Jerry Maguire (1996) [R] ****

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net.

Every time I think Hollywood has slipped beyond redemption, someone in the system produces a film like Jerry Maguire that renews my faith. Apparently, creativity is not dead in the mainstream movie market -- not entirely, at least. This is the kind of movie that reminds me why I started reviewing in the first place. Jerry Maguire is magic on celluloid -- fresh, funny, romantic, and upbeat. You'll leave the theater with a smile on your face and perhaps a tear in your eye.

Personally, I never really bought Tom Cruise as the action lead in Mission Impossible. Here, however, the actor is playing to his strength, which lies in an arena that demands less testosterone. Leave the stunts and explosions to Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Cruise is best when he stays low key and flashes the occasional smile. And, in this picture, surrounded by a superlative supporting cast, his ability shines. Jerry Maguire works because we root for the title character, and it's Cruise's performance that forges the link between his screen personae and the audience.

As the movie opens, super sports agent Jerry Maguire is facing a crisis of conscience (that he still possesses one after working in such a cynical, materialistic business is something of a miracle). He wonders what he has become -- Just another shark in a suit? He realizes that he hates himself and his place in the world, and laments that, although he has a lot to say, no one will listen. So, late one night, he writes a Mission Statement called The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business. The essay attacks the sports agency business, advocating a more humane approach. The next day, a copy is distributed to everyone in the office. And, although Jerry's co-workers applaud his courage (Somebody finally said what had to be said), his bosses are offended, and he loses his job. Only one client, unremarkable Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), elects to remain with Jerry as he strikes out on his own. Also joining him is a 26-year old single mother, Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger), who is so moved by Jerry's Mission Statement that she's willing to throw away a safe job to be part of his new venture.

In an era of downsizing and force reductions, it's easy to understand what happens to Jerry. He speaks his mind, crying out for compassion and caring, only to be slapped down. He is branded as a loser because he dares to swim against the heartless, prevalent business currents. Jerry finds himself in deep, uncertain waters, but his indefatigable spirit, bolstered by tireless support from Rod and Dorothy, helps him navigate the most dangerous eddies.

Jerry Maguire is about redemption and love. It's about finding one's heart and soul in a business climate that attempts to rip both away. Writer/director Cameron Crowe, [who also wrote and directed Say Anything… (1989), Singles (1992), Almost Famous (2000), Elizabethtown (2005) and We Bought a Zoo (2011)], brings both a strong sense of verisimilitude and a lively wit to his film. Even as Jerry Maguire reaches out to the heart, it tickles the funny bone. Not only does Crowe have a knack for creating multi-dimensional personalities for secondary characters with minimal screen time, but he uses traditional formulas in unique ways to serve his themes. For example, a common sports cliché is integrated into Jerry Maguire in such a way that it doesn't seem cheap or overdone. It's not the point of the movie; it's just another piece in the overall puzzle.

Cruise, always a popular box-office draw, shows why he got to the top. With a fine performance, he forms the glue that holds the production together. Of course, it helps that the cast includes three stupendous supporting actors (Gooding Jr., Zellweger and Kelly Preston playing Jerry’s ex-fiancée Avery), not to mention a child performer (Jonathan Lipnicki, playing Dorothy's son Ray) who threatens to steal several scenes on cuteness alone.

Cuba Gooding Jr., who was excellent years ago in his Boyz 'N the Hood debut, but hasn't done much since, invests Rod with a remarkable level of energy and enthusiasm. And, although his favorite phrase is Show me the money! we recognize quickly that a love of family, not greed, is what motivates this athlete. Regina King (A Thin Line Between Love and Hate) is wonderful as Rod's fanatically supportive wife. With a standout performance, she transforms what could have been a minor role into something noteworthy.

Then there's Renee Zellweger (The Whole Wide World), who will undoubtedly receive raves for her portrayal of Dorothy, a determined woman following her own vision of the yellow brick road. Zellweger displays an appealing blend of strength and vulnerability, and her chemistry with Cruise is nearly perfect. Their first romantic scene is charged with a playful, but undeniable, eroticism. If there's one downside to the actress' appearance in Jerry Maguire, it's that she's not on screen enough. And, even if Jerry isn't immediately smitten, we are.

