Many moving parts rhythmically sync together in Cameron Crowe's 'Jerry Maguire' - one of the best films of the 1990s. Hard to believe it's been 25 years, and just saw Maguire for maybe 20th time, so long overdue are my comments.

The influence and imprint on this film by brilliant filmmaker/TV series creator/producer James Brooks is apparent in how Cameron directed this film - it was an interesting mentoring brain-share between Cameron and Jim during pre-production that set the direction for Jerry Maguire.

The preparation for filming included: a side trip to Billy Wilder's house by Cameron and Tom Cruise in an attempt to recruit the elder legend for a key Day-Player bit part in the film (didn't work); the introduction of then little-known Renee Zellweger by casting director legend Gail Levin (the acting rapport between Renee and Tom during her audition was instant and never wavered); Cuba Gooding's infectious enthusiasm that won him his role over more famous names, and an Oscar in the Spring for Supporting Actor; and Tom Hanks' early consideration for the Lead that as it turns out was fortunate to have too many scheduling conflicts (much of the dialogue in JM was written for Hanks). Interesting background stories are common to Cameron Crowe film production.

But the engine that propels this film are the timeless ideals of pursuit of meaning and happiness in one's life, the power of overcoming adversity - "going for it" and stretching for the brass ring, finding true love and commitment to it, and developing key friendships that have a lifetime impact in one's life.

One is initially inserted into this story during Jerry's rapid ascent towards the pinnacle of career success as a sports agent, followed by an overnight ethics crisis "free falling" to the edge of a career-abyss. This perfect storm of dramatic conflict ties each of the main characters together, and we are immersed and hooked for the rest of the film.

The memorable/quotable dialogue in 'Jerry Maguire' is iconic ("show me the money", "you complete me", "you had me at hello", etc.),delivered by actors that rose to the occasion, each putting forth inspired performances.

Cameron has a way of extracting an actors' genuine emotional connection to their character that few directors achieve. This ability can be found in every Cameron Crowe film from 'Say Anything' (1989) forward.

Cameron's music-sync of iconic songs in the film are inspired and perfect (as one would expect),surpassed in his films only by those tracks used in his semi-autobiographical 'Almost Famous' (Cameron's greatest film to date, and on my IMDb Top 10 Greatest Comedy Films list).

'Jerry Maguire' is timeless and memorable, and a reminder for me why I fell in love with movies (and music) at a very young age - a lifetime gift that gets re-stoked by films like this one.

An easy decision to rate Jerry Maguire a 10 as one of film's Top 100 Greatest Movies.

Jerry Maguire may be rather overlong and a little pedestrian in places, but overall it is a very interesting and somewhat unusual film. The concept really intrigued me and one of the main reasons why I saw Jerry Maguire in the first place, and this concept worked really well thanks to the well written story and the witty and poignant script. Jerry Maguire is also beautifully filmed with lovely cinematography and scenery, and the soundtrack is warm and infectious. Cameron Crowe's direction is very good, as are the relationships between the characters. Jerry Maguire also benefits from some superb performances. Tom Cruise gives one of his best performances here, and he is perfectly matched by Renee Zellwegger at her most beautiful and the adorable Jonathan Lipnicki. Though the real star is Cuba Gooding Jnr who is absolutely marvellous as Jerry's sole remaining client. To conclude, a very good film, well worth watching for the performances and concept alone. 8/10 Bethany Cox

If Jerry Maguire were made 30 years earlier I can see Jack Lemmon playing the title role. You wouldn't think of Tom Cruise being up for parts that Jack Lemmon would have been cast for, but he does an incredible job in the role of go-getter sports agent Maguire who decides to leave the high pressure agency that Jay Mohr runs and going out on his own.

Cruise has one of those chew the scenery moments when he leaves Mohr's office and secretary Renee Zellweger decides to leave with him. She's been crushing out on him for the longest time even though he's been seeing Kelly Preston. But patience can certainly be its own reward sometime.

If Jerry Maguire lacks something it would probably be Billy Wilder's surefire wit and sense of satire. Jerry Maguire would have been a great film for him to write and direct. Satire however might have crowded out romance in a Wilder film.

And it's romance that the movie going public likes with Tom Cruise. Some of his and Renee Zellweger's best scenes are with little Jonathan Lipnicki who is her son from a previous marriage. The kid is a scene stealer, mainly because he acts like a real kid, not some Hollywood creation.

Cruise has some tough sledding at first, one client he had counted on was college sensation Jerry O'Connell who is being inundated with draft offers and endorsements. O'Connell and his family, despite the whole honest country boy shtick, do disappoint him.

His one client who does stick with him is Cuba Gooding Jr. who plays Rod Tidwell, a running back for the Phoenix Suns. Tidwell's one egotistical handful and Gooding won a deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar. However the reason he won it is that his portrayal of Tidwell is multidimensional. His scenes with wife Regina King and the rest of his family are far removed from the Muhammed Ali like face he shows the public.

Cruise also was nominated for Best Actor in the title role. But he lost to Geoffrey Rush for Shine. In fact Jerry Maguire lost for Best Picture to The English Patient. I was pulling for Tom that year myself.

Though I think a lot of Billy Wilder type satire was missed, Jerry Maguire is still a very well done film. Maybe it needed a Billy Wilder to direct it.