An enjoyable, unexpected pleasure

Rating: 8/10 (3 July 2000)

With Jack Nicholson playing this role, the script writes itself. He is still one of the best actors of his generation, pulling off some sketchy dialogue and awkward scenes with the ease of a hand magician. He takes this movie on his shoulders and carries it almost all the way through.
I don't get Helen Hunt. She has her moments - her scenes with Nicholson as he tries to complement her are priceless - but she just doesn't have the emotional range to pull it off. She tries, but her high-profile scenes don't ring true. She was upstaged by Greg Kinnear for Christ's sake - and SHE was naked!
Well directed for the most part - there are some pacing problems, and this movie falls victim to "great line" disease. Great pieces of dialogue are framed by clumsy directorial arrows pointing to us and it, telling us that what we're about to hear is great dialogue. Still, it IS great dialogue. Overall, this is an enjoyable, unexpected pleasure.