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.

Several years ago, my wife watched "As Good As It Gets" and she told me she didn't like the film. So, I avoided it for years....and now I wish I hadn't listened to her. I loved the film---just don't tell her I said so!

The film, to me, was perhaps a bit different experience than it would have been for the average viewer. As a former psychotherapist, I kept trying to analyze Jack Nicholson's character in order to understand the story better. He appeared to either have a variety of personality disorders--including an avoidant personality (where he pretends to HATE everyone and pushes them away to avoid being hurt), an obsessive-compulsive personality (or perhaps an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and probably a nice dose of either Asperger's or was just socially retarded. Regardless, this sort of person would NORMALLY live a very solitary and sad existence. However, the film manages to make it seem believable that a man like this could change...some...as well as find love. It's all very improbable but also very charming and sweet. And, later in the film rather oddly romantic. Additionally, the film is, at times, rather funny. Overall, a quirky and well-written film with some terrific acting.

A lot of other stuff has been written about this multi-Oscar-winning film....so I'll just end by saying my wife is 100% wrong...but I still think she's terrific.

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.

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.

Jack Nicholson is one of those actors who impresses me the second (and I'm not overstating in the least bit) he appears on screen. The moment I see Jack's face on screen, I get this feeling that everything's going to be all right. He could do a Pauly Shore film, and elevate its quality with his mere presence. And I didn't even get to his acting.

Nicholson won a well-deserved Oscar for this movie. Then again, I feel like he deserves an Oscar for virtually everything he's been in. Hell, you can even give him an Oscar nod for "Anger Management." THAT'S how great he is! He's one of those actors who can communicate even more emotion when he's not saying anything than when he is. And of course, he has one of the coolest movie star voices ever, so it makes it a joy whenever he does speak. I still feel like "You can't handle the truth!" wouldn't be as priceless a line if Jack didn't yell it. He can say almost any line of dialogue and turn it into gold. In this movie it was "You make me wanna be a better man." Again, an otherwise forgettable line of dialogue made gold by Jack.

"As Good As It Gets" is a flawed film, with scenes that drag and an overlong running time, but it's highly enjoyable and altogether pretty well-written. Aside from its many hilarious moments, it's also quite touching. But I have to admit that it's the comedy that sticks out most in my memory. There's some priceless gags like when a Jewish couple is sitting at Jack's usual table. He first intrudes into their conversation saying, "People who speak in metaphors oughtta shampoo my crotch." He complains to Helen Hunt, his usual waitress, saying "I have Jews at my table!" He then intrudes in the couple's conversation again, noticing the food on their table, saying "Obviously your appetites aren't as big as your noses." Now, I probably wouldn't want to personally know a man like Melvin in my real life, but I still found those cracks to be hysterically funny. The same when he attacks Greg Kinnear's gay character with constant homosexual slurs.

The performances are great all-around. Though Jack pretty much steals the show, Greg Kinnear gives a wonderfully endearing performance. He doesn't play out the gay stereotypes, yet he's sensitive and feminine enough to have me convinced that he is gay (unlike Eric McCormack on "Will and Grace" who acts like he's gay for the sake of the show's gimmick). It's nice to see Kinnear rise from the host of "Talk Soup" and the thankless late night talk show "Later" to a fine actor. Previously, I wouldn't have any notion that he could become what he is now. Helen Hunt also gives a compelling, emotionally packed performance. And Shirley Knight, as her mother, provides a little bit of comic relief. Cuba Gooding Jr. has a small but interesting role, and he makes the best of it.

The film does have its dull moments, but Jack's one-of-a-kind performance makes it all worthwhile. There is nobody, and I mean NOBODY, who could've played Melvin better than him. I read in the trivia that John Travolta was originally offered the role. Now, I like Travolta, but in this type of role he wouldn't hold a candle to Jack.

My score: 7 (out of 10)