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Some of the most memorable one-liners of the year, Jack Nicholson’s best role since Chinatown, Greg Kinnear’s best role since... well, since ever, and a story I think we can all relate to – what does As Good as It Gets not have?
Aside from a few quibbles, As Good as It Gets really stands out as one of the year’s best films. Mark Nicholson down for a well-deserved Oscar. In fact, just watching him do two hours of his irredeemable Melvin by himself would be a treat. Match him up with a fine supporting cast, and it’s golden.
The story doesn’t really lend itself to explanation, but I’ll try anyway. Melvin is a famous novelist, as eccentric and neurotic as they come. Obsessed with ritual, leaving the house is an ordeal. Hell, opening the door is an ordeal. But when tragedy befalls his gay artist neighbor (Kinnear), Melvin rises to the task and finds himself on a bit of a personal journey, to risk sounding sentimental.
Along for the ride is Helen Hunt’s Carol, the waitress with whom Melvin is quietly smitten. And though the three seem as far off from one another as they come, they actually have one thing in common: they’re all plain nuts. And it doesn’t sound like it, but the way these three help each other through bad times makes for some powerful and quite hilarious cinema.
For what it’s worth, Hunt is in fine form, redeeming herself for her now-hateful character on TV’s “Mad About You,” and maybe it was watching Nicholson here that made her that way. My only real complaint is that, while it’s a fun ride, the movie is a bit circuitous, and after two hours, I’m not sure I buy the resolution.
But it doesn’t really matter. As Good as It Gets finally tells it like it is: most of us are nuts. In fact, most of us are completely fucking nuts! And if you look hard enough, there really may be someone out there for all of us, to help us make some sense of this wild ride we’re on after all.
Recommended for screwballs of all ages.
