Jerry Maguire is a 1996 film starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Renée Zellweger. It was written and directed by Cameron Crowe.

Jerry Maguire remains famous more than a decade after its release due to memorable quotes, including "Show me the money!" (shouted repeatedly in a phone exchange between Rod Tidwell and Jerry Maguire) and "You had me at 'hello'" (said by Dorothy Boyd after a lengthy romantic plea by Jerry Maquire), and "Kwan" (a word created by "Rod Tidwell" that expressed love, inspiration, money, strengh, etc.). "Kwan" was said in a discussion between Jerry Maguire and Rod Tidwell that occurred while they were walking to the bus that would take Rod Tidwell to his home. These lines are largely attributed to Cameron Crowe, director and screenwriter of the movie.

The film was well received, with Cuba Gooding Jr. winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell, the Arizona Cardinals football player who sticks with Maguire. Cruise was also nominated for an Best Actor in a Leading Role. Though Renee Zellweger won no awards for her portrayal of Dorothy Boyd, it was Zellweger's break-out role. The film itself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and crew members on the film were nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing awards.

Jerry Maguire tells the story of professional sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise), whose crisis of faith leads him to write a mission statement that advocates better service, fewer clients, and less focus on the bottom line. However, after he distributes the mission statement to his fellow agents, he is fired from his high-profile job and loses his girlfriend in the aftermath.

On his own, Jerry decides to form his own agency but is able to persuade only one of his clients, Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), an egomaniacal football player for the Arizona Cardinals, to stay with him. Jerry manages to entice a single employee Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger), a single mother with a young son, to join his new company.

Dorothy soon becomes enamored with Jerry, much to the chagrin of her sister Laurel (Bonnie Hunt), and he begins to bond with her son Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki). Meanwhile, Jerry tries to chase after Frank Cushman (Jerry O'Connell), a promising football prospect, while ignoring the demands of Tidwell. Although Jerry tries to set up a deal with Cushman, he discovers that he has already signed with Jerry's old agency, and Tidwell is forced to take up a paltry one-year extension to his contract.

Despite this setback, Jerry and Dorothy get married, mainly as a way to consolidate their finances and save the agency; however, the stress of juggling his marriage and business causes Jerry to break down. He decides to take a break from his relationship with Dorothy, and he scolds Tidwell into making himself less ego-driven and intimidating and more open to his fans.

Realizing his mistakes, Jerry soon goes back to Dorothy and apologizes to her in front of all her friends. She quickly decides to take him back, with the now memorable line "You had me at 'hello.'" Tidwell lands a multi-million-dollar contract extension to end his career with the Cardinals after a near-death experience on the field leads him to a dance in the end zone, which boosts his popularity with fans.

The film ends with Jerry, Dorothy, and Ray strolling in the park. A baseball lands near them, and Ray throws it back effortlessly. Dorothy tells Jerry to ignore it.

The film tackles a range of themes and attempts to critique the modern capitalist society and its emphasis on financial and professional success at the expense of personal relationships. The "voice of reason" throughout the film is that of Dickie Fox (Jared Jussim), Jerry Maguire's mentor, who comments at the very end of the film that, "I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I've failed as much as I've succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. I wish you my kind of success." Cameron Crowe suggests reaching out to the people around us is the key to professional as well as personal success. The famous "show me the money!" scene, featuring Rod Tidwell demanding Jerry scream his "family motto" back to him over the phone, epitomizes the empty values of those around Jerry, yet somewhat paradoxically it is Rod who serves as a role-model for the family values and personal attention that Jerry seeks. Crowe's point is that the pursuit of financial success need not be incompatible with family values or personal relationships, simply that it should take second place to them.

Soundtrack:
As with all of Cameron Crowe's films, the soundtrack constitutes an important backdrop to the film. (Crowe was a journalist with Rolling Stone in the 1970s.) Highlights include:

Elvis Presley performing "Pocket Full of Rainbows"
The Who performing "Magic Bus"
Nirvana performing "Something in the Way"
Tom Petty performing "Free Fallin'"
Bob Dylan performing "Shelter from the Storm"
Bruce Springsteen performing "Secret Garden" which was nominated for an Academy Award
a clip of Charles Mingus performing