AS GOOD AS IT GETS RATING: 7.5 / 10 --> Re-watchable
Review Date: June 25, 1998
Director: James L. Brooks
Writers: Marc Andrus and James L. Brooks
Producers: James L. Brooks, Bridget Johnson and Kristi Zea
Actors: Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall
Helen Hunt as Carol Connelly
Greg Kinnear as Simon Bishop
Cuba Gooding Jr. as Frank Sachs
Genre: Dramedy
Year of Release: 1997
"Mr. Oscar", James L. Brooks (Three of the four films that he's directed have been nominated for Best Picture, including this e-TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (7.5/10) is the only one that won) directs Jack Nicholson to an Oscar for Best Performance by a leading male actor, Helen Hunt to an Oscar for Best Performance by a leading female actor, and Greg Kinnear to his first ever Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
PLOT: This movie follows three very different people whose lives cross because of circumstances, and change, because of emotions. Melvin (Nicholson) is the overly-obnoxious and obsessively-compulsive writer. Carol (Hunt) is the waitress whose status as a single mother further accentuates her incapacity to take optimal care of her only son who suffers from a severe asthmatic condition. And Simon (Kinnear) is the semi-successful gay artist whose life turns for the worst after an unpredictable and bizarre incident. Their sadness, pains, joys and loves are the basis of this plot.
CRITIQUE: Extremely well made character film which plays just as good as a comedy, as it does an effective drama. This movie had me laughing out loud on several occasions, while fighting back the lump in my throat a couple of other pivotal scenes. Once again, director Brooks has managed to effectively balance the two elements in this great picture about love, the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and the human capacity to survive and overcome all adversities.
The acting was top-notch all around, with Nicholson pulling off another great performance as the rudest man in New York City, and Kinnear finally getting a chance to successfully showcase his acting chops to the world. Hunt was also very good, but I did feel as though she over-cried her part in one focal scene (Although she did make up for it in the scene where she demands that Melvin "never mention her son again" in the restaurant....ouch !!). The supporting cast was also very solid, with Gooding Jr. continuing to show us why he is definitely worth "the money".
And despite the fact that the movie did run a little long at close to two and a half hours, the effective manner in which the characters portrayed their lives was enough to genuinely keep me interested and caring throughout the picture's entire run-time. The soundtrack was also very good, as was the appropriate mix of sadness and humour throughout the entire picture. One thing to keep in mind for this film is that its content is definitely skewed towards a more mature and adult audience. Somehow, I don't see your local skateboarding GenX-ers appreciating the well-woven subtleties prescribed in this wonderfully human script.
Little Known Facts: This film was originally titled OLD FRIENDS. Screenwriter Shane Black plays the Café owner in this movie (He has written LETHAL WEAPON (7.5/10), THE LAST BOYSCOUT (7.5/10), and THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (7.5/10). Director Harold Ramis (He directed the original VACATION (8/10) movie, and GROUNDHOG'S DAY (7.5/10) plays Doctor Betts in this movie, along with fellow director Laurence Kasdan (He directed BODY HEAT (7.5/10) and THE BIG CHILL), who plays Nicholson's psychiatrist. Some continuity errors in the film include: Melvin removing his glasses twice while looking out of the window on a rainy evening, and while in Baltimore, Simon ripping off his cast so that he can better draw Carol...but in later scenes, his cast being shown as intact. Director James L. Brooks has also produced several successful TV series including "The Simpsons", "Taxi", "Lou Grant", "Rhoda", and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show".
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