Story of movie Jerry Maguire : Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama sports film written, produced and directed by Cameron Crowe, and stars Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renée Zellweger. Produced in part by long time Simpsons producer James L. Brooks, it was inspired by sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who acted as Technical Consultant on the crew. It was released in North American theaters on December 13, 1996, produced by Gracie Films and distributed by TriStar Pictures.
| Jerry Maguire | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Cameron Crowe |
| Produced by | Cameron Crowe James L. Brooks Laurence Mark Richard Sakai |
| Written by | Cameron Crowe |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Nancy Wilson |
| Cinematography | Janusz Kami?ski |
| Edited by | Joe Hutshing |
Production company | Gracie Films Vinyl Films |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 138 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million |
| Box office | $273.6 million |
The film received critical acclaim, with critics praising its acting and writing. The film was a financial success, bringing in more than $273 million worldwide, against its $50 million budget. It was the ninth top-grossing film of 1996.
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Tom Cruise, with Cuba Gooding Jr. winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film was also nominated for three Golden Globes, with Tom Cruise winning for Best Actor, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, with Cuba Gooding Jr. winning Best Supporting Actor.
Screenplay
Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a glossy 35-year-old sports agent working for Sports Management International (SMI). After having a life-altering epiphany about his role as a sports agent, he writes a mission statement about perceived dishonesty in the sports management business and his desire to work with fewer clients so as to produce better quality. In turn, SMI management decides to send Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Jerry's protégé, to fire him. Consequently, both Jerry and Sugar call all of Jerry's clients to try and convince 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. He needs a $10 million contract for his family to live on. Jerry informed him if he gets injured for the season, he will get no money from the Cardinals. Rod tests Jerry's resolve through a very long telephone conversation while Sugar is able to convince the rest of Jerry's clients to stick with SMI instead. 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. Meanwhile, Frank "Cush" Cushman (Jerry O'Connell), a superstar quarterback prospect who expects to be the number one pick in the NFL Draft, initially also stays with Jerry after he makes a visit to the Cushman home. However, Sugar is able to convince Cushman and his father to sign with SMI over Jerry the night before the draft. Cushman's father implies they decided to sign with Sugar over Jerry when they saw Jerry attending to Tidwell; an African-American player, versus his son (a white player).
After an argument, Jerry breaks up with his disgruntled fiancée Avery (Kelly Preston). He then turns to Dorothy, becoming closer to her young son, Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki), and eventually starts a relationship with her. Dorothy contemplates moving to San Diego as she has a secure job offer there, however she and Jerry agree to get married. 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. Rod takes Jerry's advice to prove he is worthy of his contract. Rod is playing well and his team is winning. Meanwhile, Jerry's marriage with Dorothy gradually deteriorates and they eventually separate.
During a Monday Night Football game between the Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, Rod plays well but appears to receive a serious injury when catching a winning touchdown, securing a spot for the Cardinals in the playoffs. 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. He then flies back home to meet Dorothy, telling her that he loves her and wants her in his life, which she accepts. 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 movie ends with Ray throwing a baseball up in the air surprising Jerry. Jerry then discusses Ray's possible future career in the sports industry with Dorothy.
- Tom Cruise as Gerald "Jerry" Maguire. Cameron Crowe originally wrote the screenplay for Tom Hanks. Crowe took so long to write the screenplay that by the time the film was ready to be made, he felt Hanks was too old to play the part.
- Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rodney "Rod" Tidwell
- Renée Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd
- Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop
- Jerry O'Connell as Frank "Cush" Cushman
- Jay Mohr as Robert "Bob" Sugar
- Regina King as Marcee Tidwell
- Bonnie Hunt as Laurel Boyd
- Jonathan Lipnicki as Raymond "Ray" Boyd
- Lisa Stahl Sullivan as Jerry's ex-girlfriend
- Todd Louiso as Chad the Nanny
- Jeremy Suarez as Tyson Tidwell
- Aries Spears as Teepee Tidwell
- Toby Huss as Steven "Steve" Remo
- Eric Stoltz as Ethan Valhere
- Beau Bridges as Matthew "Matt" Cushman (uncredited)
- Glenn Frey as Dennis Wilburn
- Drake Bell as Jesse Remo
- Jared Jussim as Dicky Fox
Janet Jackson auditioned and was initially accepted for the role of Marcee Tidwell, though it later went to Regina King, who previously co-starred in Janet Jackson's debut film Poetic Justice. Jackson is referenced twice in the film, with a Janet poster seen hanging in Teepee's room and Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character Rod Tidwell asking "What Have You Done for Me Lately?", paying homage to Jackson's hit of the same name.
Artie Lange filmed a scene for the movie but was edited out of the final cut.
Patricia Arquette, Bridget Fonda, Winona Ryder and Marisa Tomei were all considered for the part of Dorothy. Mira Sorvino was also considered for Dorothy but the producers wouldn't meet her quote.
Damon Wayans and Mykelti Williamson were considered for the role of Rod Tidwell.
Diane Lane was considered for the role of Avery Bishop.
Billy Wilder was considered for the part of Jerry's mentor Dicky Fox.
Cameos
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Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., former NFL quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe, Troy 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 McDonald, Johnnie Morton, Rick Mirer, Rob Moore, Ki-Jana Carter, Herman Moore, Art Monk, Kerry Collins, and Dean Biasucci.
Sportscasters Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Roy Firestone, Mike 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 Liu, Samantha Smith, Ivana Mili?evi?, Alison Armitage, Emily Procter and Stacey Williams. Reagan 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.
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. When the film aired on television, the Reebok commercial had been embedded into the film as originally agreed upon. The "Special Edition" DVD release of the film, which has the film's theatrical edit, includes the commercial as bonus content.
Box office
The film debuted at number one. 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. It is the ninth top-grossing film of 1996 and the fourth highest-grossing romantic drama film of all time.
Critical response
The film received critical acclaim, with an 82% positive reviews on the film-critics aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. Cuba Gooding Jr. won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell, the Arizona Cardinals football 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 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." Todd McCarthy of Variety 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..." Former Green Bay Packers vice president Andrew Brandt stated that the film "accurately portrayed the cutthroat nature of the agent business, especially the lengths to which agents will go to retain or pilfer clients. It also captured the financial, emotional and psychological investment that goes far beyond negotiating contracts."
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