As Good As It Gets

Rating:
Summary: Better Than It Claims To Get
Review: "As Good As It Gets" is one of the best comedies released in 1997. The plot of a man with OCD and a struggling waitress builds brilliantly as the movie continues. As much as many may dislike the lead man, he is highly laughable. Such comedy combines well with drama at the right places to give it the added flavor. It combines attitude, laughter, romance, and family. This movie rightfully earned seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

Two of those nominations became winners: Jack Nicholson for Best Actor and Helen Hunt for Best Actress. Nicholson's role has the intensity that gives this film the added comedy. His research into his character's disease and his characteristics showcase very well. As always, no words can express how terrific his acting is. Helen Hunt's role gives the film the drama it needs without removing the comedy. Her performance is enough to make an audience cry. Greg Kinnear's Oscar nominated role as a depressed gay man is one of the best performances of his career. All the other actors also performed wonderfully: Jamie Kennedy, Skeet Ulrich, Cuba Gooding Jr., and many more(even the dog).

"As Good As It Gets" is a great movie for those who are looking for a unique comedy. Everybody will be entertained.

Rating:
Summary: Delightfully perfect!
Review: "How do you rate women so well?" asks a flattered young lady after reading one of the man's sappy romantic paperback novels and recognizing his face on the street. He turns around, looks at her and says, "I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability."

The secret of "As Good As It Gets" is its unconventional, and often times irreverent, view of the entire romance scene. It is centered solely on two people, Melvin (Jack Nicholson) and Carol (Helen Hunt). Melvin writes those corny romance novels you always manage to find tucked in between the fiction and non-fiction area of your local bookstore. You know, the kind that little old ladies like to read through at an incredible speed in an ill-fated hope to re-live moments of their past.

Melvin is a bit like Paul Sheldon, from Rob Reiner's "Misery," although I'm sure if he had been found by a murderous fan he would have been killed early on--he's incredibly blunt and annoying. He probably would have told Annie Wilkes what he thought of her from the get-go, not hesitating any more than he has to.

Melvin has obsessive-compulsive disorder, which basically means he goes through strange routines every time he does something, whether it means locking a door twice or not stepping on the cracks of a sidewalk (we all do that, sometimes). I recently read a new Steve Martin novella about a man with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it reminded me very much of "As Good As It Gets" and the Melvin character. Melvin is such a wacko that he pushes his gay neighbor's dog down the laundry chute after he finds it wandering around the hallway.

The gay man is played by Greg Kinnear. His name is Simon, and he has a small little dog he likes to call "precious." Simon is an artist, but when a band of kids wreck his apartment and beat him up, he is left with the realization that he hasn't enough money to keep his flat, and his boyfriend (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) may break up with him.

But the biggest worry of all is...what to do with his precious?

Frank, played by Gooding Jr., decides to give the dog to Melvin--who refuses at first but is left without any option but to obey. He soon achieves a certain subtle love for the beast, and when Simon has healed and comes back for the dog, it doesn't even want to leave. It even starts to develop nasty habits--like avoiding cracks in the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, a troubled single mother and a part-time waitress, Carol is constantly nagged by Melvin. Only she can deliver him food. Only she can take his order. Only she can kick him out of the restaurant. Mistaking this for some sort of sexual craving, she tells Melvin flat-out that she will never sleep with him. He doesn't seem to care. That had never even crossed his mind.

The fact is that Melvin is insufferably lonely. He likes to act as though he likes to be lonely, but the truth is that his loneliness is something he loathes. He would love to reach out and gain some friends--but he's too proud to humble himself in such a way. We all know people like Melvin--he just takes himself to a new extreme.

Melvin is surely one of the great screen characters of all time, ranking up there with Raymond "Rain Man" Babbitt and Forrest Gump as some of the most unique and likable inventions to ever grace the big screen. Nicholson presents his character in an especially effective way--at first he seems gruff, then he seems strange, then his soft side is revealed, and he slowly becomes the likable mean guy who lives upstairs and likes to try and kill neighbors' dogs.

Hunt won the Oscar for her work in "As Good As It Gets," but it was truly Nicholson who deserved it.

Regardless of all this, "As Good As It Gets" still stands alone as one of the cleverest romantic comedies of all time, and certainly one that both sexes can agree on. The film features some of the most memorable lines ever written on paper, the majority of them all coming from the lips of Melvin Udall, perfectly spoken by a typical gruff Jack Nicholson. They all come off as utterly hilarious and convincing. (Nicholson: "How old are you? If I would guess by your eyes, I'd say you're fifty." Hunt: "If I went by your eyes I'd say you were kind.")

This is the type of new-age romantic comedy that rivals the greatness of "When Harry Met Sally" or "Sleepless in Seattle." It's founded in its characters, their lives, their interaction, and how they learn to overcome their own personal obstacles and moral obligations. This film carries all the Autumn-time sweetness and cleverness of a Rob Reiner comedy, and all the lightness of a Frank Capra movie. It's a delightful blend of comedy and romance, and the type of redefining genre motion picture that "When Harry Met Sally" was eight years prior.

What a perfect, delightful movie.