While the budding romance between Jerry and Dorothy is Jerry Maguire's most enchanting element, the remainder of the film has the necessary appeal to keep our attention when Zellweger isn't around (Cruise, on the other hand, is in just about every scene). Crowe, who doesn't have a subpar entry on his short resume, has crafted another winner here. In fact, with its attention to detail, top-notch performances, and universal themes, Jerry Maguire marks his most successful movie to date. For anyone who has forgotten the feelings that a wonderful movie can trigger, Jerry Maguire provides a welcome reminder. [Berardinelli’s rating: ***½ out of 4 stars]

Labels: comedy, drama, football, romance, sport

Internet Movie Database 7.3/10 

Metacritic 77/100 

RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=76, viewers=77) 

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Apollo 13 (1995) [PG] ****/*****

A film review by James Berardinelli.

For those too young to recall the tragic events of November 22, 1963 [the assassination of JFK], one of the most stark and enduring images of a lifetime came on a frigid afternoon in January 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up while skyrocketing heavenward. By that time, shuttle flights had become routine, and few gave much thought to the possibility of something going wrong. After the accident, NASA was forced to re-evaluate its plans while everyone who had watched considered their own mortality. Not since April of 1970 and Apollo 13 had the United States' space program encountered this kind of disaster -- except in that case, no lives were lost.

The Apollo program was first announced in 1961. The climax came on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped out of Apollo 11's lunar module and issued his famous quote. Nine months later, with astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) aboard, Apollo 13 left the launch pad. Since moon shots were now regarded as commonplace, none of the three networks chose to air Lovell's first broadcast to Earth, preferring instead the likes of I Dream of Jeannie (which, ironically, featured a strong fictional image of NASA). However, when an explosion left the crew with a dwindling oxygen supply and failing power, television took notice, as did the entire world. This is the story told by Ron Howard (Parenthood, Far and Away) in Apollo 13, his best movie to date.

Perhaps the most impressive feat of this film is sustaining white-knuckle tension even though the chain of events is well-known. The conclusion of the mission is a matter of recent historical record, yet recalling how it ends does nothing to lessen the excitement or dampen the emotional impact of several key moments. Such deft film making is a prime reason why Apollo 13 is an unqualified success.

It's not the only reason, however. During the 140-minute running time, we are essentially given three stories: the astronauts' struggle to stay alive, the controlled chaos at NASA as experts are forced to come up with unexpected solutions, and the trauma faced by the families of the men whose lives are in danger. With inserts of news footage from the time (much of which features Walter Cronkite), Apollo 13 attains a level of verisimilitude few current features can match.

Scientifically, Apollo 13 is accurate, even though at times things seem more like science fiction. Additionally, with a script that relies on Lovell's account, this movie takes fewer liberties with the facts than many other productions based on true events. Apollo 13 has tremendous appeal because the story is only 25 years removed from the nightly news, and many of the details still linger.

The effective, understated special effects never upstage any of the fine performances. All three actors playing the astronauts -- Hanks, Paxton, and Bacon -- have gotten under their characters' skins. Ed Harris exudes a palpable intensity in a supporting performance as Mission Controller Gene Kranz, the coordinator of the teamwork that goes into saving the space craft. Gary Sinise, reunited here with Forrest Gump co-star Tom Hanks, plays Ken Mattingly, the member of Lovell's team who, after being refused medical clearance to fly, plays a crucial role in the rescue.

Howard has a firm grasp on what he's attempting. The little details are all right. Among its many successes, Apollo 13 offers the simple wonder of taking the audience to a strange place. Many movies these days are content to tell a story mechanically, without actually transporting the viewer somewhere else. Not so here. We are with Lovell, Haise, and Swigert through every harrowing mile of their journey, and when Lovell dreams of setting foot on the moon, we understand his loss.

