A Beautifully filmed drama-comedy

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2015)

No CGI. No special effects. No over-the-top action sequences. Just pure cinema.
Acting: Jack Nicholson might as well be the best actor of the later 20th century alongside Meryl Streep. Having subtle OCD myself, I was amazed at the authenticity with which Jack Nicholson displayed his role. You kind of just end up saying the wrong things at the wrong time, display hatred towards the more or less normal and sort of abnormal aspects of life, and have an obsession towards cleanliness. Jack, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear are the pillars of this movie. The talent which Helen brings to the table is unbelievable. Greg Kinnear does full justice to his role as well. You just feel like you've known a couple of people with similar traits all your life and that is exactly where this movie succeeds in balancing comedy with drama and realism. It isn't one of those lame Adam Sandler rom-com flicks. This movie just has a bit of everything, and keeps moving at a strong pace. You want to watch true cinema at the end of the day. This movie fulfills that duty.
The Movie: Not one minute of this movie's runtime would you feel bored and just curious to just press the fast forward button. You feel like you're in the movie. Jack Nicholson is a legend. Truly. Helen Hunt joins the fun by bringing an equal amount of realism to her craft. She plays a loving mother who works as a waitress and is just looking for a male companion who would understand her situation and cater to both her son's and her own needs. Jack Nicholson is an author and an OCD infused character who goes to the restaurant where she serves and just does not feel comfortable if she doesn't serve him. Greg Kinnear's back story and how the three get connected and how the story moves forward is the basic crux of the film. Besides all these things, there are also a lot of beautiful themes that one must look upon, such as: A younger woman and an older man. Can they be romantically compatible?
There are definitely more themes, but I don't want to give them away and end up spoiling the viewer's experience of the movie.
Story, Screenplay and Direction:
James L. Brooks definitely does justice to Mark Andrus's taut screenplay. It's like they both complement each other. There is not one wasted shot, and no wasted screen-time for any of the actors. It is just beautifully evened out. Hans Zimmer provides a fun-filled background score, which is vastly different from the scores he writes today. I didn't know that it was Zimmer's score until I went through the credits. John Bailey's cinematography is beautiful and makes you wonder if this really was a 1997 film.
Overall, this is a wonderful film which has many recurring themes, and must be watched at least twice. I hadn't known that this was nominated for a couple of Oscars, and actually ended up winning two until I had finished watching the film. But then, I really felt that Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg should at least have been nominated for their work in the film, and was glad to see that Nicholson and Helen won an Oscar for their work. This was Jack's 3rd Oscar win with a whopping 12 nominations and Helen's first win and nomination. Just sit back on one beautiful day and enjoy this 139-minute film to its fullest.