Movie: Jerry Maguire

Release Date: December 13, 1996

Director: Cameron Crowe

Starring: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr, Renee Zellweger, Regina King, Kelly Preston, Bonnie Hunt, Jay Mohr, Jerry O’Connell.

Tag Lines: “Everybody loved him… Everybody disappeared.”

“The rest of his life begins now.”

“The journey is everything.”

Relevance: On March 24, 1997, two days before my twenty-sixth birthday, I watched Cuba Gooding Jr. win his Academy Award. It was the first award of that three hour and thirty five minute telecast and it set the mood for what was to be a fantastic night of entertainment. I always tuned into the Oscars, what has become my Super Bowl, since watching them as a kid with my mom. This particular year though Madonna was performing “You Must Love Me” from ‘Evita,’ a movie you know will be showing up on my list of most influential movies of all time soon, so I was very, very excited. Cuba Gooding Jr.’s speech not only became one of the most memorable of the evening but it also solidified my need to see ‘Jerry Maguire.’

‘Jerry Maguire’ was released on December 13, 1996. It received huge critical praise with many reviews stating it was the “best film of the year” as well as Tom Cruise’s “best role yet.” Audiences seemed to agree with those critics. It debuted at number one its opening weekend and eventually became the ninth top grossing film of 1996 as well as the fourth highest grossing romantic comedy of all time. It received many award nominations that season including five Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing with Mr. Gooding Jr. its only victory.

During the holidays that year I was a store manager of a music and movie store as well as an expectant father. My free time was limited so going to the movies was a rare occasion. My time was mostly spent working or preparing for the arrival of my son. I was well aware of the movie of course and it was definitely on my must-see list, but it sadly never happened. After my son was born that following January and after seeing the Oscar awards that March, ‘Jerry Maguire’ jumped to the top of that list.

When ‘Jerry Maguire’ was released to home media that May, I rented it from my local Hollywood Video store and watched it alone one late night. As previously reported on this blog, I am a sports fan, but loathe football. Watching paint dry and grass grow is more exciting than anything to do with the pigskin. Despite those feelings, I loved ‘Jerry Maguire.’ It was smart, funny, extremely well acted and directed and very heartwarming. I was most impressed with Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. Both of them played not-so-easy to love characters yet made them very likable. That’s not an easy task to accomplish. I was also very taken by Renee Zellweger. This was my first big introduction to the actress and I thought she was wonderful and would be a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. I absolutely adored the film and it became one of my favorites that year.

Like all of my favorite films, it was one that I talked about and rented numerous times with family and friends. When I love a movie, I need to make sure everyone I know sees it. I guess you can say I “showed them the movie.” Like all great cinematic art, this film transcended off the screen and became a part of pop culture. Phrases like “Show me the money,” “You had me at hello,” You complete me,” “Help me help you” as well as words like “kwan” became used by everyone, whether they saw the movie or not. I wasn’t necessarily one that used all of them, but I was known to throw out “You had me at hello” every once in awhile. The movie also impacted the music world as well. Bruce Springsteen had released “Secret Garden” from his “Greatest Hits” album in April of 1995. At that time it received lukewarm reception. The song was then featured both in ‘Jerry Maguire’ and on its soundtrack which triggered Mr. Springsteen a hit in 1997. Fused with dialogue from the movie, the song was constantly played on the radio and it eventually became a top twenty song in the United States.

‘Jerry Maguire’ was a movie that I instantly fell in love with and purchased on VHS as soon as I could. When the special edition was released on DVD, I was one of the first to buy that as well. I loved Cameron Crowe’s film and words and have watched it numerous times throughout the years. It never got old, it always made me smile, it often made me cry and it has remained one of my favorite sports movies of all time.

Today’s Thoughts: “I love him! I love him for the man he wants to be. And I love him for the man he almost is.”

I love ‘Jerry Maguire!’ I love it for the film it wants to be. And I love it for the film that it is. Because of that, I was very excited today to sit down and watch this romantic comedy/drama that was sure to make me smile as well as reach for the Kleenex box.

And it did just that. ‘Jerry Maguire’ is a very sweet movie and although it now gets mocked for those lines like “You had me at hello,” I still love them. Cameron Crowe wrote and directed a beautiful movie and had such a brilliant cast to tell his story. Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr, Renee Zellweger, Regina King, Kelly Preston, Bonnie Hunt, Jay Mohr, Jerry O’Connell and Jonathan Lipnicki are all simply fantastic in the movie. I have already spoken about its three leads, and I was equally moved by their performances again today, but lets talk about Mr. Lipnicki. What a great performance from a then five or six year old kid in his feature film debut. He is not only adorable, he is actually quite good going up against the likes of Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger. Bravo!

And now for something completely frivolous…’Jerry Maguire’ almost (almost) made my “penis” list. For those of you who have not been following this blog, I have been counting the number of movies that show full frontal male nudity. Why? It started as a serious knock on Hollywood for being so afraid of showing the penis in movies yet being so over-the-top when sexualizing women. Since then it has just been something fun that I decided to continue to do. So far there are twenty movies on that list. ‘Jerry Maguire’ nearly became the twenty-first. Cuba Gooding Jr. is naked in a locker room scene and as he turns the corner, he is seen full frontal. However the camera is so far away, there really is no view of his penis. You can go on line and find zoomed in versions of that scene and see a glimpse of it if you like. But who has time for that? (Okay, I do and I did.) Since it is not visible though without zooming in, I left it off this list. Thankfully though you get a great view of his gorgeous buttocks. I’ll take what I can get.

‘Jerry Maguire’ is a fantastic film that not only has stood the test of time, but seems to get better and better with every viewing. It handles the perfect balance of romance and sports enough for fans of all genres to give it a thumbs up. I highly recommend the movie as it is a most enjoyable and entertaining film with a tour de force performance by Tom Cruise. Just have the Kleenex box ready. If you are a true romantic like me, you will cry.

Awards: Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Cuba Gooding Jr. (winner), Academy Award for Best Picture (nomination), Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Tom Cruise (nomination), Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, Cameron Crowe (nomination), Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Joe Hutshing (nomination), Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, Tom Cruise (winner), Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical (nomination), Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, Cuba Gooding Jr. (nomination), Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Cuba Gooding Jr, (winner), Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Ton Cruise (nomination), Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, Renee Zellweger (nomination), Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, Cuba Gooding Jr. (winner), Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist, Renee Zellweger (winner) Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Child Performance, Jonathan Lipnicki (winner), Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Picture (nomination), Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, Tom Cruise (nomination), Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, Cameron Crowe (nomination), National Board of Review Award for Top Ten Films (winner), National Board of Review Award for Best Actor, Tom Cruise (winner), National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Performer, Renee Zellweger (winner), National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress, Renee Zellweger (nomination), New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, Tom Cruise (nomination), Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, Cameron Crowe (nomination).

Ways to Watch: Hulu, Sling TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, TNT, TBS, DVD Availability.