As Good as It Gets (1997)

Director:

James L. Brooks

Writers (WGA):

Mark Andrus (story)
Mark Andrus (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Brace yourself for Melvin.

Plot:

A single mother/waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship

Plot Keywords:

Waitress | Neighbor | Artist | Writer | Dog

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Melvin Udall
Helen Hunt	...	Carol Connelly
Greg Kinnear	...	Simon Bishop
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Frank Sachs
Skeet Ulrich	...	Vincent Lopiano
Shirley Knight	...	Beverly Connelly
Yeardley Smith	...	Jackie Simpson
Lupe Ontiveros	...	Nora Manning
Jill the Dog	...	Verdell (as Jill)
Timer the Dog	...	Supporting Dog (as Timer)
Billy the Dog	...	Supporting Dog (as Billy)
Bibi Osterwald	...	Neighbor Woman
Ross Bleckner	...	Carl
Bernadette Balagtas	...	Caterer
Jaffe Cohen	...	Partygoer

Also Known As:

Old Friends (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for strong language, thematic elements, nudity and a beating.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:6 | Belgium:KT | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L | Italy:T | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35079) (re-rating on appeal) | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

1 Windsor Place, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

The couple Melvin insults at the restaurant in the beginning of the movie are played by Peter Jacobson and Lisa Edelstein, who would go on to star together in the TV show "House M.D." (2004).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Melvin takes Simon soup, it is past 3am. In the next scene, Carol is up writing Melvin a thank-you letter on the same night; the clock reads 7.20, Spencer is still up, and Carol and her mother are just preparing to go out for the evening.

Quotes:

Receptionist: I can't resist! You usually move through here so quickly and I just have so many questions I want to ask you. You have no idea what your work means to me.
Melvin Udall: What does it mean to you?
Receptionist: [stands up] When somebody out there knows what it's like...
[place one hand on her forehead and the other over her heart]
Receptionist: ... to be in here.
Melvin Udall: Oh God, this is like a nightmare.
[Turns around and presses the elevator button multiple times]
Receptionist: Oh come on! Just a couple of questions. How hard is that?
[Scampers up to Melvin]
Receptionist: How do you write women so well?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in American Dreamz (2006)

Soundtrack:

BALTIMORE

A Classy Soap-Comedy

I am amazed I kind of liked this modern-day soap opera-romance with the usual Liberal twists and sometimes-annoying characters. Yet, despite the annoyances, the story was very interesting, the acting was superb and Jack Nicholson combined both to his make character the most interesting of them all. He had some memorable lines. The story was involving, meaning it was tough to put down once you started. Also, for a film that featured the story a lot more than any scenery, it was well-filmed.

I did have a few complaints but they are fairly minor, such as too many OMGs and a little too worldliness at times, but nothing's perfect. For today's usual group of comedies which tend to be on a sleazy side, this was had some class to it.