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Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American comedy-drama sports film starring Tom CruiseCuba Gooding, Jr., and Renee Zellweger. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe. The film was inspired by sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who acted as Technical Consultant on the crew.[2][3][4][5] It was released in North American theaters on December 13, 1996, distributed by Gracie Films and TriStar Pictures.

The film received very positive reviews, praising the performances of Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Renee Zellweger and the screenplay. The film was a financial success, bringing in more than $270 million worldwide, against its $50 million budget.[1] It is the ninth top-grossing film of 1996.

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. For his portrayal as Rod Tidwell, Cuba Gooding, Jr. won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and aScreen Actors Guild Award. Tom Cruise won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as Jerry Maguire, while being nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards.

The film also received nominations for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Gooding, Jr. and the film itself was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Contents[]

 [hide*1 Plot

Plot[edit][]

Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a glossy 35-year-old sports agent working for Sports Management International (SMI). After suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of stress and a guiltyconscience, he writes a mission statement about perceived dishonesty in the sports management business and how he believes that the business should be operated. He distributes copies of it, entitled "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business". His honesty touches his co-workers, and they greet him with applause, but the management sends Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Jerry's protégé, to fire him. Jerry and Sugar call all of Jerry's clients to try convincing them not to hire the services of the other. Jerry speaks to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), one of his clients who is disgruntled with his contract. Rod tests Jerry's resolve through a very long telephone conversation, culminating in the famed "Show me the money!" scene. Meanwhile, Sugar secures most of Jerry's previous clients. Frank "Cush" Cushman (Jerry O'Connell), a superstar quarterback prospect from Southern Methodist University expected to be number one in the NFL Draft, also stays with Jerry after he makes a visit to the Cushman home. Leaving the office, Jerry announces that he will start his own agency and asks if anyone is willing to join him, to which only 26-year-old single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger) agrees. The two had previously bumped into each other in the airport, and Dorothy had told Jerry personally how inspiring she found his "memo."

Jerry travels to the NFL Draft with Cush and convinces Rod to come, too, to meet representatives of other NFL teams. Though Rod at first feels neglected compared to the superstar Cush, Sugar contacts Matt Cushman (Beau Bridges), Cush's dad, while Jerry is in the lobby with Rod, and re-signs Cush to SMI. A devastated Jerry turns to his fiancée Avery (Kelly Preston) for support, but she rebukes him, and he breaks up with her. He then turns to Dorothy, becoming closer to her young son, Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki), and eventually starts a relationship with her. However, Dorothy contemplates moving to San Diego as she has a secure job offer there. Jerry concentrates all his efforts on Rod, now his only client, who turns out to be very difficult to satisfy. Over the next several months, the two direct harsh criticism towards each other with Rod claiming that Jerry is not trying hard enough to get him a contract while Jerry claims that Rod is not proving himself worthy of the money for which he asks. Jerry marries Dorothy to help them both stay afloat financially and to keep her from moving away. He is emotionally and physically distant during the marriage but is clearly invested in becoming a father to Ray. Although Dorothy loves Jerry, she breaks up with him because she believes that he does not love her.

Before the start of a Monday Night Football game between the Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, Sugar tries stealing Rod, but Rod and Jerry rebuke him. The two reconcile soon after. Rod plays well but appears to receive a seriousinjury when catching a touchdown. He recovers, however, and dances for the wildly cheering crowd. Afterwards, Jerry and Rod embrace in front of other athletes and sports agents and show how their relationship has progressed from a strictly business one to a close personal one, which was one of the points Jerry made in his mission statement. Jerry then flies back home to meet Dorothy. He walks in and, in front of her friends, says "Hello." He then speaks for several minutes, telling her that he loves her and wants her in his life, ending with the statement, "You complete me." Dorothy's reply to Jerry is, "You had me at 'hello.'" Rod later appears on Roy Firestone's sports show. Unbeknownst to him, Jerry has secured him an $11.2 million contract with the Cardinals allowing him to finish his pro football career in Arizona. The visibly emotional Rod proceeds to thank everyone and extends warm gratitude to Jerry. Jerry speaks with several other pro athletes, some of whom have read his earlier mission statement and respect his work with Rod. The film ends with Jerry, Dorothy, and Ray walking in the park and stumbling across a Little League Baseball game. When the ball lands near them, Ray throws it back. A surprised Jerry then comments on his natural throwing ability (and possible future in sports), much to Dorothy's dismay.

Cast[edit][]

Cameos[edit][]

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey LurieESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., former NFL quarterbacks Drew BledsoeTroy Aikman, and Warren Moon, German ice skater Katarina Witt, then-current Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer, and former Detroit Lions coach Wayne Fontes play themselves in the film.

Other NFL players that make cameos as themselves are Tim McDonaldJohnnie MortonRick MirerRob MooreKi-Jana CarterHerman MooreArt MonkKerry Collins, and Dean Biasucci.

Sportscasters Al MichaelsFrank GiffordRoy FirestoneMike Tirico, and Dan Dierdorf also make cameos.

Former NBA basketball player Brent Barry is featured in the film as an athlete who refuses to sign an autograph for a young boy.

Actresses portraying ex-girlfriends of Maguire include Lucy LiuIvana MiličevićAlison ArmitageEmily Procter and Stacey WilliamsReagan Gomez-Preston also had a minor role in the film as part of the Tidwell family.

Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell makes a brief appearance in the film as a copier store clerk.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay makes a cameo as Jerry Maguire's boss.

Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner is seen briefly as an SMI CEO as Maguire departs the company.

Product placement[edit][]

Tristar received merchandise and marketing services of over $1.5 million from Reebok in exchange for incorporating a commercial into the film and depicting the Reebok brand within certain agreed-upon standards; when the film was theatrically released, the commercial had been left out and a tirade including "broadsides against Reebok" was included.[10] When the film aired on television, the Reebok commercial had been embedded into the film as originally agreed.[10]

Release[edit][]

Box office[edit][]

The film debuted at number one.[11] It earned $17,084,296 its opening weekend, and eventually grossed $153,952,592 in North American box office and approximately $119.6 million overseas for a $273,552,592 worldwide total, on a budget of $50 million.[1] It is the ninth top grossing film of 1996 and the fourth highest-grossing romantic drama film of all time.[12]

Critical response[edit][]

The film received critical acclaim, with an 85% positive reviews on the film-critics aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. Its critical consensus states: "Anchored by dazzling performances from Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renée Zellweger, as well as Cameron Crowe's tender direction, Jerry Maguire meshes romance and sports with panache."[13] Cuba Gooding, Jr. won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell, the Arizona Cardinalsfootball player who sticks with Maguire. Cruise was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the movie marked Renée Zellweger's breakout role. The film itself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and crew members on the film were nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing awards.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3/4 stars, writing that there "are so many subplots that Jerry Maguire seems too full" and also commented that the film "starts out looking cynical and quickly becomes a heartwarmer." He concluded that the film "is often a delight" and "is about transformation: About two men who learn how to value something more important than money, and about two women who always knew."[14] Todd McCarthy ofVariety wrote "An exceptionally tasty contempo comedic romance, Jerry Maguire runs an unusual pattern on its way to scoring an unexpected number of emotional, social and entertaining points. Smartly written and boasting a sensational cast, Cameron Crowe's shrewdly observed third feature also gives Tom Cruise one of his very best roles..."[15] In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Jerry Maguire one of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years.[16]

Accolades[edit][]

Academy Awards

  • Best Actor (Cruise, nominated)
  • Best Editing (Hutshing, nominated)
  • Best Picture (nominated)
  • Best Screenplay – Original (Crowe, nominated)
  • Best Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won)

Chicago Film Critics Association

  • Best Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won)

Directors Guild of America

  • Outstanding Directing – Motion Pictures (Crowe, nominated)

Golden Globe Awards

  • Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Cruise, won)
  • Best Film – Musical or Comedy (nominated)
  • Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (Gooding Jr., nominated)

Image Awards

  • Outstanding Actor – Motion Picture (Gooding Jr., nominated)

Satellite Awards

  • Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Cruise, won)
  • Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Gooding Jr., won)
  • Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Zellweger, nominated)

Screen Actors Guild

  • Outstanding Actor – Motion Picture (Cruise, nominated)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress (Zellweger, nominated)

Writers Guild of America

  • Best Screenplay – Original (Crowe, nominated)

Home media[edit][]

The film was first released onto DVD on December 13, 1996 in both a standard edition and a two-disc "Special Edition." While the standard edition contains no special features, the two-disc edition primarily includes deleted scenes, commentary tracks, featurettes, and a music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Secret Garden." The film was later released onto Blu-ray on September 9, 2008, with the same special features found on the second disc of the DVD "Special Edition."[17]

Legacy[edit][]

Jerry Maguire spawned several popular quotations, including "Show me the money!" (shouted repeatedly in a phone exchange between Rod Tidwell and Jerry Maguire), "You complete me," "Help me help you," "The key to this business is personal relationships" and "You had me at 'hello'" (said by Renée Zellweger's Dorothy Boyd after a lengthy romantic plea by Jerry Maguire), and "Kwan," a word used by Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s Tidwell meaning love, respect, community, and money (also spelled "quan" and "quawn") to illustrate the difference between himself and other football players: "Other football players may have the coin, but they won't have the 'Kwan'." These lines are largely attributed to Cameron Crowe, director and screenwriter of the film. Zellweger said of filming the famous "hello" line, "Cameron had me say it a few different ways. It's so funny, because when I read it, I didn't get it — I thought it was a typo somehow. I kept looking at it. It was the one thing in the script that I was looking at going, 'Is that right? Can that be right? How is that right?' I thought, 'Is there a better way to say that? Am I not getting it? I just don't know how to do it.'"[18]

A video blog "Everything is Terrible!" is running a campaign to salvage remaining VHS copies of the movie.[19]

In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten Top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Jerry Maguire was acknowledged as the tenth best film in the sports genre.[20][21] It was also voted by AFI as #100 on its list of 100 Passions.[22] The quotes "Show me the money!" and "You had me at 'hello'" were also ranked by AFI on its list of 100 Movie Quotes, ranked #25 and #52 respectively.[23]

American Film Institute Lists

Soundtrack[edit][]

The movie soundtrack includes:[24]

"Secret Garden", originally a Springsteen track from 1995, was re-released in 1997 after its exposure in the film and on the soundtrack, and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.[citation needed]

The film was scored by director Crowe's then-wife, Nancy Wilson,[25] who was a member of the rock band Heart.

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