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Rating: How does he describe women so well?
I think of a man, and take away reason and accountability.
A portrait of a grumpy, unlikeable, rude man full of complexes, hygiene manias, and racism. That's who Melvin (Jack Nicholson) is, the protagonist of "As Good as It Gets," a work that, alongside "Terms of Endearment," stands out in James L. Brooks' short filmography for its intensity and beauty.
This time, Brooks signs an original screenplay together with Mark Andrus, a brilliant and highly successful comedy on the theme of diversity that enriches, on change, and on the quest for affection and love that can be given to us by people we mostly ignore or consider superficially and with prejudice. If you loved "Terms of Endearment" and its very simple and discreet language, you will also love this film.
"As Good as It Gets" is an unpredictable film, rich in reflections on many very important themes for everyone, love, friendship and solidarity; once again Brooks does not use the usual rhetoric at all and does not preach to the viewer on how one should live, as in the film of 1983 the absence of a superior and markedly annoying judgment contributes to making Melvin's story light yet at the same time compelling. The protagonist we meet at the beginning is an anti-hero who exudes infinite antipathy,
he is "a terrible human being" hateful and full of himself who treats others like insignificant objects, extras in his ordinary existence who must always be as he wants them to be: judged with a definitive sentence with no chance of appeal. Here the gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) is the object of continuous heavy remarks about his life and his way of being, his dog is constantly targeted and even thrown into the trash "Here we are in New York: if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.", tolerated only by the waitress (Helen Hunt) at the restaurant where he regularly has breakfast. But Melvin's life changes one day in an unexpected way, and the whole false identity that this romance novelist has built over the years will begin to slowly fall apart.
James L. Brooks returns to work with Nicholson and there's another Oscar for the actor who gives us one of his best performances; gradually he will bring out the true personality of Melvin, who is actually a hypersensitive person with a desperate need for certainty in his life, he is afraid of affection and for this reason, he does not want to accept others and prefers to keep them at a distance and only in literary fiction can he find his balance and security. He recalls another very famous literary and cinematic character, Holly Golightly, the protagonist of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." She too has created a fake and seemingly successful persona to face life and hide her sad story from others, and she too will eventually have to change in order to truly live.
Fantastic performances by Helen Hunt (also an Oscar winner) and Greg Kinnear, and the little dog is also incredible, being among the protagonists. Brilliant dialogues and great pacing reinforce the story, with perfect and fluid direction. A great film.
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