As Good as It Gets
by Robbo
Posted on 25 October 2021
Rating -
As Good as it Gets is a romantic comedy directed by James L. Brooks.
It stars Jack Nicholson as Melvin, a misanthropic author who has OCD and borderline personality disorder who manages to alienate and offend everyone around him in equal measure.
These include Melvin’s neighbour Simon (Gregg Kinnear), who is an artist and happens to be gay, and Carol (Helen Hunt), a waitress at Melvin’s favourite restaurant and the only one who can tolerate his behaviour.
When Simon is assaulted and nearly killed in a robbery, Simon’s agent Frank Sachs (Cuba Gooding Jr), intimidates Melvin into caring for Simon’s dog, Verdell while Simon is in hospital.
Although he initially does not enjoy caring for the dog, Melvin becomes emotionally attached to it, simultaneously receiving more attention from Carol.
When Simon is released from the hospital, Melvin is unable to cope emotionally with returning the dog.
Melvin’s life is further altered when Carol decides to work closer to her home in Brooklyn so she can care for her acutely asthmatic son Spencer. Unable to adjust to a different waitress, Melvin arranges through his publisher (whose husband is a doctor) to pay for her son’s considerable medical expenses as long as Carol agrees to return to work. She is overwhelmed but doubts his generosity and thinks there is some ulterior motive.
With no medical insurance, Simon is approaching bankruptcy due to his medical bills so Frank persuades him to go to Baltimore to ask his estranged parents for money.
Because Frank is too busy to take the injured Simon to Baltimore himself, Melvin reluctantly agrees to do so; Frank lends Melvin the use of his car so Melvin invites Carol to accompany them on the trip to lessen the awkwardness.
She reluctantly accepts, and relationships among the three develop.
Once in Baltimore, Carol persuades Melvin to take her out for dinner but Melvin’s comments during the dinner greatly flatter—and subsequently upset—Carol, and she abruptly leaves.
Carol decides to spend the night in Simon’s room and takes a bath where Simon begins to sketch her semi-nude, which rekindles his creativity, and he once more feels a desire to paint.
Simon calls his parents and speaks to his Mother but then has a last minute change of heart and decides not to ask them for money.
After returning to New York, Carol tells Melvin that she does not want him in her life any more, but later regrets her statement and calls to apologise.
Dues to Simon’s financial situation he has to move out of his flat and surprisingly, Melvin allows him to move in with him.
At Simon’s encouragement, Melvin goes to see Carol, who hesitantly agrees to try and establish a relationship with him.
The film ends with Melvin and Carol walking together. As he opens the door at an early morning pastry shop for Carol, he realises that he has stepped on a crack in the pavement, but does not seem to mind.
Not wanting to be cliched but As Good As It Gets is really As Good As It Gets.
I don’t know why I had never seen this film before, perhaps the idea of it being a romantic comedy put me off as that is not really a genre I enjoy.
But I will admit that it is not the usual romantic comedy and Jack Nicholson is not your usual romantic lead.
This film really is a film about nothing but for some reason it works, which is totally down to the performances of the main characters. Three people who would never have been friends, thrown together by circumstances where they gradually warm to each other.
Both Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt deservedly won Academy Awards for their performances. The only reason the film didn’t win Best Picture was a little film called Titanic.
I really did enjoy this film and would highly recommend to anyone.
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