The villain here is the vastness of space -- an antagonist that refuses direct confrontation. There isn't a traditional bad guy to be found, but Apollo 13 needs no such useless embellishment. The basic human drama of the situation raises the heartbeat far more than all the explosions of Die Hard with a Vengeance or the contrived submarine warfare of Crimson Tide. Reality has a taste the likes of which fiction can rarely match. Those who recall that week in April 1970 will enjoy seeing the full story unfold; those who are too young to remember will get a feeling not only of what the individuals endured, but how the country as a whole reacted. While the events of this motion picture may depict NASA's finest hour, the release of Apollo 13 represents Ron Howard's.

Labels: biography, drama, history, Tom Hanks

IMDb 77/100
MetaScore (critics=77, viewers=80)

RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=82, viewers=82)
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French Kiss (1995) [PG-13] ***+/****- (updated 24MAY2025)

A film review by Roger Ebert, May 5, 1995.

Some may question the casting of Kevin Kline as a Frenchman in French Kiss, but not I. Few French actors would have been capable of playing such a romantic wimp, and few French men, for that matter, would likely be interested in Meg Ryan's act as a neurotic woman who has been dumped by her fiance in favor of a French goddess. The characters in this movie may look like adults, but they think like teenagers.

The story: Kate (Meg Ryan) is engaged to Charlie (Timothy Hutton), but he has cold feet about marriage. He flies to Paris for a medical convention.

Kate can't go along because she is so afraid of flying she flunked out of trauma school. A few days later, Charlie calls Kate and tells her (in a singularly unconvincing and badly written scene) that he cannot marry her because he has found the woman of his dreams.

Kate now overcomes her fears and flies off to France to win Charlie back. On the plane she meets Luc (Kevin Kline), an unshaven French jewel thief who hides a diamond bracelet [and a young grape vine] in her luggage and then must follow her halfway across France in order to get it back. As an excuse he pretends to help her win her man back - but along the way, of course, they fall in love, and we have to wait until they figure that out.

Doris Day could have made this movie. She probably did. And she would have brought to it the same qualities Ryan brings: spunk and vulnerability and charm. Only the charisma of Ryan and Kline make some of the scenes work at all, and as for the relationship between Hutton and the goddess (Susan Anbeh), it's all but inexplicable. No French woman with money, breeding, world-class model looks and big hair is much interested in marrying an American doctor, especially one with no conversation.

Yet the movie is not without its charms. It takes place mostly in Paris and Cannes, two of the most photogenic cities on earth, and Owen Roizman's cinematography makes love to the locations.

Ryan does a breathtaking job with the age-old transformation scene, turning from a caterpillar into a butterfly by ditching her sweats and putting on one of those French designer dresses that look like sexual gift wrapping. And Kline manages a plausible French accent, although his word order is usually English, a giveaway. (The movie provides yet another example of the Kevin Kline Mustache Principle, which observes that Kline always wears facial hair when playing goofballs such as this, but shaves for serious roles.) The movie wants to have some fun with nationalities. It gives us a snotty French hotel clerk and an insouciant French cop, and when Ryan has trouble with her passport (she is not quite either Canadian or American), she has to deal with Canadian and U.S. consular officials. All of those scenes could have been pushed a little further, I think, except that the movie is so firmly aimed at romance that director Lawrence Kasdan and his writer, Adam Brooks, hold back on the comic freedoms of supporting characters.

And the underlying problems remain. Kline's Frenchman is somehow not worldly enough, and Ryan's heroine never convinces us she ever loved her fiance in the first place. Hutton and Anbeh have thankless roles; once the movie gets to France, their basic purpose is to be glimpsed from afar by Ryan. A movie about this kind of material either should be about people who feel true passion or should commit itself as a comedy. Compromise is pointless. [Ebert’s rating: ** out of 4]

Labels: comedy, drama, Paris, romance, winemaking

IMDb 66/100 

MetaScore (critics=50, viewers=63) 

RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=48, viewers=78) 

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GoldenEye (1995) [PG-13] **** UPDATED13MAY2025)

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net.

