Jerry Maguire is a 1996 film, starring Tom Cruise, that tells the story of professional sports agent, Jerry Maguire, whose crisis of faith leads him to write a mission statement that advocates better service, fewer clients, and less focus on the bottom line. After he distributes the mission statement to his fellow agents, he is fired from his high-profile job. He decides to form his own agency, but is only able to convince one of his clients (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) to stay with him, and a single employee (played by Renée Zellweger) to join his new company.
Jerry Maguire remains famous more than a decade after its release due to the memorable quotes, largely attributed to Cameron Crowe, Director and screenwriter of the movie.
Contents
1Themes
2Trivia
3Soundtrack
4External links
Themes
The film tackles a range of themes and attempts to critique the modern capitalist society and its emphasis on financial and professional success at the expense of personal relationships. The "voice of reason" throughout the film is that of Dickie Fox (Jared Jussim), Jerry Maguire's mentor, who comments at the very end of the film that, "I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I've failed as much as I've succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. I wish you my kind of success." Cameron Crowe suggests reaching out to the people around us is the key to professional as well as personal success. The now infamous "show me the money!" scene, featuring Rod Tidwell demanding Jerry scream his "family motto" back to him over the phone, epitomizes the empty values of those around Jerry, yet somewhat paradoxically it is Rod who serves as a role-model for the family values and personal attention that Jerry seeks. Crowe's point is that the pursuit of financial success need not be incompatible with family values or personal relationships, simply that it should take second place to them.
Trivia
Based on the success of the 1996 film The Truth About Cats and Dogs, director Cameron Crowe offered Janeane Garofalo the leading female role in Jerry Maguire if she could lose weight. However, after trimming down, Garofalo learned that Renée Zellweger had won the part instead in what was to become Zellweger's career-launching role.
To date, the Jerry MaguireDVD is one of only two DVDs to feature commentary by Tom Cruise himself. The other is Mission: Impossible III, with director J.J. Abrams
Tom Hanks was originally offered the title role, but turned it down. The producers later approached John Travolta, but eventually cast Tom Cruise.
The movie features a character, "Bob Sugar," who is based in large part on Drew Rosenhaus, one of the National Football League's most aggressive sports agents. He is named for musician Bob Mould and his band Sugar.
The Maguire character is based on Leigh Steinberg who had a cameo at the end of the movie. Cruise has also said he drew inspiration from Sidney Falco, the Tony Curtis-played publicity agent in Sweet Smell of Success.
Cuba Gooding Jr. reportedly said director Cameron Crowe requested recording the famous loud "SHOW ME THE MONEY" scene through the phone while Gooding was stuck in Los Angeles traffic, and he kept yelling all the way through onto the studio lot leaving a crowd of people confused.
In the bedroom scene when Jerry asks Dorothy (Renée Zellweger), "What is this music?" the music is "Haitian Fight Song" from the album The Clown by Charles Mingus.
The German ice skater Katarina Witt appears as herself in the film.
Country singer Kenny Chesney's hit song "You Had Me From Hello" is reportedly based on Zellweger's line "you had me at hello." Chesney later wed actress Zellweger in 2005. The couple filed for divorce four months later.
To "shoplift the pooty" means when a man sleeps with a single mother, where the mother has a small, cute child, or children. Also, it can mean when a man endears himself to the child, and thus gets close to or charms the mother and as a result gets sex.
In Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (released in 1999), Dr. Evil tells the US government "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" in a scene depicted as taking place in 1969 - 27 years before "Jerry Maguire" was released.
One episode of The Simpsons showed Homer trying an answering machine recording - "This is Jerry Maguire - SHOW ME THE MESSAGE!"
The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer" shows a newspaper at the end of the episode proclaiming "In Rod We Trust" This message is displayed on the billboard towards the end of Jerry Maguire.
As with all of Cameron Crowe's films, the soundtrack constitutes an important backdrop to the film. (Crowe was a journalist with Rolling Stone in the 1970s.) Highlights include:
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