A Few Good Men (Special Edition)/Jerry Maguire

Aaron Sorkin's A FEW GOOD MEN had a 497 performance Broadway run between 11/15/89 and 1/26/91. Tom Hulce (AMADEUS) portrayed Lt. j.g. Daniel Kaffee and Stephen Lang (GETTYSBURG) was Lt. Col. Nathan Jessep.

In Rob Reiner's screen version (adapted by the playwright), an inexperienced Navy lawyer is assigned the defense of two Gitmo Marines who appear to have murdered a comrade while administering a "Code Red," a disciplinary action they claim was ordered by their own lieutenant. Scene-chewing catchphrase "You can't handle the truth" aside, this is a top shelf courtroom drama.

Cameron Crowe's JERRY MAGUIRE is a rarity: a romantic film with an NFL setting. Another Tom Cruise picture where a co-star utters its most memorable line (Miss Zellweger's immortal "You had me at 'hello' "), this is a near-perfect blend of comedy and drama that's enhanced by an extensive and varied music track, fine acting and unusual sports figure cameos.

Here, super-agent Jerry is fired from the company he helped found for publishing a mission statement that stresses providing more personal attention to a smaller roster of star athletes. Dorothy Boyd is struck by the beauty of Jerry's message. She quits her accconting job at the same firm and together Jerry and she set out to conquer the sports agency world, starting with a single client, little-used wide receiver Rod Tidwell. The undersized Rod has a head almost too big for his helmet. He wants the Arizona Cardinals to pay him several million more than the team's owner thinks he's worth.

Jerry likes the widowed Dorothy a great deal and he totally loves her precocious six-year-old son, Ray. When Dorothy plans a move to San Diego, the matrimony-phobic Jerry asks her to marry him. It soon becomes obvious that as a husband he's a great sports agent. Jerry must simultaneously deal with a rapidly deteriorating marriage, his inability to sign new clients and Rod's demands for a long term contract from the Cards.

Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll ratings.

(7.6) A Few Good Men (1992) - Tom Cruise/Jack Nicholson/Demi Moore/Kevin Bacon/Kiefer Sutherland/Kevin Pollak/J.T. Walsh/James Marshall/Christopher Guest/J.A. Preston/Wolfgang Bodison/Noah Wyle

(7.2) Jerry Maguire (1996) - Tom Cruise/Cuba Gooding Jr./Renée Zellweger/Kelly Preston/Jay Mohr/Bonnie Hunt/Jonathan Lipnicki/Glenn Frey/Donal Logue/Beau Bridges (cameos: Al Michaels/Dan Dierdorf/Frank Gifford/Drew Bledsoe/Katarina Witt/Mel Kiper/Drew Rosenhaus/Art Monk/Richie Kotite/Troy Aikman/Warren Moon/Kerry Collins/Dallas Malloy)

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review  5.0 out of 5 stars