Like everything else, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) has had to change for the nineties. The venerable 007, coming off a long hiatus, has taken on his sixth face (the other five being Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton), changed his mode of transport from an Aston Martin to a BMW, and now answers to a female M (played dryly by Judi Dench). Bond's attitudes towards women have been modified -- although not greatly. Also, there's more action in GoldenEye than in previous 007 entries -- enough to keep a ninety-minute film moving at a frantic pace. Unfortunately, this movie isn't ninety-minutes long -- it's one-hundred thirty, which means that fully one-quarter of GoldenEye is momentum-killing padding.

Despite the mostly-cosmetic alterations, the majority of fans won't be disappointed by Pierce Brosnan's debut as their favorite spy. His Bond still quips at danger, takes his vodka martinis shaken, not stirred, enjoys gadgets and toys, and introduces himself as Bond, James Bond. Moneypenny (Samantha Bond) and Q (played yet again by a visibly aged Desmond Llewelyn) remain in the supporting cast, and the familiar musical theme can be detected occasionally infiltrating Eric Serra's upbeat, modern score. For those who like opening credits, the trademark surrealism, complete with hammer & sickle, guns, and women, is fully in evidence.

As for the leading man, he's a decided improvement over his immediate predecessor. Brosnan has a flair for wit to go along with his natural charm; Dalton was stoic and sober. Of course, the newest Bond doesn't come close to Sean Connery's definitive portrayal, but he lacks the fatuousness that marred Roger Moore's tenure. Brosnan's approach has invigorated 007 enough to overcome a movie that seemingly never wants to end.

The story is standard fare, mixing and matching clichés of the genre. The Russian mafia obtains a space-based weapons system called GoldenEye that works by exploding a nuclear device in orbit, then crippling a ground location with the resulting electromagnetic pulse. It's up to Bond to save London from a vengeance-crazed megalomaniac. Along the way, he encounters such diverse characters as a beautiful computer programmer (Izabella Scorupco), a wildly psychotic computer programmer (Alan Cumming), a former partner (Sean Bean), a wisecracking CIA agent (Joe Don Baker), an ex-KGB officer with a score to settle (Robbie Coltrane), a psychotic woman who likes squeezing men to death between her legs (Famke Janssen) and her Russian general partner-in-crime (John Gottfried). Brosnan is supported by an interesting troupe of actors, but the spotlight is always on him.

GoldenEye keeps Bond's comic book-like stunts at an appropriately absurd level. Even given that we're in a reality where spies are more like Superman than Bernard Samson (Len Deighton's popular MI6 agent), suspension of disbelief occasionally becomes a challenge, especially with visual effects that could be charitably called subpar. Some such liabilities, however, can be forgiven in the name of fun. And, with its mixture of humor, interesting locales, high-speed chases, explosions, and action, GoldenEye possesses that quality. It is perhaps the best entry in the series since The Spy Who Loved Me, and, while that's not saying much, this updated Bond should be able to stand toe-to-toe with today's crop of heroes. [Berardinelli’s rating: *** out of 4]

The car driven by Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) is a Ferrari F355 GTS

Labels: action, adventure, Ferrari, spy, thriller

IMDb 72/100 

MetaScore (critics=65, viewers=77) 

RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=80, viewers=80) 

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GoldenEye theme song

How to Make an American Quilt (1995) [PG-13] ****

In a rural California farm town, Finn (Winona Ryder), a young graduate student, has come to spend the summer with her grandmother Hyacinth (Ellen Burstyn), her great aunt Glady Jo (Anne Bancroft) and the other members of their quilting circle - Anna (Maya Angelou), Emma (Jean Simmons), Sophia (Lois Smith), Marianna (Alfre Woodard) and Constance (Kate Nelligan).

Finn works on her thesis on women's handicrafts, while the women create her wedding quilt, using the theme Where Love Resides. As they stitch the panels of the quilt, Finn learns about their lives and loves, their joys and sorrows, how their experiences over the past fifty years have changed and enriched them, and she observes how their memories form the pattern and fabric of the quilt. Finn learns that we are all physical and emotional beings, and that sometimes our passions cause us to plunge into an adventure without considering the consequences, just as a young girl might dive off a rock ledge into a lake and into her lover's arms, or she might welcome a lover with outstretched arms while lying on an artist's couch or in a bath of warm, soapy water or on the warm, rich earth of a fruit orchard. In deciding whether to commit to her friend and fiance Sam (Dermot Mulroney) or her summer fling Leon (Johnathon Schaech), Finn draws on the lifelong experience of the members of the quilting circle, and relives with them their own youthful experiences.

