As Good As It Gets (1997) * * *

 

Directed by:  James L. Brooks

Starring:  Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Shirley Knight, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Harold Ramis

Melvin Udall (Nicholson) is a slave to his routine.  His obsessive-compulsive disorder is off the charts.  His Manhattan apartment is as sterile as a doctor's office.   It's a good thing he is a famous writer who doesn't have to go to a job every day.   Melvin just wants to be left alone, but he finds that isn't possible.  He insults even those who might even like him, including the waitress Carol (Hunt) who serves him every day at his same table at his favorite restaurant.   One day, Carol had to call out of work to deal with her young son's ongoing illness and Melvin doesn't know what to do.   He tracks down Carol to her apartment and decides to help out with the boy's medical care.   He does this not out of the goodness of his heart, but because he needs Carol to be at work to feed his stomach and his disorder.

The more Melvin tries to pull away from others, the more he's drawn in.   He is not a fan of his gay artist neighbor Simon (Kinnear), but is forced to look after Simon's dog after Simon is beaten up by thieves.  You would think a dog and Melvin together would be like mixing oil and water, but Melvin grows to love him.   Melvin grows to grudgingly like Simon and agrees to drive him (and Carol who Melvin recruits for his own reasons) to Virginia so Simon can visit his disapproving parents for the first time in years.   

As Good As It Gets is anchored by layered performances of some wounded characters.   Nicholson and Hunt won Oscars for their work, while Kinnear was nominated.    Melvin is not an easy guy to like, mostly because he keeps people at bay with wounding insults.   But because he is played by Jack Nicholson, we are curious not only to see what he's up to, but how he will change.   He does change, albeit kicking and screaming.   Hunt's Carol has a bit of an edge to her, and it isn't a stretch to find her attracted to Melvin because hey, the man provided for the best medical care her son has ever received.  Kinnear is not overshadowed by the leads, but finds his own sympathetic niche as a gay man still looking to reconcile with his parents.   Watch him in a scene where he discusses his father's actions on the day Simon left for college.

Because As Good As It Gets is a romantic comedy, it pushes in that direction while being all edges and elbows.   These aren't people you would normally find in a rom-com, but the performances make it worth watching, along with some sharp writing.   As surely as night follows day, Melvin and Carol will wind up together, but I would check in on them in a week or two to see if that is still the case.   I have a hunch it wouldn't.