Hollywood makes more love stories, or movies that contain some romance in the plot, than any other kind of film. Few however, contain solid enough characters to allow them to stand out and be remembered. Gone With The Wind and The Way We Were are two such classic character driven love stories. A more recent one is Jerry Maguire.

Tom Cruise does his greatest acting to date as a sports agent, working for a large firm, who develops a conscious. After a confrontation with a son of a hospitalized hockey player, Jerry loses some sleep writing a memo, sorry, I mean Mission Statement. In it, he writes it should be about less money and more care. Less money is, of course, bad for business and Jerry gets fired. He takes with him an accountant, who has a crush on him, a client with an attitude and a goldfish. With the hope of signing a hot new quarterback, Jerry is upbeat and ready to move ahead. Then the quarterback betrays him, his fiancé breaks up with him and he makes a pass at his accountant. Life for Jerry just keeps getting complicated.

Renée Zellweger does a great job as Dorothy, the accountant. She plays a single mother to a scene stealing little boy named Ray. Dorothy and Ray are infatuated with Jerry from the moment they first talk to him. Dorothy's sister, the great Bonnie Hunt, runs a support group for divorced women. She always has advice for Dorothy, most of it negative.

Cuba Gooding Jr. won a supporting actor Oscar for his role. Gooding plays over the top most of the movie. However, Gooding occasionally lets little moments slip in where you see his character's vulnerability. Also, it is his character that is responsible for introducing the catch phrase, "Show me the money."

Cruise was nominated for an Oscar, and deservedly so. Early on, there is the scene where he is staring at his computer screen, writing his memo. Cruise has a remarkably tired, intense and determined look on his face. You can feel Jerry's passion. Near the end of the movie, he has another great scene where he declares his love for Dorothy. This movie could become a classic. Not only is the love story solid, but also the dialogue is the best in a long time. On their first date, Jerry sees Dorothy walk in and says, "That's more than a dress, that's an Audrey Hepburn movie." Then, there is the scene at the end where Jerry walks in on the support group meeting. He says, "Hello" and then goes on about how he wants Dorothy in his life. This speech includes the line, "You complete me." He starts to go on but Dorothy stops him and says, "Shut up. You had me at hello." Classic, classic, classic dialogue.

One of the best romantic movies of all time, it can appeal to both sexes. It has a lovelorn female lead for women to root for and a guy who spends lots of time around sports. Only time will tell if Jerry Maguire truly becomes a classic film. In my book, it definitely deserves to.

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