As Good as It Gets

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As Good as It Gets
Image:As good as it gets.jpg
original film poster
Directed by James L. Brooks
Produced by Laura Ziskin
Written by Mark Andrus (story)
Mark Andrus & James L. Brooks (screenwriters)
Starring Jack Nicholson
Helen Hunt
Greg Kinnear
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Shirley Knight
Skeet Ulrich
Music by Hans Zimmer
Cinematography John Bailey
Editing by Richard Marks
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release date(s) December 19, 1997
Running time 139 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

As Good as It Gets is an Academy Award-winning 1997 film which tells the story of an obsessive-compulsive, misanthropic, and bigoted writer named Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson). Because of his severe anxiety, he lives in a world that has shrunk to about the size of his apartment and the books he writes. Nevertheless, he befriends his regular waitress (Helen Hunt), a single mother; and his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) who is an artist, and his partner (Cuba Gooding, Jr.).

Contents

[edit] Primary cast

[edit] Plot

The film opens with Melvin Udall, a famous author who lives in an expensive apartment block in New York. His homosexual neighbour Simon (Greg Kinnear) steps out into the hall and asks if he has seen his dog, Verdell (shortly before Melvin is questioned, we witness him shoving the little dog down the garbage chute in an act of revenge, as the dog was urinating in the stairwell). Simon is soon hospitalized after he is robbed and assaulted by acquaintances of a male model who he was painting. Simon's agent and friend Frank (Cuba Gooding Jr.), having nobody else to turn to, ends up demanding that Udall take care of Simon's dog while he is in hospital. This serves as a severe strain on Melvin, a recluse who suffers from OCD and is able to cope only by leading a life of strict regularity, combined with a highly offensive, extremely rude and sarcastic personality that keeps others away. Ironically, Melvin is a successful romance novel writer by profession. Although Melvin's life is intolerably complicated by having to deal with the dog and its homosexual owner, he is drawn more and more out of his shell and into their lives, almost powerless under the influence of the amazing intelligence and sweetness of Verdell.

Image:Lcasgoodaig3.jpg
Melvin and Carol at the restaurant.

Simon returns from the hospital to his apartment to convalesce, but Melvin is distraught at the thought of giving up the dog which he had hated so intensely at first, but ended up bonding with. Melvin is saved when Simon needs more time to regain full mobility and independence. Melvin begrudgingly agrees to watch the dog for a while longer, even though being internally thrilled at not losing his new companion. Because Melvin is such an idiot when it comes to social interaction, Simon takes his 'help' as hazing. Furthermore, as his most recent art show was an utter failure, Simon sinks into depression as the medical bills pile up and all but his two friends, Frank and Jackie, desert him. To make matters worse, Verdell appears to prefer Melvin's company to his. Simon sinks deeper into depression as he continues trying to avoid facing the reality of his situation. His few remaining friends stage an intervention, forcing him to confront having to give up his dreams, sell nearly everything he owns and most devastatingly, to ask his parents for money. He has been estranged from his parents for a long time, ever since his father threw him out after discovering that he used to paint his mother in the nude at her will. Melvin is stressed by the sudden disruption to his life and the many accommodations he is forced to make for Verdell. Eventually, Melvin does attempt to give Verdell back to Simon, but the dog has grown to love Melvin and doesn't want to go back to Simon. He tries to spare Simon's feelings by claiming the dog only likes him because of the bacon Melvin keeps in his pocket, but Simon can see that even his dog has abandoned him.

Melvin is further challenged when Carol (Helen Hunt), the only waitress who will serve him at the restaurant where he eats breakfast, doesn't show up to work because of her chronically ill son, Spencer. Melvin visits his publisher and convinces her to have her husband, who is a doctor, make a house call and take care of Spencer at Melvin's expense. His motivation is initially to get Carol back so that he can return to his strict daily routine, but we come to see that he is also actively working to become a part of Carol's life.

