Thankfully, she is empowered to abandon this kind of relationship, but the breakup doesn’t discourage her from desiring love. It’s not how I’m built.”ĭorothy’s last statement here is such a necessary reminder that the two love in divergent ways, and that she doesn’t need a man to hang around to fulfill an obligation to her. I’ve got this great guy, and he loves my kid, and he sure does like me a lot. “I don’t need you to stick,” she tells him. Tom Cruise points to Jonathan Lipnicki in a scene from the film More importantly, she knows that as much as she desires love, she wants more than this. I stick.” This sounds like little more than a vow to finish a job assignment or check an item off a list, and Dorothy knows it. His desire for someone to stand with him in business and life is just as intense as her desire to be with someone who immerses his entire being into their love for each other.īut Jerry says he’s “not built” to commit in that way, though he considers himself a practical man who refuses to bail on anything just because it gets tough, including their relationship: “I’m not a guy who runs. “My soul or something?” Without missing a beat, Dorothy answers: “Well, why not?” The quickness of her response is a lightbulb moment for the audience. When her desires and expectations are not met, though, it’s a sobering realization for them both. But at this point in his story, Jerry is moved by Dorothy’s commitment to him and his dreams, so he asks her to marry him. This is a reductive yet genuine exchange between two men who are likely pondering the images they’ve seen of single mothers as women whose experiences demand that they be taken seriously romantically, when that is what most women want. If you love her, you’ve got to tell her.” To which Rod responds, “Single mothers don’t date. “What do you know about dating a single mother?” Jerry asks Rod. Rather, he constantly challenges Jerry as a man to consider the specific dynamic of his relationship. Still, as much as “Jerry Maguire” paints a refreshing portrait of a single mother, Crowe smartly doesn’t rely on his own point of view as a male filmmaker to effectively portray Dorothy’s experience. So, even when she finds herself falling for the emotionally unavailable Jerry, a 35-year-old man inspiring her on his quest to achieve something more, she can’t help but also be smitten with his mutual affection toward her child. But much like his equally wistful 1989 classic “Say Anything,” Crowe masterfully extends the male-fronted romantic comedy to include a woman’s perspective on love and longing.Īs much as Dorothy yearns to be in a good, happy relationship, she can’t think only about herself. For his only client, football star-in-the-making Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), that’s about financial gain.
#JERRY MAGUIRE 1996 DAILYMOTIN PROFESSIONAL#
For Jerry, that is about loyalty and professional decency. What Dorothy is really talking about throughout all of “Jerry Maguire” - like her male counterparts in the film - is wanting more. She wants one that will make her happy - and one that she deserves. In fact, she is offered another one later in the movie. She’s a young white mother sharing a house with her sister, Laurel (Bonnie Hunt), and, though she has a support system, could land another job relatively quickly. It’s important to note here Dorothy’s privilege. After reading her colleague’s (Tom Cruise in the eponymous role) late-night manifesto - or as he calls it, “a memo” - compelling his fellow workers to stop “sleepwalking” through life, she packs up her desk and follows him out the door to join his new venture. Doubtfire.” She’s also the minimum-wage worker whose son is taken away from her by Child Protective Services in “Set It Off.” In other words, she rarely has the opportunity to consider her actual desires that extend far beyond the needs of her child.īut that shifted 25 years ago today with writer-director Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire.” Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger), an unfulfilled employee at a ruthless sports agency and mom to her young son Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki), risks it all for a chance to feel, in her words, inspired. She is the desperate addict who tries to sell her kid to her cop neighbor for $3,000 in “Deep Cover.” She’s the overwhelmed ex-wife of a voice-over actor who was a terrible partner in “Mrs. The single mother really went through it in 1990s movies. Renée Zellweger in a scene from the 1996 film