 |
|
|
|
| | | |
| MatchFlick Member Reviews |
All Movie Info
Starring:
Missi Pyle, Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Shirley Knight, Yeardley Smith, Lupe Ontiveros, Bibi Osterwald, Brian Doyle-Murray, Randall Batinkoff, Shane Black, Tara Subkoff
Directed By:
James L. Brooks
Written By:
Mark Andrus, James L. Brooks
|
|
|
| |
As Good As It Gets (1997)
 email this review to a friend
Movie Review by Jarrod
June 11th, 2008
|  |
'As Good as It Gets' is all about Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson, both won deserved Oscars in this charming bittersweet romantic comedy. Nicholson is misanthropic writer Melvin Udall. He is much more than misanthropic, though, he is a colorful assortment of every conceivable kind of phobia, prejudice, and superstition. He avoids cracks on the sidewalk, never wears the same pair of gloves twice, is compulsively neat, afraid of germs, and harbors a dislike for blacks, Jews, Hispanics, and especially gays, it is his homophobia that is particularly exploited by his neighbor, an artist named Simon (Greg Kinnear). After being burglarized and assaulted, Simon faces eviction and his agent Frank Sachs (Cuba Gooding Jr.) asks Melvin to help take care of his adorable dog Verdell while Simon is in the hospital, and later wants Melvin to drive Simon to Baltimore, to ask his parents for money. Melvin is not exactly the most compassionate or considerate person. Just about everything he says is rude or offensive. Every morning, Melvin goes to a local diner and orders breakfast (carrying plastic utensils with him), and demands service from the same waitress, Carol (Hunt), who worries about her sickly son Spencer, and deals with Melvin's obnoxious behavior that tends to drive other customers away. Melvin finds himself attracted to Carol, and sends her a new doctor for Spencer, for which she is grateful. Carol finds Melvin repulsive, at least in terms of his personality, and so do we. In fact, there was never a point that I really liked Melvin, even though he does slowly transform into a slightly better person; his treatment of Simon improves, and he makes a connection with Carol, even after he has insulted and enraged her, and she struggles to pull a genuine compliment out of him. Nicholson is remarkably entertaining, especially as he showcases all of Melvin's bigotries and eccentricities. Hunt is divine in a warm and funny performance.
She and Nicholson have exceptional chemistry; their dialogue is smart and painfully sincere, sharp and disarmingly ferocious at times. Carol and Melvin are very open about their true feelings, and Melvin especially is supplied with delicious and memorable lines, delivered brilliantly by Nicholson. Kinnear is wonderful as Simon, and when he joins Melvin and Carol on that fateful road trip, there is bound to be some friction, but also some surprising realizations that all three characters have similar problems, periods of chronic unhappiness, a multitude of issues and personal defects that worry them and affect their daily lives. As miserable and detestable as Melvin may initially be, he does eventually demonstrate a capacity for charity and kindness, as well as an ability to understand and participate in a normal human relationship. So, yes, Simon and Carol bring out the best in him. This is a rather predictable development, I suppose, but the quality of the writing and acting keep it fresh and prevent it from slipping too deeply into the stale clichés and conventions that so pollute this genre.
email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
Sorry, you must be a member to add comments to reviews.
Join or Login. |
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS
|
