Jack is as good as he gets.

Rating: 8/10 (24 August 2009)

Funny and well-written; directed by James L. Brooks...Jack Nicholson is at the top of his game in AS GOOD AS IT GETS. Melvin Udall (Nicholson)is a set-in-his-ways cranky, insulting obsessive-compulsive novelist and as bitter as they come. His life passes like clockwork, eating his breakfast at the same diner, at the same time with his own eating utensils. The 'crackpot' is waited on my the only waitress willing to serve him...Carol(Helen Hunt), who has her own personal problems to deal with. The two somehow form an awkward relationship that turns to romance. When his neighbor Simon(Greg Kinnear), a homosexual artist, is robbed and beaten, the very bigoted Melvin reluctantly agrees to care for his small dog. Each of the three struggle with individual tragedies and progressively a bond is formed. This you might say is a serious comedy and Nicholson is superb with his expected insults. Also in the cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Shirley Knight, Yeardly Smith and Skeet Ulrich.