As Good As It Gets (1997)

Review by Bret Walker

This is one of those rare films that touches you from all angles. I've probably seen this film at least a dozen times, and each time it gets to me in some different way. All throughout the film each character becomes someone different than who they were before, and it's the multifaceted depth of each character that allows the audience to identify with each one, one at a time. It's this layering of character traits that makes this film so wonderful to watch, and certainly one of my favorite films of all time.

As Good As It Gets is the story of three people who will undergo earth-shattering and life-bending changes that bring them together as one would never think possible. It's the story of Melvin Udall, a Manhattan novelist who suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and who seemingly has no love for anyone or anything, as clearly noted by his gay artist neighbor, Simon. Simon's event is more physical than metaphysical; he is robbed and brutally beaten, and without health insurance is brought to the verge of destitution. Carol is the waitress in the restaraunt where Melvin compusively dines daily. The angst she feels over the health of her athsmatic son is reflected in the tough outer image she projects.

While Simon is in the hospital, his agent, Frank, coerces Melvin to take care of Simon's dog, a job that Melvin would much rather live without. As time goes on, however, he grows an attachment to the dog, and is heartbroken when Simon returns from the hospital and asks for his dog back. However, the dog has also grown attached to Melvin, and no longer shows the love for his owner that he once had.

Melvin agrees to go to Baltimore with Simon to ask Simon's parents for financial help. He convinces Carol to accompany the two of them, in the hopes that she may be able to change Simon's sexual preferrence. Instead, Melvin comes to grips with his own feelings for Carol and finds that he has many barriers to overcome before he can gain the love and trust of the woman he feels so strongly for.

The story is tremendously compelling. It's a small slice of life that draws the audience in so completely that they feel as though they were a part of the action, as if the barrier of the screen has dropped and allowed entry into this world. It's a world of real people and real problems, and it's a world that real people can identify with in some way or another. We are looking at the lives of people we know, people we are. It's the realism that makes the film so wonderful.

The acting is fantastic. It's no fluke that this film garnered seven Oscar nominations in 1998 and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. Few films reach a state of perfection as this one has. The cinematography, the direction, the story, and the sheer performance of the actors all come together to make this one of the finest films in the history of cinema, as well as one of the finest films of our lifetime. This film certainly is As Good As It Gets.

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Trivia:

Links:

The Official As Good As It Gets Website

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