Cameron Crowe, writer and director of Jerry Maguire was surprised when people started quoting the “Show me the money” line from his movie.
“The line I thought might resonate was not ‘Show me the money,’” Crowe told Premier. “It was Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) talking about ‘the Kwan’—his own personal coinage for the combination of love, respect, and money. I like to think that Tidwell had been jealous of Dennis Rodman’s blend of pseudo-French trash-talk ‘inspirato.’ He wanted his own language, too, so ‘the Kwan’ was born. But once we began to show the movie, audiences were pleasant, at best, during Rod’s ‘Kwan’ speeches. It was the phrase that Cuba Gooding Jr., as Tidwell, forces the beaten-down Tom Cruise to scream that whipped them into a frenzy, ‘Show! Me! The! Money!’
“The line showed up in everything from a Bill Clinton speech to the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Who knows exactly why? I suspect the high-octane chemistry between Gooding and Cruise ignited the words.
“The actual phrase was a mini-tribute to two people. One was Tim McDonald, the 49er defensive back, whom I’d interviewed during a negotiation period. ‘I work hard, I’ve served five years of my contract,’ he said to me. ‘Where’s the money? Where is the money?’ I’ve always remembered the confusion and desperation and need to support his family—all screwed up on his face as he waited for offers.
“Later, when writing, I turned McDonald’s yearning for financial self-worth into a war cry, with a little bit of my friend, producer, and coinage-king Art Linson thrown in for good luck. The ‘Show me the money’ sequence was a pure joy to direct. But I’ve always held a soft spot for the unnoticed concept of ‘Kwan.’ Some time later, during an Olympic performance by ice-skater Michelle Kwan, a friend called and told me to turn on the television. In the middle of a huge crowd, a lonely fan held up a sign reading ‘Show me the Kwan.’ Thank you for that.”
There was more to Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s performance than the catchphrase, of course—he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1997—but that line seemed to turn up everywhere in the late nineties, and in 2005 was voted number 25 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Movie Quotes: America’s Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases list.
I don’t think that I have ever done a flip-flip on a movie as cataclysmic as the shift in my opinion on Elizabethtown. As much as I respect and admire Cameron Crowe I just didn’t get Elizabethtown when I saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. That cut of the movie was too long, too self-indulgent and frankly, boring. I changed my mind, however, when I saw the Slim Fast version of the movie that has been cut by about half-an-hour.
Crowe has trimmed the fat off the story about a young man—played by Orlando Bloom—who has just designed a shoe that was supposed to revolutionize the industry, but instead is a disaster, losing close to a billion dollars. At the same time he must deal with the death of his father, his extended family in Elizabethtown Kentucky and a perky flight attendant he meets on the way to his father’s memorial service. This time less really is more. The ruthless editing saved the movie, turning it into an enjoyable darkly comic romance.
Crowe has always had a deft hand at directing women—think Rene Zellweger in Jerry Maguire, Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky or Kate Hudson in Almost Famous and in Elizabethtown he shines the light on Kirsten Dunst. She is frequently good in films, but she really steals this movie as the cute and kooky stewardess who helps keep Bloom’s head screwed on during his bereavement. She has several unforgettable moments—when she tells Bloom to stop trying to break up with her; her giggly reaction when Bloom asks her a personal question on the telephone. Without her performance the trip to Elizabethtown wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.
When Benjamin Mee was shopping around for a new family home he ended up buying the ultimate fixer upper, a ramshackle house with an even more ramshackle zoo attached. Director Cameron Crowe has taken some liberties with the true story of a single father turned zookeeper—he relocates the story from Britain to Southern California for a start—but he maintains the most important part of Mee’s journey –the emotional core.
At the start of “We Bought a Zoo” Mee’s (Matt Damon) wife Katherine (Stephanie Szostak) has already passed away. The thrill seeking journalist is cut adrift, left with two young kids, teenage Dylan (Colin Ford) and 7-year-old Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), and a hankering to change his life. Leaving Los Angeles he buys a rural house nine miles from the nearest Target store, attached to an eighteen-acre property called the Rosemoor Animal Park.
The zoo has seen better days, as have its staff, de facto zookeeper Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) and out-of-control maintenance man Peter MacCready (Angus Macfadyen). Mee’s commitment to the zoo and his family almost bankrupts him financially and emotionally but his commitment to doing the right thing for everyone—the two and four legged characters—puts both the zoo and his life back on track.
“We Bought a Zoo” shouldn’t work. It is too sentimental and manipulative by half but luckily Matt Damon is there to ground the flighty story. Even a postscript (and no, I’m not going to tell you what it is), that even Steven Spielberg would find schmaltzy, works because Damon hits all the right notes.
Johansson is sweet yet strong as the ambitious zookeeper, but like many of the supporting characters her role feels underdeveloped. That’s particularly true in the case of Lily, the farm girl played by Elle Fanning. It’s a likeable performance in search of some meaning within the movie.
As usual, however, Crowe’s dialogue sings. A father and son argument is a showstopper and you’ll likely never use the word “whatever” again without thinking of this movie.
Floating above all this is another pitch-perfect Crowe soundtrack, featuring the usual suspects—Neil Yonge and Randy Newman—to the unexpected—Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi.
“We Bought a Zoo” is a crowd pleaser with emotional truth provided by a Matt Damon’s portrayal of the courage not to let grief rule his life. It’s a performance ripe with decency and integrity and it elevates the entire movie.
Cameron Crowe, writer and director of Jerry Maguire was surprised when people started quoting the “Show me the money” line from his movie.
