Movie Name: Jerry Maguire
Language: English
Genre: Rom-Com/Sports Drama
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Renée Zellweger
Director: Cameron Crowe
Year Of Release: 1996
Gerald “Jerry” Maguire is a successful sports agent working for Sports Management International (SMI). Once he has a life-altering epiphany about his role as a sports agent and he writes a mission statement about dishonesty in the sports management business and his desire to work with fewer clients so as to produce better quality. This doesn't go down well with the SMI management and they send Jerry's protégé, Bob Sugar to fire him. Both Jerry and Sugar call all of Jerry's clients to try and convince them not to hire the services of the other. Jerry then decides to leave SMI and start a sports management firm of his own. Thanks to the current situation in his life, he breaks up with his fiancée, Avery, and soon starts a relationship with Dorothy as he becomes close to her young son, Ray, and eventually marries her .
Left with just a sole client, Jerry puts all his efforts on him. The client happens to be Rod Tidwell, who is too big for his shoes and comes with rules and conditions of his own. They start to have arguments time and again and on the side, Jerry's marriage to Dorothy suffers and they separate.
What happens to Jerry when there is no one by his side? He was loved by everybody, but where are they when he needs them the most? Will Ray continue to see Jerry, the one whom he considers a father figure now?
What I loved about it:
Let me start by saying that there is nothing great about this movie. And that is exactly what makes it so special. I've always liked Tom Cruise the actor, more than his gorgeous looks, and he breathes soul into Jerry. He was nominated for a Oscar for this role, but did not win. He did with a Golden Globe for best actor though. Cuba Gooding, Jr. as the disgruntled Rod is spectacular in his role. He did win an Oscar and an SAG award for playing Rod. I did feel Renée Zellweger was wasted as Dorothy for the brilliant actress that she is, but she brings a certain level of innocence and warmth as the single mother to Ray who is adorable from the first frame. The relationship that Jerry shares with Ray is beyond parenting and it is so damn beautiful.
Jerry Maguire is a movie about relationships. Be it the one between Jerry and Rod, Jerry and Dorothy or Jerry and Ray, each of it stands out on its own and completes Jerry in his own way. The climax is so sweet and well justified. Watch this movie for the beautiful journey of Jerry.
Runners-up: The Jungle Book (English), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (Hindi).
This post is a part of the A To Z Challenge for April, where my theme for this year is Movies I Love.