The screenplay, direction, casting, editing, cinematography, soundtrack, everything about this sublime, character-driven drama is perfect. Kate Capshaw is delightful as Finn's mother, and the supporting cast portraying the women, and their men, as youths is excellent, especially Joanna Going as young Emma, and Samantha Mathis as young Sophia. If you enjoy female-centered, multi-generational dramas that are rich in character development, you won't want to miss How to Make an American Quilt. 

Labels: comedy, drama, rom-drama-faves, romance     
Internet Movie Database    
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=58, viewers=64)

Jack & Sarah (1995) [PG] ***

Jack (Richard E. Grant) is a British attorney and a widower, who is grieving for his wife while trying to raise Sarah, his baby daughter. Needing help, he hires an expatriate American girl named Amy (Samantha Mathis) as a live-in nanny, and after a year discovers that he has fallen in love with her. Richard E. Grant does an excellent job as Jack, and Samantha Mathis is touching and believable as Amy.

The challenge in this film is to transform the energy from tragic to romantic without losing the viewer, who might otherwise sympathize with Jack's deceased wife. 

Grant and Mathis play their roles seriously which feels right. The supporting cast, led by Judi Dench, provides comic relief and supports the developing relationship between Jack and Amy, although Jack's drunken friend William is a bit over the top. The romance between Jack and Amy blossoms as they parent baby Sarah together, about which they have some differing views.

It's ironic that child rearing is at the center of marriages, although most couples get married with no idea of how to raise children, or even if they will do it well together. It's also ironic that, while romantic passion produces children, the time, money and energy children require often destroys that same romantic passion. In Jack & Sarah the process is reversed - Jack and Amy start with child rearing and then fall in love, although without much heat and passion. If you are looking for a low-key, modern British romance, and you enjoyed P.S. I Love You, this film might satisfy you. On the other hand, if you want something faster-paced, with more romantic tension and more comedy, I would suggest Bridget Jones's Diary, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Notting Hill, or The Wedding Date. 

Labels: comedy, drama, romance   
Internet Movie Database   
Tomatometer (critics=75, viewers=73)

A Walk in the Clouds (1995) [PG-13] ****

Returning home to San Francisco in 1945, after having fought in the Pacific for four years during WWII, Paul Sutton (Keanu Reeves) discovers he has nothing in common with Betty (Debra Messing), the girl he married just before shipping out. And so he leaves for Sacramento to fulfill commitments he has made to his new employer, a chocolate manufacturer.

On the train he meets Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) who is returning to her ancestral home and vineyard in the Napa Valley, after having been seduced and abandoned by her college professor, whose baby she is carrying. Fearing the wrath of her strict, traditional father Alberto (Giancarlo Giannini), Victoria accepts Paul's offer to stay overnight at her home, and be introduced as her husband to her family. But neither Paul nor Victoria anticipate that they will fall in love with each other, or that her grandfather Don Pedro (Anthony Quinn) will play Cupid with such compassion, tenderness and wisdom.

Featuring the beautiful scenery of the California wine country, the earthy eroticism of the grape harvest, and a lush, Golden Globe-winning musical score, this is a reasonably satisfying romantic drama despite Reeves' rather cool, unemotional performance, minimal romantic chemistry between the leads, an uninspired screenplay and some overacting, especially by Giannini. Although critics were luke-warm to this film, it has earned praise from viewers, so if you are a fan of romantic dramas starring Keanu Reeves, this one is not to be missed. For a cross-cultural romantic comedy-drama on a similar theme, I recommend A Good Year starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard.

Labels: drama, romance, winemaking
IMDb 67/100
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=58, viewers=78)
Blu-ray
MetaScore (critics=54, viewers=74)