Tom Cruise is back on the big screen in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Digger, trading high-octane stunts for layers of prosthetics in a jet-black comedy that has already turned heads among movie and Cruise fans alike. It marks a return to the kind of auteur-driven roles that defined his earlier career.
Cruise has been a mega star in Hollywood for most of 40 years, emerging in 1980s teen ensemble movies like The Outsiders before rising to leading-man status with Risky Business and Top Gun. He went on to establish himself as a bona fide movie star across the decades, with blockbusters like the Mission: Impossible franchise and War of the Worlds, as well as dramatic fare like Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men, and Magnolia.
Why Jerry Maguire stands out
When it comes to his most quintessential role, the honour belongs to one that lands more in the dramatic camp: 1996's Jerry Maguire. It is far from his most high-octane work; there are no special effects, and it is not even the most dramatic effort he has ever done. But Jerry Maguire is an example of him fully inhabiting a character in a manner that leans on elements of his persona.
Jerry is a larger-than-life character, a man driven by an innate sense of doing the right thing even if he cannot quite keep his ego in check. He takes bold swings, relies on his big shining grin to get by in sticky situations, and lays it all on the line in the name of his clients, his friends, and the woman he loves in Renée Zellweger's Dorothy. Maguire's drive and determination have an intensity not unlike Cruise's career. When Jerry has his mind set on something, he goes after it.
A flawed side to Cruise
Jerry Maguire feels more unique these days when held up to Cruise's more recent output. The likes of the latter Mission: Impossible movies and Top Gun: Maverick are designed to mythologise the figure of Cruise and his status as the last movie star. While there is often passion and determination in those characters, we rarely see a flawed side to him.
Jerry Maguire reminds us of a movie star who was not afraid to reveal more vulnerability and flaws on screen, with Jerry's apparent confidence proving to be a shield to protect himself from letting someone truly see him. Behind it is a man often overwhelmed by both the new path he has set himself on and his feelings for Dorothy, constantly battling with himself over what his priorities should be: his career or love. It is a movie about emotional risks as much as it is a sports movie about career risks.
Key details and lasting impact
Directed and written by Cameron Crowe, Jerry Maguire stars Cruise, Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr, Bonnie Hunt, Kelly Preston, Jerry O'Connell, and Jay Mohr. It has a 15 age rating, a runtime of 2 hours and 18 minutes, and was released on December 13, 1996. It grossed $273.6 million (£206.8m) at the box office and holds an 86% critics score and 79% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is available to stream on Now Cinema.
The role gave Cruise one of his three Oscar nominations for acting, alongside Born on the Fourth of July and Magnolia. While he did not win, losing to Geoffrey Rush in Shine, 1996 was a banner year for Cruise, with both Jerry Maguire and the first Mission: Impossible released in the same year. The two movies demonstrate two sides of his movie star track: the character actor and the action hero. While Ethan Hunt and the Mission movies gave him his flagship franchise, Jerry Maguire gave him the role of a lifetime, allowing him to lay bare flaws, sincerity, and emotion in a way that seems unlikely to be seen again.
