Dom Robinson reviews

Everybody loved him... Everybody disappeared.

Distributed by

Columbia TriStar

Cat.no: CDR 96093

Cert: 15

Running time: 133 minutes

Year: 1996

Pressing: 1998

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 25 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, MPEG Multichannel 5.1

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Cantonese, Italian, Greek, Hebrew.

Widescreen: 1.85:1

16:9-Enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: Yes

Price: £19.99

Extras : Scene index, Columbia TriStar trailer (clips of many films coming to DVD).

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Director:

Cameron Crowe (Singles)

Producers:

James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, Laurence Mark and Cameron Crowe

Screenplay:

Cameron Crowe

Music:

Danny Bramson

Cast:

Jerry Maguire: Tom Cruise (Cocktail, Days Of Thunder, Far & Away, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Interview With The Vampire, Legend, Mission: Impossible, The Outsiders, Rainman, Risky Business, Top Gun)
Rod Tidwell: Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Boyz In The Hood, A Few Good Men, Outbreak, The Tuskagee Airmen)
Dorothy Boyd: Renee Zellweger (8 Seconds, Dazed And Confused, Empire Records, Love And A .45, Reality Bites, Return Of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Avery Bishop: Kelly Preston (Addicted To Love, The Experts, Nothing To Lose, Only You, Space Camp, Twins, TV: "Tales From The Crypt")
Frank Cushman: Jerry O'Connell (Joe's Apartment, Scream 2, Stand By Me, TV: "Sliders")
Matt Cushman: Beau Bridges (uncredited) (The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Hotel New Hampshire, TV: "The Outer Limits", "Tales From The Crypt")
Bob Sugar: Jay Mohr (Picture Perfect)
Laurel Boyd: Bonnie Hunt (Beethoven, Beethoven's 2nd, Jumanji, Only You)
Ray Boyd: Jonathan Lipnicki
Dennis Wilburn: Glenn Frey
Ethan Valhere: Eric Stoltz (Anaconda, Bodies Rest And Motion, The Fly II, Killing Zoe, Little Women, Mask, Memphis Belle, Pulp Fiction, Rob Roy, Sleep With Me, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Two Days In The Valley, The Waterdance)

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This way, although there'll be less revenue rolling in, there'll be more time to look after each and every client individually. That night he writes a 'mission statement', a blueprint for the future, a copy of which is distributed to every worker in his office. On his entry to work the next day, he thinks that everyone thinks he's a hero and that he's finally said what everyone has always thought but never said. In fact, it's the complete opposite.

Jerry gets fired. He loses his fiancee. He now only has one client, rising football star Rod Tidwell, plus one employee, secretary Dorothy Boyd; and it's going to be a long road to get back to the top... again.

This is a film which grows on you each time you watch it. When I first saw it, it had a great start and finish, but the romance aspect slowed it down for about thirty minutes in the middle. On subsequent viewings, this time being my third, it all blends together much better, although there are a few moments which could still be tightened up.

On the whole, the film succeeds in the direction, the strong story and in the cast grouped together.

Headlining the great cast is Tom Cruise, one of the best actors of his generation who seems to throw himself into every film as fully as possible, note the moment when he's about to give a "No comment" on the phone while with Frank Cushman. You could cut the atmosphere in the room with a knife.

Backing him up are Cuba Gooding, Jr/, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, as his sole client Rod Tidwell; and Renee Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd, his secretary and love interest, after he separates from the embittered Kelly Preston.

Some of the best one-liners go to Bonnie Hunt as Dorothy's sarcastic sister who has to stand by and watch Jerry Maguire begin to self-destruct and take her sister down with her. As she welcomes Jerry into the fold with a beer, she mutters, "Fuck this up and I'll kill you (!)". Cute five-year-old Ray, played by Jonathan Lipnicki, is sure to be a future child star for as long as his cheeky persona prevails.

There's also recognised support around from Scream 2's Jerry O'Connell as football superstar Frank Cashman, with an uncredited role to his 'father' Beau Bridges, plus cameos for Eric Stoltz as one of Jerry's friends at his bachelor party and Eagles' frontman, Glenn Frey as the middle-man who may, or may not, get Rod the vital deal he needs.

The picture quality is very good indeed. There are some small artifacts fairly often, but these are only really noticeable when looking up close or sitting closer to the screen than you should, so most people won't catch sight of them. The film is presented in its original widescreen ratio of 1.85:1, is enhanced for 16:9 widescreen televisions - thus allowing for higher resolution - and the average bitrate is a reasonable 4.28 Mb/s.

The sound options are MPEG Multichannel 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1, for those with suitable decoders. For those without, the sound will downmix to Dolby Surround. All the sound comes across very clearly and is mainly used for sports sounds, ambience and music. I wasn't able to check the DD 5.1 sound as I do not have such an amplifier.

Extras :

Chapters/Columbia TriStar Trailer :

It's confusing that the main menu has a "Play trailer" option as you'd expect it to be the trailer for this particular film, but it's not. It's a collection of clips from various Columbia TriStar films coming soon to DVD.

Languages/Subtitles :

There's just the one language on this disc - English - plus subtitles in English, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Cantonese, Italian, Greek and Hebrew.

Menu :

The interactive menu is disappointing. Sometimes you can click on what's on the screen, while at other times you need to use the onscreen remote control.

On the plus side the main menu appears very quickly. However, on playing the film it is then that time is taken up with the Columbia TriStar logo and copyright info.

Overall, this is a superb film with a good cast and a good transfer. It could have used some more extras, but what we have here is well worth a purchase.

FILM	 		: ****½
PICTURE QUALITY		: ****
SOUND QUALITY		: ****
EXTRAS			: *½
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OVERALL			: ***½

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1998.