As Good As It Gets- Review
Settled down for some light-hearted movie watching last night and stumbled upon this film. I had really only ever seen stills on tumblr from this movie attached with quotes but never knew the name of the film. This is a romantic comedy film directed by James L. Brooks and features the talents of Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear.
Without taking too much away from this film, it follows the life of a man named Melvin who suffers with OCD and hates everything. However, two people he once wrote off completely come to play important roles in his life. One being a waitress at a restaurant he visits everyday and the only one to accept his behaviour, Carol and the other being his gay neighbour Simon.
The performances: I'm not even sure where to begin with Jack Nicholson. I mean it goes without saying that he is a brilliant actor who is able to adapt to so many roles and is able to give the audience exactly what they want. He must have done just that for not only me, as he won an Academy Award for his performance in this movie. He had me laughing almost every time he opened his mouth and at parts, he could also be quite relatable (varies from person to person). I wouldn't be able to describe just how awesome he is so instead, just watch his entire filmography and make up your opinion from there.
Helen Hunt is a face I have never seen before and have never heard of, so it was nice to become aware of her in this film. Like Jack, she was just as funny (when she wasn't being serious). In romantic comedies, I find it best when there is at least one person who can remain serious at certain times and I believe she did just that, just the way I wanted. Her story is sad but you can see a lot of character progression from the beginning to the end of this film and obviously others saw just how amazing she was as a lead, she won an Academy Award too. If you take the time to look at all the little things in this movie, you'll see just how important her role is in also progressing Jack's.
Finally, Greg Kinnear as the role of Simon was just the finishing touch. Soft, fluttery and emotional, he manages to keep the balance. He isn't exactly a funny character but is useful for comical scenes and often being the brunt of Melvin's jokes. I wanted to know more about him and especially when Skeet Ulrich came onto the scene but unfortunately we weren't given that. Also taking out an Academy Award, it only proves just how well this movie was critically received.
The cons: I think the only issues I really had with this movie was more on a backstory kind of basis but considering that the film runs for just over 2 hours, it probably would have added to the duration of the film if this was included. Though I really wanted to see something with Simon and Skeet Ulrich's minor role!
This movie was beautifully shot by John Bailey and music delivered by none other than Hans Zimmer. I really appreciated this film and was thoroughly impressed. A wonderful job done by the actors and everyone behind the scenes to help create such a masterpiece. Would strongly recommend watching this with a blanket and some hot tea.
Score: 9/10
Rating: M15+