Rating:
Summary: A heartfelt film...
Review: "As Good as Gets" - For the first 15 minutes of this movie, I was honestly deadset against it. It was boring, and had absouletly no merit. I was thinking, "Why is this film so popular." Jack Nicholson's character was the rudest thing since Archie Bunker, and I could not see this film working. Then I understood that this was the primary idea. Make a character who is so unlikeable, that when he finally goes through his metamorphisis, you feel as if you went through it with him.

Co-starring Helen Hunt as the women of Nicholson's affection and has more issues to deal with than anyone else in the film. Greg Kinnear is easily my personal favorite character, he seems to be the most pure and knowledgeable of the lot. The film has it's flaws, but is very entertaining. I appreciate that the filmmakers did not make fun of Nicholson's character's OCD problem, as it is a serious condition. It takes a lot of will-power to overcome it, and it was not taken advantage of.

The DVD Itself:

There is a lack of special features for this DVD. An interesting commentary with the major cast, three different audios and subtitles pretty much sums it up. Personally, there could of been a lot more.

Parting Thoughts:

Not a bad blind purchase, as I had heard so many great things about it. I would really recommend it.

Ryan

Rating:
Summary: Jack Nicholson is the s***.
Review: "As Good As It Gets" is one of the most purely entertaining movies ever made. It is funny, sad, romantic, and it captures your heart with its witty dialogue and stellar performances, especially by it's Oscar-winning leads. Melvin Udall is a man that would make any waitress quit her job.

Rating:
Summary: Nicholson couldn't get better if he tried.
Review: "As Good As It Gets" really is. Jack Nicholson was born for this role and the rest of the cast is stellar. Not a mediocre performance anywhere. The content of the plot, although somewhat touchy to some, was reliably riveting and hilariously funny for what could have turned out to be a disastrous situation. The gratuitous slams of the HMO system could have been left out, but I guess Hollywood needs to make its political statements now and then. All things considered, this film was a roller-coaster of emotions ranging the gamut from side-splitting laughter to snuffling teariness. It was among the best I've seen of its kind.

Rating:
Summary: Rosie31962
Review: "THIS MOVIE IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS"This Movie Is One Of My All Time Favorites And I Enjoy It And This Is A Movie You Must Have For Your Video Libary. It's One Of Those Movie You'll Never Get Tire Of And It Really Is As Good As It Gets For The Motion Picture Buiness

Rating:
Summary: I think of a man,and then I take away reason &accountability
Review: -How do you know women so well ?

-Well..., I think of a man , and then I take away reason and accountability.

I loughed so hard, Jack Nicholoson is superb on this one. He builds his character progressively through the movie, carefully though, in a role that could very easily be overshoot or downplayed. His looks and his actions are very convincing.This man really cant tell what is right and wrong to say. He really strugles hard to make a compliment. He suffers... And Jack Nickolson offers us a great performance.

As his neighbour calls him at some point, he is "...a horror of a human being". His worst nightmare is being touched by other people, he is so superstitious that he walks in strange patterns in order not to step on the lines of the street tiles and he brings his own packaged, sterile silverware to the one and only restaurant that he eats, always at a certain table, always served by a certain waitress, Helen Hunt. But besides all that, he progresses, slowly but steadily, and around him all the characters of the movie. And he does that not in an artificial transition but in a natural, step by step procedure. Marvelous performance. Of course the script is on his side, one of the smartest scripts that have come out of Hollywood for a long time.It's a must see for women and men alike.

Rating:
Summary: "You make me want to be a better man"...
Review: ...if that wasn't one of the better, more memorable lines in any movie made in the 90's...

And that line encapsulates the story, which is essentially the story of an incredibly interesting, accomplished, and intelligent man who's fears dominate him to such an extent that the viewer sees the exact opposite through most of the film.

The movie documents the transformitive effect that human caring can have as an element of value in life that trancends the material. Nicholson plays a man who has the money, the success, the perfectly organized enviroment, but is completely devoid of companionship.

When introduced; as it is both in his relationship with his neighbor (through his beautiful dog...which happens to be a Brussels Griffon to anyone curious) or Helen Hunt, his waitress, the threat in needing companionship ushers all kinds of wild and comedic turmoil, but in the end...well, I won't spoil it for those who have yet to view.

And to that class of people, who have yet to see this film, count yourself lucky, it's a beautiful comedy about love, and it's power to help man triumph over fear. To those of you who have seen this and are considering buying the movie, I recommend you do. It's one of the few in my collection that I frequently watch and enjoy.

Christian Hunter

Rating:
Summary: Kinnear should have won the Oscar!
Review:
Besides Kinnear, another outstanding feature of this film is the ease of how it expresses the way women think and feel. Although Jack's final speech to Helen is worded exactly as a woman wants a man to praise her, Jack is able to make it sound spontaneous and masculine. I've only mentioned the 2 things I like best about the film, but it's excellent on all dimensions.

Rating:
Summary: Over-rated, Jack Nicholson flick
Review:

AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, 1996

Synopsis
A OCD suffering writer, a single mother of a very sick child, and a painter who is brutally beatup, realize that life is "as good as it gets".

My Review
This was a good movie, but there is nothing profound about the acting. So I really don't understand why all three were nominated for Academy Awards, and two of them (Nicholson and Hunt) won. Give me a break.