all hit just as well now as they did 24 years ago.

I get it if you don't love Jerry Maguire, but if you do, then you know that this movie is peak CRUISE. His charisma is off the charts. The opening montage with his voice over is filled with scummy, yuppy energy. And you completely fall for it. Jerry's job is to sell, and in this scene he's selling the hot shot world of Sports Agent. And it all seems cool and satisfying simply because Cruise is such a great salesman. And then Jerry comes clean. His life is a sham. He doesn't care about money or fame, he wants fulfillment, personal relationships. He wants to be a better person.

Jerry Maguire is the ultimate Tom Cruise: Movie Star performance. Tom showcases a gamut of range here; dramatic, comedic, frantic, vulnerable, pathetic, human, sometimes all in one scene.

In another scene, Jerry is talking to his fiance about his non-excitement for his "surprise" bachelor party. She assures him it'll be fun. He knows she's wrong. We get the hint that he's unhappy.

The very next scene, Jerry falls to the floor, pretending to be surprised by his friends throwing him a bachelor party. He SELLS it. Jerry can't help but please, both at home and at work, for better or for worse. The party itself is exactly what Jerry didn't want, a video montage of all of his ex girlfriends talking about how selfish and childish he was in front of all of his friends. And Tom is devastating here, his 10,000 watt of a smile suddenly is without charm, fake as can be. You feel his anguish and embarrassment. Tom Cruise: Movie Star now seems truly vulnerable.

Of course, Cruise always excels when he's with good company, and it cannot be denied how great his co stars are in this movie too. Rene Zellweger is heartbreakingly real as Dorothy, a wise beyond her years single mom who takes the chance of her life on Jerry. Yes, this movie is about Jerry Maguire, a man struggling to find his place and peace both with himself and with his job. And he does! And then finally, FINALLY, he knows what he's missing. "You complete me." he tells her. There is no Jerry Maguire without Dorothy.

Out of the films 5 Oscar nominations, including one for Tom for Best Actor and the film itself for Best Picture, it was Cuba Gooding, Jr. who won the films single trophy that night. His character, Rod Tidwell, is easily one of the most quoted characters of the 90s, full stop. But what's fucking crazy is that I forgot just how good Cuba is here. It's a big, show-y part, and while Gooding, Jr. plays that part to the T, it's the smaller moments, the moments where Rod and Jerry are actually just talking, and being friends, that we learn how soulful and good a person Rod is, and that's all Cuba. Well, him and a good script, but you know what I mean. Hoo Boy, that scene. The touchdown scene, where Rod is knocked unconscious for several minutes. Talk about the biggest fucking smile on my stupid little face once he gets up from the ground and begins to celebrate. His joy is so infectious and genuine. I feel like people have forgotten how good a performance this is by Gooding, Jr., and perhaps because it's so over the top most of the time it makes it hard to remember the more quiet moments he has. Watching it again though, it's clear he earned the Oscar that year.

It's really not all that surprising that I related so intensely on this latest viewing. As I mentioned at the beginning of this rant, Jerry and I got A LOT in common, but also I'm just older and I understand the struggles of Life. and Jerry Maguire is an amazing movie about Life.

 Jerry Maguire came out in December 1996 and earned $153 million in the US, becoming Cruise's fifth film in a row to gross more than $100 million in the states.

His next film would end that streak, however, and it just so happens it'll be next on our journey through the CRUISE career. That's right, baby! We're getting on the Kubrick train and going full steam ahead with Eyes Wide Shut. 

I'll be back as soon as i can with that installment, but until then remember, there's only one thing that matters. I like movies.