JERRY MAGUIRE (81) (second viewing: 77) 

Directed by: Cameron Crowe

Starring: Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr.

The Pitch: A high-powered sports agent finds himself out of a job, and left with only one (highly problematic) client, when he develops a conscience.

Theo Sez: A slick, big-studio romantic comedy that makes it all seem deceptively easy: it's like a little puppy that contrives to look adorably sweet and helpless, even as it's actually walking backwards on its hind legs and juggling a pound of oranges - and even though it actually has a pretty sharp set of teeth. Not only does it put its eponymous hero through an emotional wringer, it also surrounds him with an incredibly bleak, deeply pessimistic view of sexual relations in today's America - a world where divorced women meet in support groups to trade horror stories; where talk of sexual harassment fills the air, while a shameless "victim" culture fills the airwaves; where every relationship is a minefield, to be entered into with extreme caution. In this context, the film's family-values message is poignant rather than preachy - the touchy-feely togetherness it espouses is less a panacea for society's ills than simply a sanctuary for these poor battered characters to retreat to. It helps of course that they're all played with a self-deprecating charm that's a world away from the aggressive, point-scoring winsomeness so common in 90s romantic comedy (try and imagine this with Billy Crystal and Marisa Tomei). The happy ending seems thoroughly earned - and very touching. [Second viewing, 8 years later, similar rating, totally different viewing experience. For a while I actively disliked it, and the exhibitionist acting - preening and shouting and over-emoting - drove me up the wall; even the tender moments seemed contrived, as if Crowe had created a clanking, raucous contraption so he could turn down the volume occasionally and we'd be so grateful we'd think it was poignant. But then Tom and Renee become a couple and the film becomes subtler and thornier, two decent people stymied by the need for love; she says We could lose 10 years just being nice and refusing to leave this relationship, and you see the logic in that - yet it's also clear how easy it would be to lose each other, and how much of a waste. Unlike most romantic comedies, which merely pay lip-service to love, Crowe is obsessed with true romance in a world of betrayal and hurt - and he knows it's uncommon and possibly unnatural, and it has to be forced out of people. Relationships deepen, transcendence arrives in the simplest of ways and the ending - "And I wish you my kind of success" - had me in a puddle on the floor. Still one of the best 90s-Hollywood love stories but let's get one thing straight, now that Jonathan Lipnicki's all grown up and we're not going to hurt his feelings: that kid isn't cute, he's weird.]