As Good as It Gets

and this movie can be watched again, and again, and again (at least by me).

By now, most people who watch movies are aware that this one practically swept the Oscars for the year it was produced. It won Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt best Actor/Actress awards, came away with Best Picture and also Greg Kinnear won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Simon Bishop, a sensitive gay artist.

Seventeen years later the movie stands up well because of its timeless quality. "As Good as it Gets" is a very tight story and performance by all the actors and there is not one moment, scene or actor wasted. The story centers around people's expressions more than most movies. One example is an elderly woman actress who has opened her apartment door to run an errand and her features contort in disgust when she happens upon Melvin Udall, the Jack Nicholson character who is about to do some mischief with his gay neighbor's dog.

Another example is Skeet Ulrich, who plays a street tough who somehow winds up doing a modeling job for Simon (Greg Kinnear) the gay artist. When Simon explains to Vincent (Ulrich) what he is looking for in a pose, Vincent's eyes widen and he murmurs "Wow." Moments later he nonchalantly delivers the type of pose Simon is looking for. Unfortunately, Simon and Vincent's association ends badly and creates a turning point for the movie.

There are also several layers of irony at play in the story. It is ironic that Melvin, a hardcore misanthropist mired in full-blown OCD can somehow deliver romance novels that women love and buy by the barrelful. Also ironic is that Melvin's character transformation begins when he must take care of Simon's dog, an adorable little Brussels Griffon.

It's also ironic that Carol, Helen Hunt's waitress character, works in a restaurant populated by actress-hopefuls who serve diners while striving for their big acting break. Some have stated that Hunt, a fetching but not-too-glamorous actress was too pretty for the role. However she was dressed down just enough for the role to make it work and her understated beauty comes into play in a big way later on in the story.

Finally there's Jack Nicholson. His portrayal of Melvin Udall stands out as one of his great performances because of all the subtle nuances. The shot of him holding Verdell the dog and cooing to him is one of the signature shots not only from the movie but from his whole career. Near 60 when the movie was produced, he comes across more fit and polished than usual, definitely more so that his portrayal of the raucous astronaut in Terms of Endearment, another one of his great performances, which had occurred 13 years earlier.

If you've never seen it what on earth are you waiting for? And if, like me you've seen it over and over, hopefully this review gives some new insight as to why "As Good as it Gets" is so gloriously watchable, over and over again.

"You make me want to be a better man."

I finally got around to watching this touching and funny film directed by James L. Brooks that stands out thanks to some wonderful performances and memorable characters. As Good As it Gets is proof that actions are louder than words because despite how cruel and mean Nicholson's character is, he does incredible and kind things for others. In a way this film reminded me of David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook as I found both films to be difficult to follow at first due to the lack of a likable character, but once we get to know who these people are we forgive their flaws and end up routing for them. Both Nicholson and Helen Hunt give excellent performances, and their Oscar wins were well deserved in my opinion. As Good As it Gets is the very definition of charm, and the screenplay written by Mark Andrus (Life As a House) shines thanks to some incredible performances. I really enjoyed this film and found myself laughing through most of the scenes. This is one more film I can eliminate from my shame list, and I'm glad I finally got to experience this romantic comedy which also has a lot to say about overcoming illness.

We are introduced to Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson), a cranky but successful author who suffers from OCD. He lives on his own in a beautiful apartment where he spends most of his time writing. He always goes out on his daily breakfast ritual which consists of walking to a nearby cafe without touching anyone or stepping on any cracks. He always sits in the same place at the cafe and always demands to be served by the same waitress, whose name is Carol (Helen Hunt). Carol is actually the only one in the cafe who stands his constant outbursts and cruel comments. Melvin's daily routine changes through two events that end up affecting his life. First, his homosexual artist neighbor named Simon (Greg Kinnear) suffers an accident and Melvin unwillingly accepts to take care of his dog in his absence. Second, Carol's son, Spencer (Jesse James) gets ill and she quits her job. Not accepting the fact that Carol isn't there to serve him, Melvin tries to find her in order to restore order back to his life. These series of events force Melvin to change his routine and at the same time he forms an unlikely friendship with Carol and Simon proving that he isn't as bad as he seems to be.

The performances by each one of the talented actors are the heart and motor of this film. Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt share an incredible chemistry together. It's funny how despite never being able to share his feelings towards her and always saying the wrong things, it becomes clear that she does inspire him to become a better person. The supporting cast is also incredible here, especially Greg Kinnear and Cuba Gooding Jr. who deliver several funny scenes. I was partial to Brooks's work considering I had only seen How Do You Know which didn't work for me and Spanglish which I did enjoy, but As Good As it Gets is without a doubt his best work thanks to an unbelievable cast. This is a smart and funny film, which also could be cruel at times, but it was well balanced. Despite the schmaltzy story it still worked thanks to the characters that carried this film. It's hard not to leave this film with a smile on your face.

