As Good as It Gets

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As Good as It Gets is a 1997 film which tells the story of an obsessive-compulsive, cantankerous, racist, homophobic writer named Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) who, because of his affective disorder, lives in a world that has shrunk to about the size of his apartment and the books he authors. Nevertheless, and despite himself, he befriends his regular waitress (Helen Hunt), a single mother, and his homosexual neighbour (Greg Kinnear). It is a romantic comedy played out among flawed people in an imperfect and postmodern world.

Contents

1 Primary cast
2 Plot
3 Trivia
4 Awards won
5 Award nominations
6 External links

Primary cast

Jack Nicholson : Melvin Udall
Helen Hunt : Carol Connelly
Greg Kinnear : Simon Bishop - Melvin's neighbor
Cuba Gooding Jr. : Frank Sachs - an art dealer, and Simon's friend
Shirley Knight : Beverly Connelly - Carol's mother
Skeet Ulrich : Vincent Lopiano
Yeardley Smith : Jackie Simpson
Lupe Ontiveros : Nora Manning
Jill : Verdell
Danielle Spencer: Veterinarian

Plot

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Simon, a struggling artist and neighbor to famous but antagonistic writer, Melvin Udall, is hospitalized after his home is burglarized and assaulted by a male model he had been painting. Simon's friend Frank, having nobody else to turn to, ends up demanding that Udall take care of Simon's dog, Verdell, while he is in the hospital.

This serves as a severe strain on Melvin who on a normal day is able to cope only by leading a life of strict regularity. The incredible effort Udall must put into managing his disorder causes him to be irascible and unapproachable to all but the most determined. Ironically though, Melvin is a 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 charisma of Verdell.

Simon returns from the hospital to his apartment to convalesce, and Melvin is distraught at the thought of giving up the dog which he had hated so intensely at first. Melvin is saved when Simon needs more time to regain full mobility and independence. Melvin agrees, begrudgingly, to watch the dog for a while longer, even while being internally thrilled at not losing his new companion.

Because Melvin is such a buffoon when it comes to social interaction, even when he attempts to be helpful to Simon, Simon takes it as hazing. Furthermore, as his most recent art show was an utter failure, Simon sinks into depression. To make matters worse, Verdell appears to prefer the gruff attention he gets from Melvin to the unending adoration Simon lavishes on him.

Eventually Simon, sinking deeper into despair as he continues trying to avoid facing the reality of his situation is the target of a veritable intervention, forcing him to confront having to give up his dreams, sell most of everything he owns, and most devastatingly to ask his parents, whom he has been estranged from for a very long time, for money.

Melvin (who has a good heart under the years of anal retentive rigidity) cannot stop from eventually becoming something like friends with Simon as he becomes more and more attached to Verdell, and as Simon's situation becomes progressively more desperate. Even so, he is stressed by the sudden disruption to his life and the many accommodations he is forced to make for Simon and Verdell.

Further challenging the comfortable regularity Melvin has built around himself, his regular waitress Carol, at the restaurant he eats lunch at daily, has left her job to take care of her chronically ill child. Out of concern mostly for himself (in order to get her back to work so that he can continue with his routine) Melvin offers to pay for the medical care of the child. But this too, like his dealings with Simon, is just the start of being drawn more and more into a relationship with her, this one though, he hopes to steer toward romance.

The three of them end up going on a road trip to support Simon as he goes to face his parents. 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 interactions with grace (which he has little) proves too much and he completely alienates Carol, who despite trying to keep him at arms length, had been finding herself starting to fall for him. The best example of this is when Carol threatens to leave because Melvin insults her dress. Melvin gets her to stay by conceding he took pills (and he hates pills) to help with his O.C.D. because she made him want to be a better person. Carol surprised by the flattery of the remarks, admits it was the best compliment she has ever received. However, Melvin ruins the moment by claiming he only invited her on the trip because he did not want Simon to hit on him.

Meanwhile, largely due to Carol's support, Simon ends up not only reconnecting with his parents -- though they are unable to give him a loan -- but also having a breakthrough with his art, which he had been unable to even touch since the attack.

When the trio returns from the trip, still deeply hurt by Melvin, Carol tells him that she would like to never see him again.

By this time though, the three have been inexorably drawn into each other's lives; rather than see Simon turned into the street, Melvin moves him into a spare room in his apartment. Simon tries to get Carol to give Melvin another chance but she refuses. Eventually Melvin becomes more and more miserable until Simon convinces him (feeling perhaps that Carol really does care for him and that they would be good together) that he must go and see her no matter what.

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 gets 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.

Trivia

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 and Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill) as Jack Nicholson's stubborn psychiatrist.
Skeet Ulrich was offered the role of Simon but was said to have declined. Ulrich later played a role as Vincent, the gay hustler who later robs Simon. 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.
On the road trip to Simon's parents in Baltimore, the party drives an NG Saab 900 convertible.

Awards won

Award nominations

Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Greg Kinnear)
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Greg Kinnear)
Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture (James L. Brooks)
Academy Award for Film Editing (Richard Marks)
Academy Award for Original Music Score (Hans Zimmer)
Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Mark Andrus & James L. Brooks)
Golden Globe Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Mark Andrus & James L. Brooks)

External links

[James L. Brooks interview]

Films Directed by James L. Brooks

Terms of Endearment | Broadcast News | I'll Do Anything | As Good as It Gets | Spanglish

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