AS GOOD AS IT GETS A Film Review By Daniel Chodos Copyright Dan Chodos 1998
"What if this is as good as it gets?", bellows Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) midway through the film in a psychiatrist's waiting room. James Brook's delightful new comedy answers that question with a firm "no, it gets better Jack," and then takes us on a journey to prove it. There are three central characters to "As Good As It Gets": Melvin the obsessive compulsive but successful writer, Carol (Helen Hunt), the warm hearted, single mothered waitress, and Simon (Greg Kinnear), the gay artist who lives next door. Each have something to gain from one another and although their stories knock on the door of clichesville it is entertaining none the less to watch.
The film relies on Nicholson's natural screen charm to get us to overlook his homophobia and racist reactions to the full illustrious city of New York.. We're supposed to juicily bite into the fact that his bigotry should be excused because he has obsessive compulsive disorder. In that aspect "As Good As It Gets" insults its audience floundering in between a serious character study of people OCD and a light hearted comedy. Take one scene where Melvin obsessively washes his germs away using 3 bars of soap. It's a painful scene to watch, sloppily giving the audience an excuse to pity poor Melvin. It doesn't belong in this movie because there is no justification for it. It's obvious from the get go that Brook's has trouble layering the comedy he's aiming for with a character study the we deserve.
The plot unfolds like a pyramid as Melvin attempts to reach for a higher level of happiness in his life. Carol, the waitress at a local restaurant he routinely eats in has a sick son with a very serious case of asthma. In an almost desperate attempt to cling to the only person who will give him the time of day, Melvin essentially buys Carol's affection in somewhat awkward and seedy circumstances. We know from their first encounter on screen that it's only a matter of time (in fact, too long) before Melvin and Carol get romantically linked.
But what stands out is the terrific performance by Kinnear as the understated Simon. It seems as if Brooks doesn't even try to reach for something and as a result comes a magnificent character developed from simple storytelling. If he had only applied that same style to Melvin and Carol, leaving out the unnecessary footnotes and relationship filler, we would have fluency on the same level (although more serious) as Woody Allen's "Annie Hall".
While Nicholson's charm temporarily sways us from thinking about the awkward moments, there are much deeper questions we want answered. Why after so long does Melvin want to change? We want to believe that Melvin is a more complex character than nasal-yet-funny phrases like "do you get me sweetheart?" Unfortunately, Melvin and the film are funny, but laughter here is only skin deep.
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