As Good As It Gets (2003)

Basic information
	Actors and Characters Jack Nicholson - Melvin Udall Helen Hunt - Carol Connelly Greg Kinnear - Simon Bishop Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Frank Sachs Skeet Ulrich - Vincent Shirley Knight - Beverly Yeardley Smith - Jackie Lupe Ontiveros - Nora Leslie Stefanson - Cafe Waitress Jamie Kennedy - Street Hustler Jill the Dog - Verdell Bibi Osterwald - Neighbor Woman

Ratings
Amazon	IMDB	My Rating -

Academy Awards - 1997 (70th)

nominated 7 and won 2 ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE - Jack Nicholson {"Melvin Udall"} ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - Greg Kinnear {"Simon Bishop"} ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE - Helen Hunt {"Carol Connelly"} FILM EDITING - Richard Marks MUSIC (Original Musical or Comedy Score) - Hans Zimmer BEST PICTURE - James L. Brooks, Bridget Johnson and Kristi Zea, Producers WRITING (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) - Screenplay by Mark Andrus, James L. Brooks; Story by Mark Andrus

Movie Details
General Details Genre Comedy Director James L. Brooks Writer Mark Andrus; James L. Brooks Studio Columbia / TriStar Language English MPAA Rating PG-13 Run Time 138 mins Country USA	Technical Details Screen Ratio Standard 1.33:1 Color; Widescreen 1.85:1 Color Layers Dual Side, Single Layer Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo [CC] FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo Subtitles English; French; Spanish DVD Date 2003 Discs 1 Library Index A01:056

Plot

For all of its conventional plotting about an obsessive-compulsive curmudgeon (Jack Nicholson) who improves his personality at the urging of his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) and a waitress (Helen Hunt) who inspires his best behavior, this is one of the sharpest Hollywood comedies of the 1990s. Nicholson could play his role in his sleep (the Oscar he won should have gone to Robert Duvall for The Apostle), but his mischievous persona is precisely necessary to give heart to his seemingly heartless character, who is of all things a successful romance novelist. As a single mom with a chronically asthmatic young son, Hunt gives the film its conscience and integrity (along with plenty of wry humor), and she also won an Oscar for her wonderful performance. Greg Kinnear had to settle for an Oscar nomination (while cowriter-director James L. Brooks was inexplicably snubbed by Oscar that year), but his work was also singled out in the film's near-unanimous chorus of critical praise. It's questionable whether a romance between Hunt and the much older Nicholson is entirely believable, but this movie's smart enough--and charmingly funny enough - to make it seem endearingly possible. - Jeff Shannon

Additional Information
Extra Features Color Closed-captioned Widescreen Dolby	External Resources IMDB: As Good As It Gets Other: www.dvdtalk.com