Jerry Meets George

Fourteen years ago, back in the winter of 1996, Tom Cruise starred and was then nominated for an Oscar in "Jerry Maguire".

That role has become a major touchstone in his career both as box office superstar and as a romantic lead. And with the guidance of writer/director Cameron Crowe, Cruise made the phrase "Show me the money" a pathetic, pleading scream of greed, accomplishment, friendship and pride.

And now, in the winter of 2010, actor Paul Rudd is starring in the movie "How Do You Know". Written and directed by James L. Brooks, the movie has Rudd playing a man named George who is tangled in a romantic love triangle with Reese Witherspoon.

Now, ignoring the fact that it is also a romantic comedy with a beautiful blonde and it is also created by an Academy Award winning screenwriter, isn't it freaky and (because both films are from Columbia Pictures) kind of interesting to note that the movie poster has an image of Rudd that is hauntingly familiar? Because you can sense from the picture of Rudd's character on the telephone that he isn't just ordering pizza; he is going through a Jerry Maguire-like hangin' by a thread, about to freak out quasi-breakdown.

Jerry Maguire tagline: "Everybody loved him. Everybody disappeared."

George's tagline: "He's In Trouble."

Although the image of Jerry Maguire screaming on the telephone wasn't used in the original poster, it is instantly recognizable from the film.

Fourteen years later, that image finally makes its way onto a one-sheet, but without Cruise's presence.

As Jerry would say, "You complete me."