As Good as It Gets

Pros: Hilarious script, well-trained and well-fitting actors. Great atmosphere.
Cons: Two things, but we'll get to that.

I remember seeing As Good As It Gets way back when it came out in 1997, and hating it. All I could think was "Man, why would anybody fall in love with, let alone like that wippleweed?" Of course, then I had to go and start getting serious ...

Pros: A hilarious comedy with a message!
Cons: Can't think of any

[[[ The Beginning of the End ]]]

I'm sure you'll think I'm telling you a tall one, but I swear, to the best of my knowledge, it's the truth. And it was so opportune, too, just in time for this WRITE-OFF.
You see, I...

Pros: Dialogue. Performances.
Cons: Premise.

Most B-minus films are weakened by questionable dialogue but redeemed by a great premise or resolution. James L. Brooks' As Good as It Gets is quite the reverse: the dialogue is fantastic, but the audience can't buy into the premise for one ...

Pros: Story, acting - everything
Cons: Not a thing

I know, this has been reviewed to death, but I just saw it again and had to laugh all over. Nicholson should get an award for just standing still! His expressions in this movie are priceless, almost makes you forget what an ass he started out to be....

Pros: Satisfying little slice of life film.
Cons: Both Nicholson and Hunt grate after a while.

I'll come right out, and say this up front. I don't like Jack Nicholson. Not one little bit. There's only one film I can stand watching with him in it, and that's Prizzi's Honor , and only then because everyone else in it is so good.

...

Pros: I liked the portrayal of the gay characters
Cons: lines on Helen Hunt's face

I believe it was W.C. Fields who said you should never act with kids or dogs. Luckily Jack Nicholson did not heed that advice.

Nicholson's performance as Melvin Udall is wonderfully done. He plays a neurotic well. Actually, I think...

Pros: Very Original Screenplay
Cons: Rated PG13 - totally inappropriate

In all my movie going years, I have never seen a movie that so entertained me, so shocked me, so surprised me, and so disgusted me all at the same time. As Good As It Gets, screenplay written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks, was one of the most...

Pros: Great plot, funny, great acting, good direction
Cons: Score needs a bit of work, a few slow moments

Ah, Jack Nicholson. What a great actor he is. So full of energy and life, always giving it all in every roll he gets, even the bad ones. In the Shining and Batman he made us terrified and captivated us with his menace. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s ...

Pros: Exploration of real life problems
Cons: Scenes do bring a lump in your throat

I rented this movie specifically to see the combination of Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. Jack Nicholson, who plays Melvin Udall, a repulsive novelist who suffers from Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Helen Hunt, who plays Carol Connelly, a single mother...

Pros: Jack Nicholson, Greg Kinnear, Brooklyn!
Cons: Helen Hunt, filming scenes at 1am outside our house!

I've always been a Nicholson fan, and so when he came to our previous neighbourhood in Park Slope, Brooklyn, to shoot exterior scenes for his new movie, well, I was about as dumbstruck as you could get.
The thrill wore off a bit, when we...

Pros: Nicholson is brilliant, as is the wonderfully wicked script.
Cons: Lovey-dovey finale.

Hypocrisy. It’s great isn’t it? Call it what you will – pietism, casuistry, glibness, insincerity, self-righteousness - you have to love the act of "feigning to be what one is not, or to believe what one does not". An example brought to mind are fans of...

Pros: Very good drama that will keep you laughing throughout the movie
Cons: None

Occasionally we will rent a few movies for what we call our 'Nothing but Movies' weekend. This particular weekend one of our movies included "As Good As It Gets" and it turned out to be the best movie of those we rented. Since we rented this...

Pros: Original story, a few good laughs.
Cons: Takes itself way too seriously.

Stories and the process of telling stories are two completely different things, and it a problem with modern drama is not lack of original ideas, but original ways to tell stories. "As Good As It Gets" is a perfect example of this, as it is a film with ...

Pros: Dialogue, Quirky plot that could only happen in NYC. Kinnear, Nicholson, Gooding, Hunt, the dog
Cons: mental illness isn't really funny, gay cliches, and encouraging rudeness

I found this to be an entertaining movie, but not for the usual reasons. Life in New York City with it's common eccentricities is the draw for me, plus more than a passing familiarity with obsessive compulsive disorder. I can identify with the major...

Pros: Strong emotional impact, very well-written
Cons: High drama, might go over some heads

It sounds like a bad joke: Obsessive-compulsive head case walks into the waiting room of a psychiatrist's office and says into the silence, addressing all:" Maybe this is as good as it gets."

And the patients all look at each other,...