Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: A slimy sports agent gains a conscience and loses his place in the world.
Biased, pithy comments: I have to admit I saw this movie while fairly ill, so I can't be entirely sure my disconnection with it was because I was coughing up a lung or because of the slick but ultimately forgettable script. Cruise and Gooding are excellent as a pair of the most self-absorbed people in the world, and Zellweger is all right as the accountant-in-love, but I found the movie too simple, too obvious; we keep getting told what the characters' problems are and it doesn't take a PhD to figure out what will fix it. At the same time, the story moves along grandly like a Great American Novel, and I was interested in the ending and some of the witty observations along the way. Hunt is still a joy to watch; I'll see anything she's in. Excellent job, too, making the sports themselves seem surreal and theatrical.
Other Notes: Looking at some other reviewer's comments, I'm going against the grain by not totally loving this film. Ahh, well; it takes all kinds.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renee Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Bonnie Hunt, Regina King.
Directed by: Cameron Crowe