Rating: 
Summary: Still 1 of the best, after 3 years; gonna stay the best....
Review: This is one of the best movies to come out of Hollywood in the last three-four years, in my opinion. It has a good message, that is tastefully presented. No harsh reality here, of course...only bits and pieces of it with the usual Hollywood happy ending. Still, I love this film. After this one, Jack Nicholson can safely retire, because his role in "AGAIG" is...well...as good as it gets...I don't think that an actor of his age and his caliber would get another chance like this one. Helen Hunt was exceptionally good, as were Cuba Gooding Jr. and Greg Kinnear in their respective roles. This film is a bit cheesy, but I think its sentimentality compensates us well for all of the "action-thrill-super-psy-fi-and-God knows-what-else" cinema of the recent times.
Rating:
Summary: Madly in love
Review: The first time I saw "As Good As It Gets" an unusual thing happened. I was sitting in the cinema and the film was a little over half way through. The thought was running through my head, "I have to see this film again". Even at that point I had laughed more and cried more than I do in the bulk of films and besides which, I was having a brilliant time.
The dialogue is so witty that you want to hear most of it again immediately. The characters are all so real that it felt like I was living in their neighborhood. Of course the story was also a good one but to my mind it wasn't the driving force behind the film. It must also be said that the casting was inspired.
Jack Nicholson is not always my first choice for roles since he can't seem to play quiet characters. In this case however, quiet is the last thing that is needed for the character of Melvin Udall. He is an obsessive compulsive writer of romance novels whose command of language is only exceeded by his willingness to hurt anyone who comes too close. His journey through the film shows us the inner man who really wants to love and be loved but is crippled by overwhelming fears. It is only fate and the love of a woman that enables him to start lowering his shield of obnoxiousness.
His love is a not so young waitress at Melvin's breakfast restaurant of choice. Carol Connerly, played skillfully by Helen Hunt, is a martyr to her son's asthma. She lives with her mother, Beverly, and only child, Spencer, in a very small apartment in, what I suppose is, New Jersey. Living with regular trips to the hospital, along with endemic malpractice by underage interns, seems to have prepared her sufficiently to deal with Melvin's perverse behaviour at the restaurant. In fact she is the only waitress who is prepared to serve him.
But this morning relationship(?) has been going on for a long time and we can see it has reached a plateau. So a catalyst is introduced in the form of Melvin's gay neighbor, Simon Bishop, his art agent, Frank Sachs, and his impossibly sensitive dog Verdell. It is clear from the start that Melvin wants to have as little as possible to do with all three of them. But a sex worker turned model and his two associates have different ideas when they rob Simon and brutally beat him senseless.
Luckily Melvin is able to be intimidated by Frank, (which is fun for the audience), into taking care of Verdell while Simon is in the hospital. We are then treated to a wonderful time watching Verdell seduce Melvin. He is the perfect pet for a meticulous, antisocial writer like Melvin. This small dog is quiet, polite, sensitive and cute. And he slowly builds a small bridge between Melvin and Simon which in turn leads to a road trip in search of parental funding.
Melvin is asked to drive Simon to his parents town and is further encouraged by Carol. What better excuse to get to know her than to drag Carol along. I loved his reasoning. "I need you as chaperone in case he pulls out the stiff one eye on me". None of us believe him, not even Carol.
So without giving away the whole story I will sum up by saying "As Good As It Gets" is a very special film. It will touch you and make your life better, if only for a couple of hours. Don't miss your chance to see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was quite disappointed in this movie. Nicholson and Kinnear were okay. But generally, the acting was clumsy (that Helen Hunt beat out Judy Dench in "Mrs. Brown" for the best actress Oscar makes me sick), the writing was really clumsy, and the direction was really REALLY clumsy. You could almost feel the camera creak on its tripod during panning shots! There is some clever stuff in it. But overall, it was a half-baked, clunky film.
Rating:
Summary: Pure greatness
Review: First and foremost, the best thing about this movie...Melvin Udall. Not Jack Nicholson, but Melvin Udall, the main character. Nicholson is brilliant, and his performance in this movie was no different, but the character of Melvin is pure genius and is clearly the biggest reason for the success of this movie. He has some of the best one-liners I've ever heard, but his character also has incredible depth, and can be analyzed over and over again. Very well-rounded, and just so I don't take anything away from Nicholson...very well-acted.Some liked Helen Hunt in this movie, some apparently didn't. I thought she did a great job. In As Good As It Gets, she masters the actor's art of making it seem like she wasn't acting at all. I have no objection at all for the fact that she won the Oscar; I found it well-deserved. Greg Kinnear rounds out the "big 3" by putting in a great performance as well. Playing the gay neighbor of the main character isn't exactly an easy role to pull off; add to that the fact that he also has to undergo a subtle character transformation during this movie, and I think Kinnear deserves a lot of credit. If there is one knock on this movie that I agree with, it's the complaint that the romance isn't believable. Melvin is an extremely likeable character, but as you will discover if you haven't seen this movie yet, most of his humor stems from his crass and tactless nature...aside from a couple of nice romantic lines, I personally was left scratching my head as to how Carol (Helen Hunt) could fall in love with this man. Still, the positives of this movie far outweigh the negatives...it is hilarious as a comedy, and touching and thought-provoking as a drama. If you haven't seen it yet, see it immediately...if you have seen it and liked it, don't hesitate to buy it. Upon repeat viewings, it doesn't grow stale; this movie contains too many facets and subtleties to ever reach that level, in my view.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie.
