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IMDbPro

As Good as It Gets

  • 1997
  • PG-13
  • 2h 19m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
307K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,311
324
Jack Nicholson in As Good as It Gets (1997)
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Play trailer2:20
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaRomance

A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.

  • Director
    • James L. Brooks
  • Writers
    • Mark Andrus
    • James L. Brooks
  • Stars
    • Jack Nicholson
    • Helen Hunt
    • Greg Kinnear
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    307K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,311
    324
    • Director
      • James L. Brooks
    • Writers
      • Mark Andrus
      • James L. Brooks
    • Stars
      • Jack Nicholson
      • Helen Hunt
      • Greg Kinnear
    • 623User reviews
    • 140Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 38 wins & 54 nominations total

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:20
    Watch Official Trailer
    As Good As It Gets
    Trailer 0:32
    Watch As Good As It Gets

    Photos109

    Jack Nicholson and Jill the Dog in As Good as It Gets (1997)
    Melvin, Carol & Simon
    Melvin & Verdell
    Jack Nicholson as Melvin
    Simon & Frank
    Greg Kinnear as Simon
    Verdell
    Cuba Gooding Jr. as Frank
    Simon & Verdell
    Melvin, Simon & Verdell
    Helen Hunt as Carol
    Carol & Melvin

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jack Nicholson
    Jack Nicholson
    • Melvin Udall
    Helen Hunt
    Helen Hunt
    • Carol Connelly
    Greg Kinnear
    Greg Kinnear
    • Simon Bishop
    Cuba Gooding Jr.
    Cuba Gooding Jr.
    • Frank Sachs
    Skeet Ulrich
    Skeet Ulrich
    • Vincent
    Shirley Knight
    Shirley Knight
    • Beverly
    Yeardley Smith
    Yeardley Smith
    • Jackie
    Lupe Ontiveros
    Lupe Ontiveros
    • Nora
    Jill the Dog
    Jill the Dog
    • Verdell
    • (as Jill)
    Timer the Dog
    • Supporting Dog
    • (as Timer)
    Billy the Dog
    • Supporting Dog
    • (as Billy)
    Bibi Osterwald
    Bibi Osterwald
    • Neighbor Woman
    Ross Bleckner
    • Carl
    Bernadette Balagtas
    Bernadette Balagtas
    • Caterer
    Jaffe Cohen
    Jaffe Cohen
    • Partygoer
    Laurie Kilpatrick
    Laurie Kilpatrick
    • Partygoer
    Alice Vaughn
    Alice Vaughn
    • Partygoer
    Brian Doyle-Murray
    Brian Doyle-Murray
    • Handyman
    • Director
      • James L. Brooks
    • Writers
      • Mark Andrus
      • James L. Brooks
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In one scene the dog starts mimicking Jack Nicholson by stepping over the cracks in the sidewalk. The filmmakers accomplished this by placing little obstacles on the cracks so that the dog had to step over them. They then removed the obstacles digitally in post-production.
    • Goofs
      When Melvin and Carol walk past the bakery at the end of the movie, the lights come on and the staff in the bakery can be seen working. Before the lights came on, the staff must have been working in pitch black.
    • Quotes

      Melvin Udall: Now, I got a real great compliment for you, and it's true.

      Carol Connelly: I'm so afraid you're about to say something awful.

      Melvin Udall: Don't be pessimistic, it's not your style. Okay. Here I go. Clearly a mistake.

      [shifts in his seat uncomfortably]

      Melvin Udall: I've got this, what, ailment? My doctor, a shrink that I used to go to all the time, he says that in fifty or sixty percent of the cases, a pill really helps. I hate pills. Very dangerous thing, pills. Hate. I'm using the word "hate" here, about pills. Hate. My compliment is, that night when you came over and told me that you would never... all right, well, you were there, you know what you said. Well, my compliment to you is, the next morning, I started taking the pills.

      Carol Connelly: I don't quite get how that's a compliment for me.

      Melvin Udall: You make me want to be a better man.

      [pause]

      Carol Connelly: [stunned] That's maybe the best compliment of my life.

      Melvin Udall: Well, maybe I overshot a little, because I was aiming at just enough to keep you from walking out.

    • Crazy credits
      Just after the disclaimer of the American Humane Association (The animals used in this film were in no way mistreated...) there is a second disclaimer stating "The actors used in this film were in no way mistreated."
    • Connections
      Edited into Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez! (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Temple (Sanctuary Mix)
      Written & Performed by Jane Siberry

      Courtesy of Reprise Records

      By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

    User reviews623

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Unusual movie
    This movie is bizarre because, while judged overall its story is shmaltzy and unbelievable, nevertheless each individual scene plays absolutely convincingly and feels very real. It's weird. I don't know if it's just the greatness of the actors overcoming an under-thought out script, or whether it's just the script concentrated solely on crafting great scenes one after the other, but not so much in coming up with a convincing through-line. Whatever. All I know is that this is one of the most entertaining pictures I've ever seen, extremely funny and quite emotionally affecting in places. Somehow, it just doesn't matter - I like it anyway.

    The performances are uniformly excellent. Nicholson shows real range here - sure, he gets to be the sarcastic curmudgeon we've all come to expect, but his character also has moments of fear, repression and vulnerability which he brings off equally well. My problem with this character (and the "problem" only exists as I think about him afterward, not while I'm actually watching the movie) is in his conception: he seems to be whatever the writers want him to be at that moment, with no particular consistency from scene to scene so when he supposedly "changes" at the end, we're left to think, "Change? This guy's been changing through the entire movie!" And also, the fact that his character is a romance novelist is never really explained or examined in any way.

    And yet, Nicholson's performance makes it not matter quite so much.

    Helen Hunt is a revelation in this movie - she nails every scene she's in, whether she's forced to be witty, embarrassed, angry, defiant, emotionally overwhelmed, whatever. She keeps Jack on his toes, and they work off each other brilliantly. Also, I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but Greg Kinnear was great as Simon, the gay neighbor. (It was also nice to see director Harold Ramis - the third Ghostbuster, after all - in front of the camera again, if only briefly, in a small part as a doctor.)

    What more can I say? Good comedy, good love story, great acting. None of it, in the end, is very convincing, but if you just focus on the individual moments and not on the grand design - a task made easy by the wonderful writing and playing - it's very easy to like As Good As It Gets.
    helpful•91
    43
    • krumski
    • Feb 17, 2000

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    FAQ5

    • What is that song Vincent plays in Simon's studio?
    • What is the song Melvin plays in his car marked 'To Use As Icebreaker'?
    • What Breed of Dog is Verdell?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 25, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Old Friends
    • Filming locations
      • Khoury's Restaurant - 110 N. Marina Drive, Long Beach, California, USA(Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore Restaurant)
    • Production companies
      • TriStar Pictures
      • Gracie Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $50,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $148,478,011
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $12,606,928
      • Dec 28, 1997
    • Gross worldwide
      • $314,178,011
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 19 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • SDDS
      • Dolby
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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