Wednesday 25 January 2012

As Good as It Gets

My list of great movies is not complete without a mention of this one. Winner of two Academy Awards (Jack Nicholson for Best Actor and Helen Hunt for Best Actress, it should have won at least four more: Greg Kinnear for Best Supporting Actor, Shirley Knight as Helen's mom, and Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks for Best Screenplay. It was nominated for these and others (Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Score) but somehow didn't win those.

I've seen this movie at least a dozen times; I have memorized almost the entire script. Typically, a comedy doesn't stand up to that many viewings without inducing boredom. But As Good as It Gets is more than just a hilarious comedy. Its characters are so well drawn they become part of your life. Some of the lines of dialog are simply priceless. Jack as Melvin Udall gets most of them, but Helen and Greg and Shirley get some memorable lines too.

It's impossible to recommend this movie too highly. If you haven't seen it, run to the nearest DVD outlet (assuming there still is one in your neighbourhood) and rent or buy it at once.

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