The Best Sports Agent



Photo courtesy of tomcruise.com

As a money-driven, numbers-crunching sports agent with an initially plastic smile, Tom Cruise's Jerry Maguire was definitely the best. The problem he encounters early on in his career is that he's actually too good, meaning he happens to be the only agent in the business who develops a conscience.

After being fired from his cushy job with a substantial income, Jerry at least keeps his moral dignity by knowing he sacrificed lucrative percentages for the sake of personal relationships. Once he falls in love with Dorothy (played by Renee Zelweger), Jerry is even determined to raise her young son as his own. Then again, in the grand scheme of cinema history, "the human head weighs eight pounds" was arguably an even better line than "show me the money."

Still, the fact remains that Jerry Maguire lives in an imperfect world where, despite the best of intentions, nobody is easy to please - although it certainly helps when he hugs his only client in front of the entire sports world. There is no more admirable form of advertisement for a business than a genuine public display of affection toward a client.

After racing back home, purposefully oblivious to having saved his agency and the future of ethics in sports, Jerry must show his new family that he does indeed love them. Upon his arrival, when Dorothy tells him to "Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at hello," these words could not possibly make any more sense. The mere presence of Tom Cruise alone beckons the deepest forgiveness.

This is why Tom Cruise will always be...the best sports agent.