As Good as It Gets

As Good as It Gets is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by James L. Brooks and produced by Laura Ziskin. It stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, obsessive-compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt as a single mother with an asthmatic son, and Greg Kinnear as a gay artist. The screenplay was written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks.

Both Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Academy Award for Best Actress, respectively, making As Good As It Gets the latest film to win both of the lead acting awards, and the first since 1991. It is ranked 140th on Empire magazine's "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" list.^[2]

Plot

Melvin Udall is a misanthrope who works at home as a best-selling novelist in New York City. He suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder which, paired with his misanthropy, alienates nearly everyone with whom he interacts. He eats breakfast at the same table in the same restaurant every day using disposable plastic utensils he brings with him due to his pathological germophobia. He takes an interest in his waitress, Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt), the only server at the restaurant who can tolerate his behavior.

One day, Melvin's neighbor, a gay artist named Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear), is assaulted. Melvin is forced to care for Simon's dog while Simon is hospitalized. Although he initially does not enjoy caring for the dog, Melvin becomes emotionally attached to it. He simultaneously receives more attention from Carol. When Bishop 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 (Jesse James). Unable to adjust to another waitress, Melvin arranges to pay for her son's medical expenses if Carol agrees to continue working at her previous restaurant in Manhattan.

Meanwhile, Simon's assault and rehabilitation, coupled with Verdell's preference for Melvin, causes Simon to lose his creative muse. Simon is approaching bankruptcy due to his medical bills. Simon's agent, Frank Sachs (Cuba Gooding, Jr., convinces Simon to go to Baltimore and ask his estranged parents for money. Frank offers Melvin use of his car for the trip. Melvin invites Carol to accompany them on the trip to lessen the awkwardness. She reluctantly accepts the invitation, and relationships among the three develop. Once in Baltimore, Carol agrees to have dinner with Melvin. Melvin's comments during the dinner greatly upset Carol, and she abruptly leaves. Upon seeing the frustrated Carol, Simon begins to sketch her and rekindles his creativity, once more feeling a desire to paint. He briefly reconnects with his parents, but is able to tell them that he'll be fine.

After returning to New York City, Carol tells Melvin that she does not want him in her life anymore. She later regrets her statement and calls him to apologize. The relationship between Melvin and Carol remains complicated until Simon, whom Melvin has allowed to move in with him until he can get a new apartment, convinces Melvin to declare his love for her at her apartment in Brooklyn, where the two realize the depth of their personal connection. The film ends with Melvin and Carol walking together to buy fresh rolls at the corner bakery.

Primary cast

• Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall
• Helen Hunt as Carol Connelly
• Greg Kinnear as Simon Bishop
• Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Frank Sachs
• Julie Benz as the receptionist
• Shirley Knight as Beverly Connelly
• Jesse James as Spencer Connelly
• Skeet Ulrich as Vincent Lopiano
• Yeardley Smith as Jackie Simpson
• Lupe Ontiveros as Nora Manning
• Jill the Dog as Verdell (a Brussells Griffon)
• Harold Ramis as Dr. Norman Bettes, MD
• Danielle Spencer as the Veterinarian

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features instrumental pieces composed by Hans Zimmer and songs by various artists.

Track listing

1. "As Good as It Gets" (Hans Zimmer)
2. "A Better Man" (Zimmer)
3. "Humanity" (Zimmer)
4. "Too Much Reality" (Zimmer)
5. "1.2.3.4.5" (Zimmer)
6. "Greatest Woman on Earth" (Zimmer)
7. "Everything My Heart Desires" (Danielle Brisebois)
8. "Under Stars" (Phil Roy)
9. "My Only" (Danielle Brisebois)
10. "For Sentimental Reasons (I Love You)" (Nat King Cole)
11. "Hand on My Heart" (Judith Owen)
12. "Climb on (A Back That's Strong)" (Shawn Colvin)
13. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" (Art Garfunkel)

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews from film critics and was nominated for and received many film awards, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and a Golden Globe award for Best Picture-Music or Comedy. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of professional critics have given the film a positive review based on 75 reviews. The film has an 88% score from the website's top critics.^[3] Metacritic, a web site that evaluates films by averaging its overall critical response, gave the film a metascore of 67, signifying generally favorable reviews.^[4] The film's two lead actors, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, both received Academy and Golden Globe awards for their performances. Chicago Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote that what director James Brooks "Manages to do with (the characters) as they struggle mightily to connect with one another is funny, painful, beautiful, and basically truthful-a triumph for everyone involved."^[5]

However, praise for the film was not uniform among critics. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars (out of four) and called the film a "compromise, a film that forces a smile onto material that doesn't wear one easily," writing that the film drew "back to story formulas," but had good dialog and performances.^[6] Washington Post critic Desson Howe gave a generally negative review of the movie, writing that it "gets bogged down in sentimentality, while its wheels spin futilely in life-solving overdrive."^[7]

As Good as It Gets was also a box office hit, opening at number three in the box office (behind Titanic and Tomorrow Never Dies) with $12.6 million,^[8] and eventually earning over $148 million domestically and $314 million worldwide.^[1] It is Jack Nicholson's second most lucrative film, behind Batman.^[9]

Awards and honors

Organizations

Guilds

American Film Institute recognition:

• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs - Nominated^[10]
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
  • "You make me want to be a better man." - Nominated^[11]

See also

• Mysophobia

References

External links

• As Good As It Gets at the Internet Movie Database
• As Good As It Gets at AllRovi
• As Good As It Gets at The New York Times
• "As Good As It Gets" at Rotten Tomatoes
• "As Good As It Gets" soundtrack review at Allmusic