Frank convinces Melvin to drive Simon to see his parents in Baltimore. Uncomfortable at the thought of spending several days alone with Simon, Melvin convinces Carol to go along as well, by insisting that accepting his help with her son obliges her to come along. On the trip, Melvin feels threatened by Simon because of how well he instantly clicks with Carol. Being in competition with Simon for Carol's attention, combined with the stress of attempting to control his own emotions and social interaction with others (which he has little of), proves too much and he completely alienates Carol. Despite trying to keep him at arms length, Carol starts to fall for him. The best example of this is when Carol threatens to leave a restaurant after Melvin insults her dress. She demands that he compliment her to prove his humanity, and Melvin responds by telling her that she makes him want to be a better man. He also reveals that he has begun taking medication to help with his OCD. Carol, surprised by the flattery of his remarks, admits that it was the best compliment she has ever received. Unfortunately, Melvin ruins the moment by informing her that one of the reasons he invited her along was to see if Simon might get over his homosexual nature if he slept with Carol. Simon never sees his parents (although he does speak with his mother on the phone), but ends up having a breakthrough when he sees Carol getting ready for a bath. For the first time since the attack, he is possessed with a desire to draw. He tears off the top part of the cast on his drawing hand, and proceeds to draw Carol in dozens of poses in a joyful frenzy of art.

When the trio return from the trip, Carol is still deeply hurt by Melvin, and tells him that she would prefer never to see him again. But by this time, the three have been inexorably drawn into each other's lives. Rather than see Simon turned out onto the street, Melvin moves him and Verdell into a spare room in his apartment, along with his possessions. Simon tries to get Carol to give Melvin another chance, but she refuses. Eventually, Melvin becomes more and more miserable until Simon convinces him that he must go and see her no matter what. Simon's attitude surprises Melvin, as he thought Simon's sexual orientation would have made him sensitive and sharp, instead of just sharp. Upon his arrival at an inopportune time of the night, and mostly because of her underlying but obvious attraction for him (even though she is fighting it), he persuades her to listen to him. He makes a good case for himself using his charm and eloquence. He is even able to show his determination to make things work with her by intentionally stepping on the cracks in the sidewalk instead of avoiding them, which was previously impossible for him because of his OCD. The film ends with them walking into an uncertain but potentially bright future as they enter a bakery that had opened early.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The director originally wanted Holly Hunter to play the role of "Carol Connelly", she initially accepted the part, but she later refused it because she didn't like the salary being offered to her and she didn't like the age difference between the character and Jack Nicholson. Helen Hunt took over the role.
  • The film features several cameos from writer/directors such as Shane Black of Lethal Weapon, as Helen Hunt's fed up boss, Harold Ramis (Caddyshack) as a caring doctor, Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse) as a bus passenger and Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill, The Return of the Jedi) as Jack Nicholson's stubborn psychiatrist.
  • Skeet Ulrich was offered the role of Simon but was said to have declined. Ulrich later played the role of Vincent, the gay hustler whose picture Simon paints. To develop his character, Ulrich had Vincent fixated on Brad Pitt. According to Ulrich, Pitt approved for him to do so and simply instructed not to make him look foolish.
  • The cable TV series Cinema Secrets revealed that Verdell's trick of gingerly stepping over cracks in the sidewalk was actually achieved through special effects: small glass barriers were placed in the cracks, which the dog stepped over, then the barriers were digitally removed later.
  • The doctor's office is actually a classroom from the local school.
  • The children running down the street to catch Melvin's taxi were from the third grade class of the local Catholic school (Holy Name of Jesus- Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn)
  • In the film, Yeardley Smith plays Jackie Simpson. In The Simpsons, she is the voice of Lisa Simpson. In addition, director James L. Brooks has been long involved in the production and direction of most episodes of The Simpsons.

[edit] Awards won

[edit] Award nominations

[edit] External links

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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
As Good as It Gets
 v • d • e Films directed by James L. Brooks
Terms of Endearment (1983) • Broadcast News (1987) • I'll Do Anything (1994) • As Good as It Gets (1997) • Spanglish (2004)
Preceded by
Evita 		Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
1997 		Succeeded by
Shakespeare in Love
bs:Bolje ne može

da:Det bli'r ikke bedre de:Besser geht’s nicht es:Mejor... imposible fr:Pour le pire et pour le meilleur hr:Bolje ne može it:Qualcosa è cambiato he:הכי טוב שיש nl:As Good as It Gets ja:恋愛小説家 pl:Lepiej być nie może pt:As Good as It Gets ru:Лучше не бывает (фильм) sr:Добро да боље не може бити fi:Elämä on ihanaa sv:Livet från den ljusa sidan tr:Benden Bu Kadar zh:尽善尽美

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