Over-rated Rubbish

Rating: 3/10 (22 March 1999)

I'll never understand how this movie got so many good reviews. This is nothing but bottom-of-the-barrel-stuff with a glossy Hollywood touch. It has no plot. It simply goes through a whole heap of boring stuff 3 incredibly boring characters put up with in their lives. The interplay between these 3 characters (Jack, Helen and Greg) is so false and put on nobody in their right mind could mistake it for real life. Jack is the only person who deserves some credit for his performance but he's done much better and his character is not worthy of any actor of his stature. Helen Hunt is simply appalling as the whingeing single mum. Her character is completely obnoxious and hard to have any compassion for despite the problems she is facing. When acting becomes too hard for her, she simply takes to flashing parts of her anatomy across the screen. Greg Kinnear likewise does nothing in his role and although not as annoying as Helen's waitress, still seems like he's just tacked into the story (if you'd call it that) for no apparent reason. But the thing that really drove me to hatred of this film is the ending. Jack and Helen were at each other's throats literally 2 minutes before the ending credits but they still somehow get together for a supposedly romantic and happy ending. At this stage I walked out of the cinema unable to believe what I just saw. I'll never understand the mindset of film critics when they can praise trash like "As Good As It Gets". By the looks of some of the other user comments here, I'm not the only one who feels this film is highly over-rated. 3/10 - (and 2 of those are for the dog)