Cruise plays the titular Jerry Maguire, a fast-talking, high-dollar sports agent for mega-corp SMI (Sports Management International). In a world were people are marketed and sold like commodities, Jerry possesses one fatal flaw: The dude has a conscience. In a fit of righteous morality, Jerry drafts a memo ("a mission statement, really") that says, in essence, that SMI should take a more personal interest in its clients. Needless to say, Jerry's "fewer clients, less money" mantra does not go over well with the bigwigs. Within days, Jerry finds himself out on the streets.

A lesser filmmaker would have taken a well-worn path from here on out: Money-grubbing yuppie gets his comeuppance, learns to live the simple life, retires to a farm. Not Cameron Crowe. You see, Jerry's still a hustler. He's still got money on the brain and schmooze in his veins. He plans to start his own agency offering a "hands-on" approach to a very small, very loyal list of clientele. Unfortunately, after corporate downsizing, Jerry's left with only one client, a decidedly second string receiver for the Phoenix Cardinals (played with career-building élan by Cuba Gooding Jr.).

Tom Cruise has never been better on screen. One reason may be that he's never had a better character to toy with. Jerry Maguire is a complex character packed full of wild bravado and crushing doubt. Cruise manages to hit all the notes. His Hollywood pretty-boy image serves him perfectly well here. The supporting cast, on the other hand, is more than up to the challenge of Cruise's star power. Cuba Gooding Jr. can expect his star to rise and his salary to jump after his turn as the brash, bull-headed footballer on the verge of succeeding big or falling hard.

Joining Jerry on his migration from corporate hell is Dorothy, a smitten young accountant (played with wide-eyed swoonability by Renee Zellweger) who is looking for "some kind of inspiration." She finds it in Jerry's "mission statement" and so becomes the sole employee of Jerry's struggling new sports firm. Again, a lesser filmmaker could have taken a common direction here. Crowe strikes an admirably perfect balance between "chick flick" and "guy's film." There's enough sports talk and gushy romance to satisfy every patron in the audience. While Jerry Maguire is ultimately a romantic comedy, it fails to follow any convention of the genre. Trust me, that's a good thing. Predictability is not a club in Cameron Crowe's bag. Convention would dictate that Jerry eventually realize that Dorothy is in love with him, fall in love in kind, get married, the end. Sorry, but in Crowe's universe, that's barely the halfway point. It's amazing to see a film that understands that emotions, even powerful ones like love, are not so cut and dried. If there's a dry eye in the house by the end of this one, you'll be hard-pressed to find it.

Cameron Crowe, Tom Cruise and basically everyone involved with this film have managed to place a well-earned jewel in their crown for this one. Very funny, terribly romantic and crafted with loads of TLC, Jerry Maguire is one of the best films of the year. Don't be too surprised to hear a few whispers pop up around Oscar time. To stick with the sports vernacular, Jerry Maguire is a touchdown. Extra point and everything.