Really, how to make something original, fresh and odd out of absolutely nothing except a few characters? Using characters, only characters and nothing except characters. That's the simple formula Brooks uses in all of his work, but, for me, he has never created so much charm, warmth and sensibility as he did in `As good as it gets'.

Characters write the screenplay in this movie, and everything that happens - happens because of what they are. They are nothing special – they are ordinary people we meet in the street every day and that have the same problems a lot of other people have. This movie presents the example of how much you can pull out of that. And if that is written as well as it is in this case, not even a happy ending can bother you. Because, in real life, shown here, what is the end?

Everything is good and warm in this movie, everything is fresh and vivacious, understandable and well performed. Jack Nicholson brings one of the best performances of his career, that terrific Helen Hunt finally got a chance to show how skilfully an actor can connect naturalism with the laws of the camera performance, and Greg Kinnear shows the most convincing emotions coming from a gay character I've ever seen.

The relationships between the characters are created in the way that you can't predict anything that's going to happen, eventhough you know in advance what could come out of their mouth and what kind of attitude they'll have in a certain situation.

You can simply feel the progressive collaboration that occurred between Brooks and the actors and the mutual understanding they developed, and it's not often that you see that kind of artistic superstructure shining on the screen so much as it does here.

I find `As good as it gets' complexed, vital, intelligent, emotionally deep and studied, fresh, original, amusing, cheerful, funny, and one of the best films of 1997.

This movie is bizarre because, while judged overall its story is shmaltzy and unbelievable, nevertheless each individual scene plays absolutely convincingly and feels very real. It's weird. I don't know if it's just the greatness of the actors overcoming an under-thought out script, or whether it's just the script concentrated solely on crafting great scenes one after the other, but not so much in coming up with a convincing through-line. Whatever. All I know is that this is one of the most entertaining pictures I've ever seen, extremely funny and quite emotionally affecting in places. Somehow, it just doesn't matter - I like it anyway.

The performances are uniformly excellent. Nicholson shows real range here - sure, he gets to be the sarcastic curmudgeon we've all come to expect, but his character also has moments of fear, repression and vulnerability which he brings off equally well. My problem with this character (and the "problem" only exists as I think about him afterward, not while I'm actually watching the movie) is in his conception: he seems to be whatever the writers want him to be at that moment, with no particular consistency from scene to scene so when he supposedly "changes" at the end, we're left to think, "Change? This guy's been changing through the entire movie!" And also, the fact that his character is a romance novelist is never really explained or examined in any way.

And yet, Nicholson's performance makes it not matter quite so much.

Helen Hunt is a revelation in this movie - she nails every scene she's in, whether she's forced to be witty, embarrassed, angry, defiant, emotionally overwhelmed, whatever. She keeps Jack on his toes, and they work off each other brilliantly. Also, I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but Greg Kinnear was great as Simon, the gay neighbor. (It was also nice to see director Harold Ramis - the third Ghostbuster, after all - in front of the camera again, if only briefly, in a small part as a doctor.)

What more can I say? Good comedy, good love story, great acting. None of it, in the end, is very convincing, but if you just focus on the individual moments and not on the grand design - a task made easy by the wonderful writing and playing - it's very easy to like As Good As It Gets.

Melvin is a romantic novelist who is a selfish manic compulsive who is rude and insulting to all he meets. When Melvin's gay neighbour is beaten up and robbed, Melvin agrees to look after his dog. The dog gives Melvin something to care about other than himself and his life is approaching normal until his regular waitress has to leave work to look after her asthmatic son and his neighbour wants his dog back. Melvin starts to realise that his life needs others for more than just selfish reasons.

The big Oscar winner for Jack is recent years is enjoyable if you come to it knowing what to expect. The film is very sentimental but in a good way. The film is gently comic and amusing and the characters (although exaggerated) are winning and involving. The telling is a little long winded at times and the film could have been shorter but it is still enjoyable. It does tip over into sickly sentimentality at times and can be a bit syrupy but it comes with the territory.

Nicholson is excellent and is the main reason it all works well. His un-PC Melvin is funny but also a character that you can hate and pity on several occasions. Kinnear is good because he is a solid understated character and not hammy or OTT like he can be. Hunt is good but is left with the majority of the syrup and sentiment where the other characters get more share of the laughs. Gooding Jr continues his trend of being good in over the top roles and is funny and happily avoids becoming a flaming gay stereotype.

Overall this is a sentimental romantic comedy that is typical for the genre. The story wanders to it's point but the good cast, led by a great Nicholson, hold the whole thing together. A superior piece of sentimentality.