As Good As It Gets ***** (1997, Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr, Shirley Knight, Skeet Ulrich) – Classic Movie Review 185

‘How do you write women so well?’ – awed publishers’ receptionist

‘I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.’ – Melvin Udall

Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won Best Actor and Actress awards at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes in 1998 for their delightful, expertly judged performances in director James L Brooks’s often-hilarious, finally touching smash-hit comedy As Good As It Gets. It’s quite a compliment that it’s managed to pull off a Hollywood romcom of the old school, reminiscent in style, spirit and achievement of It Happened One Night.

Nicholson gives a breathtaking show-stopping performance as Melvin Udall, an obsessive-compulsive novelist who takes great pride in his unerring ability to offend, wound, affront and repulse. He’s an absolute horror of a human being. He can’t stand on cracks in the sidewalk and he has no concept of other people, that they have feelings or lives separate from his own. They’re just satellites of him.

But all that’s about to change, of course. In his Manhattan apartment block, Melvin has a nice gay neighbour called Simon (Greg Kinnear), a struggling artist, whom he despises, along with his little dog, too, chucking it down the garbage chute. Sadly this script incident caused Betty White to turn down a role in the film.

One day Simon decides to sketch a likely looking lad (Skeet Ulrich), but the boy lets a couple of thieving thugs into the apartment, who beat Simon up badly and steal his stuff. While he is hospitalized afterwards, Melvin is forced to baby-sit Simon’s dog by art gallerist Frank Sachs (Cuba Gooding Jr). And, weirdly, Melvin starts to like the dog.

That unexpected (enforced) act of kindness, coupled with his (reluctant) growing fondness for waitress Carol Connelly (Hunt), starts to help put Melvin back in the human race. But not before he infuriates everyone around him, particularly Carol, who has him banned from his regular breakfast meal in her diner when he pursues her and makes upsetting remarks about her sick son.

The burglary leaves Simon wounded emotionally and physically, and stone cold broke. Melvin, uncharacteristically agrees to take him in to his spare room help after he’s been robbed (‘we’ll get you back on your knees in no time’). And later, Melvin agrees to take Simon on a road back to his parents to ask for some money – provided he can talk Carol into coming along too.

Carol’s mom (Shirley Knight) is a woman romantically, as well as practically inclined, and she surprisingly encourages her daughter in Melvin’s conquest of her, but first to accept his financial help in the health care of her poorly little boy. Carol needs a man, after all, but hunky young blokes like Randall Batinkoff she dates just can’t cope with her situation. When Melvin tells Carol ‘You make me want to be a better man’, that pretty much does the trick.

What to say in the film’s disfavour? I could say that Gooding Jr and Ulrich are wasted in weakly written parts, but then they are just side issues. Or that it is slightly over-long at 139 minutes, but nevertheless it does keep up the momentum, shifting gear along with locale a couple of times later on. It may not be quite perfect (hey, nobody’s perfect!), but this acid, not-too-sentimental, bitter-sweet romantic comedy is really about as good as it gets.

Stupendous though the actors are, they have got a great start in the tasty dialogue and witty one-liners in the very finely honed script by story-writer Mark Andrus and the director, James L Brooks. You can watch this movie time after time, and it comes up trumps every time, delivering the laughs and a warm glow of pleasure. It’s sweet that it is so gay friendly too, with Kinnear hitting the right note every time.

Harold Ramis is hysterical as the doctor and director Lawrence Kasdan has a cameo as Dr Green.

Expect some strong language and nudity.

It was nominated for Best Picture but lost to Titanic. Beside the two wins, the five other Oscar nominations were for Best Picture (James L Brooks, Bridget Johnson and Kristi Zea), Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen (Mark Andrus and James L Brooks), Best Supporting Actor (Kinnear), Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (Hans Zimmer) and Best Film Editing (Richard Marks).

It grossed $314.1 million on a $50 million budget, making it Nicholson’s second highest earning film after Batman.

It was the first film since 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs to win both lead acting awards and by 2022 is still the most recent. It Happened One Night (1934) also won both lead acting awards, and is the first of only three films (along with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Silence of the Lambs) to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The cast are Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall, Helen Hunt as Carol Connelly, Greg Kinnear as Simon Bishop, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Frank Sachs, Skeet Ulrich as Vincent Lopiano, Shirley Knight as Beverly Connelly, Jesse James as Spence Connelly, Yeardley Smith as Jackie Simpson, Lupe Ontiveros as Nora Manning, Bibi Osterwald as Neighbour Woman, Randall Batinkoff as Carol’s Date, Harold Ramis as Dr Martin Bettes, Lawrence Kasdan as Dr Green, Julie Benz as Receptionist, Shane Black as Cafe 24 manager Brian, Leslie Stefanson as Cafe 24 Waitress, Tom McGowan as Maitre D’, Brian Doyle-Murray as Handyman, Jamie Kennedy as Street Hustler, Missi Pyle as Cafe 24 Waitress, Wood Harris as Cafe 24 Busboy, Maya Rudolph as Policewoman, and Todd Solondz as Man on Bus.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 185

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