Regular readers of the site will know that earlier this year we ran a series looking at the classic films of Keanu Reeves. This was to co-inside with the release of the fantastic John Wick; now we turn our attention to another big name from the nineties, Tom Cruise. Each week from now until the release of the highly anticipated fifth Mission Impossible film, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the films that we feel are his classics.
Tom Cruise has had an extensive and wide-ranging career. Granted, he is most closely associated with films like last week’s subject Top Gun and the aforementioned Mission Impossible franchise, but he’s done much more than that. Some of his earlier years had him star in Ridley Scott’s Legend as well as the romantic period film Far and Away, one of the three films he made with his then-wife Nicole Kidman. Recent years have seen him branch out into comedies with appearances in both Austin Powers: Goldmember and Tropic Thunder, as well as musicals with 2012’s Rock of Ages. In between the early years and the action years Cruise had a string of roles in high profile dramas such as Magnolia and this week’s Cruise classic pick, Jerry Maguire.
Directed by Cameron Crowe, Jerry Maguire saw Cruise star as a cut-throat sports agent who, after having an epiphany, chose to leave his high-powered job working for a faceless corporation to set up a much smaller and caring company. His performance earned him an Oscar nomination, which he lost out to Geoffrey Rush, and a Golden Globe nomination which he won. Cruise, however, wasn’t the first choice for the titular character; the script, which took Cameron Crowe three years to write, was written with Tom Hanks in mind.
The script may have taken a long time to arrive at completion but the result is pretty perfect, and very quote friendly. In fact, the film has not one but two quotes in AFI’s top 100 movie quotes. Can you guess what they are? At number 52 we have the overly corny and highly parodied ‘You had me at hello’, and at number 25 is ‘Show me the money’, a quote that has followed Cuba Gooding Jr. around ever since.
In Jerry Maguire Cruise achieved his fifth consecutive $100 million plus box office, the other films were Rain Man, The Firm, Interview with the Vampire, and Mission Impossible.
The heart of Jerry Maguire is Dorothy’s young son Ray who was played by famous child actor Jonathan Lipnicki. Those around in the late nineties will know that after his debut in Jerry Maguire he was the go-to cute kid for any film that wanted a blonde child. Lipnicki followed Jerry Maguire with roles in The Little Vampire, Like Mike and both Stuart Little movies – he even had a guest spot on teen series Dawson’s Creek. Since then there has been relative radio silence from the young actor, though images of him surfaced last year and let’s just say the transformation is a little dramatic. Don’t believe us? Have a gander below.
A lot of Ray’s charm came directly from Lipnicki. For example, he showed up to set telling everyone that ‘the human head weighs eight pounds’, a phrase that Crowe wrote into the script. Also, in order to create genuine ‘feel’ between Jerry and Ray in the living room scene, Crowe let the whole scene be ad-libbed.
Cruise himself has rarely been as charming and charismatic. It was refreshing for audiences to see the big name star get a little vulnerable and show his sensitive side. He brings Jerry alive so completely that you could be forgiven for forgetting that he is merely a fictional character. Cruise effortlessly takes us on the journey from Maguire’s callous nature to big-hearted hero. The scenes between Jerry and Ray had women wishing the fathers of their children were more like him.
Missed last week’s slice of Tom Cruise nostalgia? Read the full story behind Top Gun now and find out which cast member really didn’t want any part of it.