Review: This is a good movie not bad not great simply good Jack and Helen are great it deserved more Oscars than the ones it won.
Rating:
Summary: Truly "As Good As It Gets"
Review: So many romantic comedies out there are dribble -- pure dribble. It's an oddity to find that rare, wonderful piece that displays not only the path or course two hearts take to find one another, but also true human emotion, conflicts, struggles, personality (ahem) disorders, and the like. What a truly amazing film! I saw this film in the theater and was so enraptured I eagerly awaited it's release on VHS/DVD. Nicholson & Hunt share a remarkable chemistry, something I was weary of when first hearing about this film (given the age difference). Both performances are right on-target and couldn't have been more splendid. In my opinion Greg Kinnear was robbed of an Academy Award (though I am a Robin Williams fan, the actor who took home Oscar that year), the pure emotion and complexity he brought to his character is amazing. The supporting cast is outstanding, as well -- Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Shirley Knight were so fantastic. The entire cast works incredibly well together. If you're looking for a beautifully written movie with amazing direction, top-notch actors, and a wonderfully complex story that reaches beyond the bounds of a typical "romantic comedy" -- this is for you. It lifts my spirits and leaves me in a wonderful mood everytime I view it. Amazing. Simply amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: I know everyone in the world isn't going to like this movie but, I DID. This is a movie to show us as viewers that life can get pretty bad sometimes but the right people and taking chances can make life better or at least a little more interesting. JACK NICHOLSON was excellent and the Oscar proved it. HELEN HUNT was wonderful as well her acting wasn't overdone or underdone.GREG KINNEAR is also brilliant and heartwarming. The other cast members; CUBA GOODING JR. SHIRLEY KNIGHT, and VERDELL THE DOG also add to the brilliance of this masterful film with their enjoyable performances. But can anybody tell what kind of dog Verdell is?
Rating:
Summary: As Good As It Gets
Review: When I first saw this movie, I hated it. But I watched it today, and found out that it was actually pretty good. Helen Hunt gives the best performance in the movie, but the Oscar should still have gone to Kate Winslet for Titanic. Jack Nicholson was also good, but not quite Oscar worthy. I don't know why I hated this movie, but this time, I actually laughed. Maybe I didn't understand it the first time around. It happens, right? I found this movie to be warm, a little cold, witty, and funny. While still not the best film ever made, or not the best film of 1997, this is still not a bad movie. If you hated it the first time, give it another chance. You might like it the second time around.
Rating: 
Summary: NO
Review: There's not much wrong with this film, but it has changed the way I watch films forever. Previously I had laughed at the misrepresentation of other peoples misery in films, its portrayal as not really being as bad as the sufferer says it is. I'm sure most of us have at some time or another laughed at the misfortunate medical circumstances of others as represented on film. But after seeing this film I now feel ashamed and angry at the effect that films can have on the way society thinks of and treats people. Jack Nicholson, if you're going to play a character suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias HAVE THE DECENCY TO RESEARCH THE CONDITION AND PUT SOME EFFORT INTO CONVEYING THE MISERY IT BRINGS, rather than just playing it half-heartedly for laughs.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, but not as good as it gets.
Review: After watching this movie on a Friday night, thinking of many different things, I was kind of expecting more from it. Maybe it was the fact that I had a lot on my mind, or that my homophobic parents were in the living room, but I definitely expected more from it. Don't get me wrong; I thought that it was a really great film, with a lot of witty dialogue, superbly talented actors, and a touching storyline. I can't exactly pinpoint what was missing for me, though. But with a movie like this, who cares? Greg Kinnear's performance of Simon, the gay man whose assault throws Melvin's life into a frenzy, will definitely strike a chord with many gay adults as well as children who have experienced similar experiences with homophobic parents. I think that the director, James Brooks, did a wonderful job of casting Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson as the two love leads. The love relationship in this movie was not about chemistry between the actors; it is about the human heart and its ability to love any and all. I will be watching this movie many more times in order to experience the drama and comedy, and I hope that if you decide to see it, you will enjoy this treat.
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