One of the best films of '97

Rating: 9/10 (24 March 2005)

How they managed to make this movie so great I'll never know. They took a rather disgusting character and somehow made him sympathetic and I don't say that because he has mental problems. There doesn't seem to be any kind of resolution to his problems at the end of the movie either. So why do I think it's so great, simply because of Jack Nicholson. Yes, he is somewhat of a ham but in this movie he captures every emotion so perfectly. From paralyzing fear to extreme happiness. He certainly deserved the Oscar for this one.
Helen Hunt also got the role of a lifetime. Her Carol is your basic tortured soul, but she never loses her sense of humor either. Greg Kinnear has the most difficult role. He used to be a newscaster for E! so the camera was not new to him at the time, but to start with such a strong performance is incredible. His role requires a lot of crying but he somehow pulls it off without hamming it up.
Like many have written on this site it's the characters that make this movie and over the years James L. Brooks has formed a lot of relationships with prominent actors. This is the third time he and Nicholson work together. Even Yeardley Smith of the Simpsons make an impression in a small role. So what more can you say - this is an actors picture and I'm glad that it beat out Titanic in in both nominations and wins in the actor category.
Sadly, Nicholson and Hunt haven't really made a worthwhile movie since so I have a suspicion that winning Oscars doesn't really feed your prolific-ism. Nicholson has only made two or three movies since this one and Hunt even fewer.