As Good as It Gets (1997)
Melvin Udall, a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer of romantic fiction, is rude to everyone he meets, including his gay neighbor, Simon. After Simon is hospitalized, Melvin finds his life turned upside down when he has to look after Simon's dog. In addition, Carol, the only waitress at the local diner who will tolerate him, must leave work to care for her sick son, making it impossible for Melvin to eat breakfast.
- James L. Brooks
- Ray Quiroz
- William M. Connor
- Aldric La'Auli Porter
- Susan Perlman
- Hans Berggren
- Mark Andrus
- James L. Brooks
- Mark Andrus
Rating: 7.393/10 by 3737 users
Alternative Title:
Mejor Imposible - SV
Old Friends - US
이보다 더 좋을순 없다 - KR
Melhor é Impossível - PT
Pour le pire et pour le meilleur - CA
Mejor... imposible - AR
尽善尽美 - CN
Bolje ne može - HR
Lepší už to nebude - CZ
Det bli'r ikke bedre - DK
Enam paremaks minna ei saa - EE
Elämä on ihanaa - FI
Pour le pire et pour le meilleur - FR
Besser geht's nicht - DE
恋愛小説家 - JP
เพียงเธอ...รักนี้ดีสุดแล้ว - TH
As Good as it Gets - US
Melhor é Impossível - BR
Mejor... imposible - ES
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 02 hour 19 minutes
Budget: $50,000,000
Revenue: $314,178,011
Plot Keyword: new york city, friendship, waitress, single parent, restaurant, lone wolf, dogsitter, road trip, racist, neighbor, author, obsessive compulsive disorder (ocd), single mother, home invasion, dog, art dealer, rude, obnoxious, unlikely friendship, hospitalization, painter as artist, generosity, mother son relationship, dog owner, gay artist, lgbt interest, unexpected romance, daily routine, romance novelist, child with illness, homophobic
When I first saw this movie I thought it was going to be a funny movie. It's actually a serious drama movie. I still liked it but he's a prick in this movie.
This movie will hit you hard, force you to think about your biases and make you pretty damn uncomfortable. But don't fret, you'll feel better by the end. And Nicholson is so natural as a misanthrope.
Greg Kinnear ("Simon") finds himself in hospital after a brutal bit of gay-bashing, and that means that his small, yappie, dog ("Jill") has to be entrusted to his rather curmudgeonly, author neighbour "Melvin" (Jack Nicholson) - not exactly the most loving and obvious of choices. Now this latter guy isn't exactly flavour of the month - indeed it's really only waitress "Carol" (Helen Hunt) who will put up with his selfish and churlish behaviour. When her young son becomes ill, she has to take time off and "Melvin" finds himself truly alone - with no breakfast! The solution, well all three of them take a trip and, well, you can imagine that with Nicholson and Hunt on super form here, Kinnear clearly thriving as their foil, and a screenplay from James L. Brooks at his best, we get an highly entertaining and earthy hybrid of comedy and the most unlikely semblance of romance as the three realise that there is so much more to life than any realised was possible. It's a wee bit long, but the characterisations are rich and engaging and there is a genuine chemistry on screen between all three - and the dog! It's a feel good film that has some serious undercurrents but those are dealt with in a fashion that is potent but not preachy and provides us with food-for-thought wrapped in a smile. Definitely worth watching.
