Look, if I can’t convince you that Jerry Maguire is a football movie, maybe the American Film Institute, one of the greatest authorities on American cinema, can. But that’s a conversation for a different day. even won an Oscar for the performance and subsequently gave an acceptance speech that may have accidentally killed his career as a serious actor.
#FILM JERRY MAGUIRE 1996 MOVIE#
If for no other reason, Jerry Maguire should be considered a football movie because Rod Tidwell is the most iconic football player ever portrayed on screen (maybe Willie Beamen has a case). This moment in a football game changes his life. It’s this moment that finds Tom Cruise running after the life he desires as fast as he can.
From there, the film crescendos towards a reunion with Renee Zellweger. We could argue about what the actual climax of the film is, but I would contend it’s when Rod Tidwell (possibly the most memorable football player ever portrayed on camera) catches the touchdown pass and is knocked unconscious. So, Jerry Maguire is absolutely a football movie. Would you say Bull Durham (1988) is not a baseball movie because it has a love story at its heart? Would you say Remember the Titans (2000) is not a football movie because it uses football to tell a story of overcoming prejudice? Absolutely not. But the film uses the world of professional football to tell that story. Is there a story of a man coming to terms with what really matters in life? Absolutely.
Is there a love story at the heart of the film? Yes. Jerry Maguire is a movie about a football agent trying to figure out his life after a breakdown. Or at least a movie about a sports agent. I first watched Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire (1996) because I assumed it was a football movie.