An insubstantial put-on

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 1998)

A goofy romantic entertainment like AS GOOD AS IT GETS is the kind of earnest Hollywood "crowd-pleaser" that no one used to mistake for art. But with its high industry and audience acclaim, you may feel like a cynic if you don't quite believe in Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt as a romantic duo. Like AMISTAD, the film skillfully preys on your emotional vulnerabilities. If you're like me, though, and prefer to respond to movies with ALL your senses and faculties--to free yourself to enjoy a movie on truer terms--it's all right to feel irritated.
The movie has an idea, but it's a dippy one. Nicholson is Melvin Udall, a selfish, mean-spirited obsessive-compulsive who melts for a noble single mother named Carol (Helen Hunt). For an hour, writer-director James L. Brooks generously allows the actors to take risks with their characters, and the film gracefully glides between modest human comedy and affecting drama. However, Nicholson and Hunt don't match up, and once they hit the road with starving-artist Greg Kinnear, Brooks struggles to find a suitable tone. He doesn't succeed, partly because we're left asking why Carol should settle for such a caustic jerk.
Look closely, and you'll also notice that Brooks treats Melvin more like a traveling sideshow than as a person (his anti-gay tirades are almost delightful character quirks). To Brooks, Melvin's acrimony isn't just benign, it's endearing. AS GOOD AS IT GETS is an insubstantial put-on, a sincere fakery of "human relationships." Yet Nicholson, in a teasingly churlish and amusing performance, misbehaves mightily. His eyes widen simply at the prospect of verbal combat.
ERIC BELTMANN