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‘Jerry Maguire’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Van Lathan

May 14, 2024 · Jerry Maguire (1996) · Comedy · Drama · Romance · 2:02:29 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

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Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 44:32Jerry gets fired, goes to work to save his client list - this includes Bob Sugar's lunch with Jerry at Cronin's

Is There a Better Title?

Bill Simmons▶ 58:55Thinks just using the character's name would be lazy but might be right in this case
Chris Ryan▶ 58:58The Fixer (referring to Michael Clayton being called 'the fixer') - says it would be 2% worse, and that 'Show Me the Money' would be worse

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 1:05:21The Roy Firestone 'Up Close' show interview format and the soundtrack

Great Shot Gordo Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:17Wide shot of the office when Jerry and Dorothy are leaving and everybody's stopped paralyzed, plus mentions the Cushman Ranch scene
Chris Ryan▶ 1:06:07Multiple shots: Cruise on the airport people mover, the sweating glass of water when he's getting fired, Cardinals Cowboys Monday Night Football game
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:06:26The kiss on the patio where they're backlit
Van Lathan▶ 1:06:47Tom Cruise running through the tunnel - symbolic of running through darkness to get to Rod Tidwell

Big Kahuna Burger Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:07:43Apple Jacks and breaking crabs

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:11:19Multiple picks including Rod's contract situation being unrealistic, the movie's attitude toward concussions, workplace relationships aging poorly, waterbed deals, Cuba Gooding Jr.'s later career, and bad baseball throwing scenes
Chris Ryan▶ 1:11:41Rod's paycheck situation - why it's so hard for him to get a good contract with his impressive stats
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:14:15The outdated nature of multi-sport agents and how the sports agency business has changed to be more specialized
Van Lathan▶ 1:13:00Avery's domestic violence against Jerry Maguire and the outdated attitude toward dating single mothers

Hall of Fame Plaque

Bill Simmons▶ 1:18:04Kelly Preston's 1980s performances, comparing her dominance to Barry Bonds' baseball stats - 'she destroyed everyone else in the 80s to the point that the stats look fake'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:18:23Supports Bill's Kelly Preston take, saying 'I stand with Bill on this'
Van Lathan▶ 1:17:47Kelly Preston in Twins and Secret Admirer, but acknowledges there's a higher tier including Sharon Stone, Lynch, and Jennifer Connelly

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:43Cut every Dicky Fox scene - doesn't think he's funny or a good actor
Chris Ryan▶ 1:24:49Agrees with cutting Dicky Fox scenes and divorced women's group - thinks they're unique but unnecessary elements

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:26:57Tom Hanks — Discussed multiple casting alternatives: Tom Hanks originally attached with Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson turned down Jerry Maguire role, Gwyneth Paltrow read with Cruise, Connie Britton was final two for Dorothy (lost possibly due to height), Jamie Foxx auditioned for Rod Tidwell and could have worked
Chris Ryan▶ 1:29:00Jamie Foxx — Noted Connie Britton said her screen test was 'a disaster' and agreed Jamie Foxx could have worked as Rod Tidwell
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:29:29Connie Britton — Connie Britton as final contender for Dorothy Boyd role, connected to Ed Burns being considered

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:37:03Best-selling VHS tape of all time with 3+ million copies first week; Lipnicki's '8 pounds' line was improvised; hit on Tidwell took 29 takes; Regina King was pregnant during filming; Cameron Crowe's sports agent research validation; 2017 mockumentaries about characters; Dallas beat Arizona 37-13 on Christmas 1995
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:37:25Joked that he thought Lipnicki showed up on set 'on a bender' instead of with the '8 pounds' line

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:16Tom Cruise — Cuba Gooding Jr. - yes, Renee Zellweger - this or Bridget Jones, Cameron Crowe - this over Almost Famous, Bonnie Hunt - yes, Lipnicki - yes, Jay Moore - yes, Roy Firestone - no question, Regina King - no, Tom Cruise - career-wise this is apex when combined with Mission Impossible
Chris Ryan▶ 1:40:56Tom Cruise — Almost Famous might be overrated in 'ringer bubble', agrees this is apex for Tom Cruise as pure movie stardom - carrying a character-titled film through talking and emoting
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:39:23Tom Cruise — Cameron Crowe - this is his apex because it's his biggest hit, Tom Cruise - this is the culmination of his 90s run with fifth consecutive $100 million hit
Van Lathan▶ 1:39:28Tom Cruise — Cameron Crowe's apex is Almost Famous over this film, Tom Cruise - this might be his best performance but not his most iconic (people think Maverick first), this movie is better than Almost Famous

Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake

Bill Simmons▶ 1:51:24Late 90s HBO show spinning off the Tidwells - thinks Cameron Crowe missed a window for this
Chris Ryan▶ 1:52:06Prequel 'Jerry Maguire Super Agent' movie
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:52:13Sequel called 'The Agency' about Jerry's new company with mentee Ray, battling Bob Sugar over Shohei Ohtani
Van Lathan▶ 1:51:41Prequel called 'Barry McGuire' - a This Is Us style family drama about Jerry's family ending with his father's death

Is This Movie Better With

Bill Simmons▶ 1:52:49Lists multiple utility players including Wayne Jenkins, Daniel, Sam Jackson, JT Walsh, Byron Mayo, Harling Mays, and suggests Byron Mayo with the divorced women's group or as 'the manny'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:52:57Samuel L. Jackson — Sam Jackson should play Bob Sugar, doing all those phone calls would be unbelievable

Just One Oscar

Bill Simmons▶ 1:53:40Penélope Cruz — Cruz
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:53:41Penélope Cruz — Cruz
Van Lathan▶ 1:53:49Penélope Cruz — Agrees that Cruz deserves it since he doesn't have one

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:53:58What was the betting line on Cowboys vs Cardinals? Estimates 3.5 to 4 points Cowboys favored
Chris Ryan▶ 1:54:26What was Avery's actual job? She worked in NFL marketing but seemed to be doing basic PR tasks
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:54:20Is 'fewer clients, less money' really the answer for Jerry's career change?
Van Lathan▶ 1:54:51Did Rod Tidwell really learn about his contract from the TV host? Yes, but Jerry orchestrated it to make Rod cry

Best Double Feature

Bill Simmons▶ 1:55:23Moneyball
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:55:28The Apartment — The Apartment (because it inspired Jerry Maguire) and Collateral

Coach Finstock Life Lesson

Bill Simmons▶ 1:58:47It's not show friends, it's show business
Chris Ryan▶ 1:58:51Questions whether Bob Sugar being right is the actual takeaway after a two-hour discussion
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:58:58Distinguishes that this isn't the life lesson for living in the world, but specifically for being a sports agent - questions what else Bob Sugar was supposed to do

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:59:08Tom Cruise — Tom Cruise won the movie
Chris Ryan▶ 1:59:22Tom Cruise — Cruise
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:59:14Tom Cruise — Made a case for Cameron Crowe since he gets to make basically an autobiography because of this movie, but ultimately agrees it's still Cruise

Movies Referenced (52)

Almost Famous (2000)

15 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan▶ 13:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fargo (1996)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 37:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Magnolia (1999)

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons▶ 9:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Say Anything (1989)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 13:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

A Few Good Men (1992)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 47:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bull Durham (1988)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 19:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Collateral (2004)

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Van Lathan▶ 1:55:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Empire Records (1995)

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Van Lathan▶ 20:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 9:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Clayton (2007)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 58:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Minority Report (2002)

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 9:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Moneyball (2011)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 14:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (5)

Cameron Crowe

20 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Van Lathan · Known for Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky▶ 4:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Billy Wilder

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Apartment, Some Like It Hot▶ 30:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kosta Jokic

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Fair Play▶ 11:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bridget Jones

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Leslie Libman

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 23:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (78)

Tom Cruise

34 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Top Gun, Mission: Impossible II, Minority Report▶ 2:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roy Firestone

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for Jerry Maguire▶ 13:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Renée Zellweger

11 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Chicago, Cold Mountain, Jerry Maguire▶ 20:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kelly Preston

10 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Battlefield Earth, The Cat in the Hat, Sky High▶ 13:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Regina King

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Ray, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Harder They Fall▶ 34:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Troy Aikman

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Jerry Maguire▶ 1:30:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Al Michaels

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Miracle▶ 1:31:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jonathan Lipnicki

5 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for Jerry Maguire, Like Mike▶ 27:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bonnie Hunt

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Jumanji, Zootopia▶ 22:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Connie Britton

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, American Ultra▶ 1:28:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Diane Lane

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Van Lathan · Known for Unfaithful, Under the Tuscan Sun, The Outsiders▶ 6:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eric Stoltz

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Pulp Fiction, The Butterfly Effect▶ 1:33:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (8)

Jeffrey Katzenberg

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Shrek, Just Like Heaven▶ 32:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ed Burns

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons▶ 37:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James L. Brooks

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Broadcast News, As Good as It Gets, Terms of Endearment▶ 16:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons▶ 20:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Carter

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for The X Files▶ 13:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Springsteen

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Blinded by the Light, The Wrestler, Philadelphia▶ 29:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ron Shelton

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Bull Durham, Hollywood Homicide, White Men Can't Jump▶ 14:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Winston Groom

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Forrest Gump, My Dog Skip▶ 53:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Janusz Kaminski

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Schindler's List, Minority Report▶ 33:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