Jerry Maguire (1996): What's not to like about this film? It is the best work to date of Tom Cruise (Rainman). This film also rocketed Rene Zellweger to stardom. Bonnie Hunts sister character is the perfect foil to the bubbling optimism of Jerry Maguire and Hunt almost steals the show. In fact, every supporting actor is fabulous. Cuba Gooding Jr. earns an Oscar with one of the best character roles ever done in a rom-com, his Tidwell's (Show me the money!) became a cultural phenomenon. What makes this movie all the better is the friendship that ensues between Maguire and Tidwell. Their friendship put an element of a buddy film that is unusual in this genre. It is a very well written and directed film that walks smack-dab into some difficult real-life situations with an optimistic slant that is endearing rather than sappy. Can right overcome might? Watch and see.
rabbisanta's Reviews
Displaying Review 6 - 10 of 25 in total
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I finally saw this movie again after watching it on cable about 15 or 16 years ago. It's not nearly as funny as Kentucky Fried Movie but it has its moments, especially at the Funeral roast. The movie does get silly and fails to deliver funny scenes consistently but it's always great to see busty babe Corinne Hahn do her thing in the reality video sequence. There's even a young Andrew Dice Clay in that skit. I finally got to see the bit with Carrie Fisher and Paul Bartel that I missed the first time because I thought the movie was over and I must say the only thing I enjoyed was the topless chicks. Whether or not you like this movie depends upon your sense of humor. I recommend KFM, Blazing Saddles, or History of the World Part I instead for good spoofs.
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One can understand why this has taken 2 years to release. It is one of the most painful and hard films I have ever seen featuring a great cast but especially Sam Rockwell in a performance you have never seen from him and astonishingly gutwrenching. Set in a very cold and bleak midwest winter we examine the lives of three couples that are each facing difficulties but intially it is just the mintutia of the day to day living that is presented but soon we get a closer look and what appears to be is constantly changing. Each character is really trying but each is is flawed but frozen, ala the winter setting, and their flaws soon lead to tragic and unfathomable outcomes. You can try to make sense out of it all but it just is and that alone is hard enough. What to take from this, at least for me, is that life deals you bad hands, good hands, and hands that can be winners if you play them right. It is when you rely on luck or religion or friends and do not take personal resposibility is when you sink into the abyss. Tragic film but worth telling.
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Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, and Billy Wilder team up for a solid parody of print journalists and corrupt Chicago politics and police. Carol Burnett as the hooker with a heart livens up this keystone cops comedy by pleading the case of the wimp headed to the gallows. A young Susan Sarandon doesn't really shine here. It is obvious Matthau and Lemmon will be headed to great things as this is the third time they teamed in their ten great comedies. Good subtitles if you need them.
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To say that Hot Rod has a low-budget feel to it would be an understatement. But it would be wrong to say this movie isn't well-thought-out or well-written. Hot Rod is like Napoleon Dynamite in the way it brings offbeat or misfit characters into a coming of age plot. It differs from Napoleon in that it's a lot heavier on the comedy gags and lighter on the character study. Andy Samberg has a good screen presence and makes a solid case for himself as the next Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell to emerge from Saturday Night Live.
