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 Director
:James L. Brooks
Starring
: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding
Jr
Picture
1.85:1 Anamorphic, DD 5.1, Single-Layer, Keep Case
Running
Time : 133mins
The
story:
Brace
yourself for Melvin!
A
romantic comedy-drama in which Melvin Udall (Nicholson)
is an obsessive, compulsive novelist who takes pride in
his ability to affront, repulse and offend. He hates people,
he hates animals and his insensitive actions make him no
friends. So when his gay neighbour Simon (Kinnear) is hospitalised
he is horrified at being bullied into helping him out by
looking after his dog. It is during this enforced 'act of
kindness' that he befriends Carol (Hunt) - a waitress at
his local restaurant. As he is forced into thinking about
his actions, his unlikely relationship with Simon and Carol
help bring him back into the human race.
A
refreshing change from the usual blend of current Hollywood
romances, As Good As It Gets is not a film for people that
take life too seriously. Have a laugh at the ignorance of
people and enjoy it for the comedy that it is.
The
summary:
An
extremely well written film with a fine performance from
Nicholson in particular, that earned him an Oscar. It's
difficult to see how anyone else could have played the part
of Melvin. Foul-mouthed and abusive to the extreme, he still
somehow endears himself to the watching audience. You'll
laugh at his cruelness, his quirky rituals and the misfortunes
of the people he encounters. It's a comedy without the jokes.
It's funny because it's an ordinary person living his ordinary
life. No action or special effects required thank you very
much.. this is an Academy Award winning film about human
nature. Perhaps the only question mark hanging over an otherwise
faultless film - and I am trying to find niggles here -
is the romantic element. In a film about everyday people,
does this kind of thing happen? Only to film stars..
A
nice disc from Columbia TriStar with a superb transfer but
lacking in the supplemental department. This might have
something to do with the vast selection of foreign soundtracks
and subtitles taking up all the space! Still, if you're
only going to pick one extra to accompany the film it's
the audio commentary. A must-buy.
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