Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageJerry Maguire (1996)
Director: Cameron Crowe
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
When sports agent Jerry Maguire (Cruise) writes an uncharacteristically idealistic manifesto suggesting his company should opt for fewer clients and a more caring approach, he's applauded by his colleagues who, as soon as he's fired, desert him - along with all but one of his clients, mouthy footballer Rod Tidwell (Gooding). But then Jerry also has support from single mum Dorothy Boyd (Zellweger), who happens to have fallen for him. Will the prospect of failure allow him to open up to his emotions, instead of just half-hearted affairs, as before? Lauded as a witty moral fable with a revelatory performance from its star, this romantic comedy is in fact meretricious, manipulative and reactionary. Cruise is still limited to three modes of expression: anxious, determined and smugly smiling. Since Maguire never really breaks with the money-oriented definition of success favoured by the agency that fired him, his 'failure' and diatribes against cynicism are meaningless. As for his 'redemption' through the love of a good woman: she's a doting doormat who even apologises for his mistakes, and he's so peremptory about getting what he wants that the film comes over as unthinkingly sexist. Sterling performances, nevertheless, from Zellweger and Gooding.Author: GA
User reviews of this film
-
- thetruest said...
-
Posted on Apr 07 2009 22:29
maggie is idiot.
So is the the last part of this idiot review and the person who wrote it. - Report as inappropriate
-
- Maggie said...
- Posted on Aug 18 2007 17:29 Totally agree. Mindboggling people think it's romantic at all.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Cameron Crowe
Producer: James L Brooks, Laurence Mark, Richard Sakai, Cameron Crowe
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr, Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O'Connell, Jay Mohr, Regina King, Bonnie Hunt, Beau Bridges full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 139 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 50 greatest monster movies
As Joe Johnston’s long-awaited reinvention of Universal’s howl-at-the-moon classic ‘The Wolfman’ hits cinemas, Time Out lists our 50 favourite cinematic stalkers, growlers, slashers and biters.
Mark Kermode: A life in film
Dave Calhoun chats to Britain's most outspoken film critic and pundit ahead of the release of his memoirs
Has Ricky Gervais gone all serious?
The trailer to 'Cemetery Junction' suggests that its writer-director is suppressing his funny bone.
The genius of Roman Polanski
Ahead of his new film, 'The Ghost', we must forget the media circus and remember the artist pleads Wally Hammond
Oscars 2010: The nominees
Tom Huddleston offers his acute analysis on the list of nominees for the 2010 Academy Awards
Rotterdam 2010: Geoff Andrew's report
Geoff Andrew finds rich leftfield pickings at the 2010 Rotterdam Film Festival
Can Tom Ford cut it as a director?
After ten years as creative head of Gucci, Tom Ford has directed his first movie. Nina Caplan meets him
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
So here it is… Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this.
2009: The year in film
We look back at the best movies of 2009 and pick out some of our favourite lists, features and interviews.
What do you think?
Post your review now