Whether you like it or you find it outdated, name for me another film from the past thirty years that has been more quoted than Jerry Maguire (1996).  Nothing comes to mind for me, either, and I am not this movie’s biggest fan.  I mean, it is okay, but if we are talking about films directed by Cameron Crowe, give me Almost Famous (2000).  Still, most critics seemed prefer Jerry Maguire, even if it was made earlier, since it was nominated for two Academy Awards.  Even if it did not win them, for a romantic comedy to garner such attention is, if nothing else, remarkable.  I would also be willing to bet that it has gotten to the point where most people probably do not remember the title, but recognize “Show me the money!” or “You complete me.”  We will talk more about the latter quote in a little while.  In the meantime, let me show you the rest of the story.

Our title character in Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a sports agent.  He represents dozens of professional athletes, and he “loves” each one.  I put that in quotes because unlike the genuine feeling, Jerry’s relationship with them is purely transactional, as in “Show me the money.”  This is driven home for him early on when one of his clients, a hockey player, is in the hospital after suffering a traumatic injury.  With the concerned family all around him, Jerry is reassuring them all that everything will be okay.  It is obvious to even the player’s young son that these sentiments are thin, and the boy curses at Jerry before returning to his father bed.  It causes Jerry to ask himself some tough questions about how he goes about business.  The answer becomes a mission statement that he drafts in one night, outlining less clients for the agents and a more personal touch with the fewer people they represent.  It is delivered to everyone in the company the next morning.  Upon returning to the office, at first he is met with applause.  Yet, a week later, he is being fired by a co-worker who once looked up to Jerry, Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr).  This is done at a nearby restaurant, and from there Jerry dashes back to the office to try and salvage any athlete he can to take with him as he leaves his company.  In the end, he is only able to retain one: Arizona Cardinals star wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.).  As Jerry leaves the building, he gives an impassioned speech about his contributions and how he plans to conduct his affairs from then on, expecting others to follow him out the door.  Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger), who had read and loved Jerry’s mission statement, is the only one that goes with him.  Once again, Jerry is trying to tell somebody else, but mostly himself, that everything is going to be fine.  He has yet to hit his lowest point.  Another potential bright spot for him is the projected number one draft pick in the upcoming National Football League (NFL) draft, Frank “Cush” Cushman (Jerry O’Connell).  However, on the night when he is to be picked, Jerry picks up the phone in Cush’s hotel room and hears Bob on the other end talking about deals made behind Jerry’s back.  A little while later, his relationship with his fiancée, Avery Bishop (Kelly Preston), is over, with her calling him a loser.  Finally, his walk with Rod through the lobby did not garner his sole remaining client any deals as the athlete hoped.  Thus, Jerry returns home feeling sorry for himself, and eventually finds his way to Dorothy’s house.  She had already been developing a crush on him, but is cautioned by her sister, Laurel Boyd (Bonnie Hunt).  While Dorothy is dismissive of her sister’s advice, she does not let things go too far, calling him a cab and seeing him promptly out the door after a drunken kiss.  The next morning it is back to work with an apologetic boss.  In a more sober state, he later asks her to dinner, citing business reasons for an evening together.  When he comes to pick her up, she is impressed with the growing bond that is developing between him and her son, Ray Boyd (Jonathan Lipnicki).  Jerry is enchanted by the gorgeous dress she wears, feeling underdressed himself.  The night should have probably ended with them saying goodnight on the porch, but she invites him in for some adult time.  I will have more to say about this in a moment.  For now, it gives him the kind of connection he thinks he needs.  So strongly does he feel about this, without expressing the right emotions, that he asks her to marry him instead of letting her move to San Diego to take a real job.  As their relationship develops, Jerry spends more time on the road with Rod.  He is doing this because the wide receiver is demanding a new contract and the team does not want to pay him what he thinks he is worth.  It also keeps him from having to be emotionally intimate with Dorothy, which is something she wants.  Thus, when he is about to go on another business trip, she says that she wants a divorce.  He does not know what to do or say besides accept it.  His feelings change when he is on hand for a game winning touchdown caught by Rod.  In the play, he lands awkwardly on his neck and lays on the ground not moving for several minutes.  Jerry goes down to the field, calling Rod’s wife Marcee Tidwell (Regina King) to try and calm her.  Rod gets to his feet, and after the game, using Jerry’s phone, Rod has a joyful conversation with Marcee.  It is everything Jerry realizes he wants with Dorothy, but had been afraid to tell her.  In turn, he rushes back to her and utters the famous line about her completing him, to which she replies with the equally well-known words “You had me at hello.”  Their marriage is saved, Rod gets his contract, and everyone seemingly lives happily ever after.

I have been at various Catholic talks when the lines from Jerry Maguire are discussed.  The main one is “You complete me.”  It is romantic, but problematic from a Faith perspective.  No human being, including our closest friends, family, relatives, spouses, pets, or whatever, can make this claim upon us.  Only God has that right.  You can look to seemingly the most well-adjusted person you know, but without God they are incomplete.  This is not meant to diminish the importance of relationships of any kind.  Community is a bedrock of Christianity, and has been so from the beginning.  They can be filling, but they will never make you full.  I see this play itself out in Jerry’s life for most of the film.  One of the things that is said about him early on is that he cannot be alone.  Many of the decisions he makes proves this point.  After the crappy day at the draft that saw him lose his most important client and his fiancée, he turns to Dorothy for comfort.  When facing the prospect of seeing her go to another city, he proposes to her.  What she wants from him is the kind of intimacy that God wants of us.  This is not physical, but rather a sharing of our whole selves with God, and God alone.  Granted, naysayers will quibble about God knowing everything about us anyway, so why do we need to say anything to Him?  To that I would say that since when has any relationship worked where the communication was one way.  Now, of course, there is no reason why you should be closed off in any way with significant others.  At the same time, our number one relationship is not with our Dorothy or Jerry, it is with God.  Again, this is the only place you can find the completeness spoken of in the film.

It had been years since I had seen Jerry Maguire.  There were a few things that surprised me, particularly the fair amount of nudity and language in it.  It is nothing over-the-top, but more than I remembered.  If you can get past these things, it is still a solid film that has held up over time.