Oscar Nominated???

Rating: 5/10 (17 May 2002)

Films that exploit mental illness as a comic device make me very uneasy. As Good As It Gets is no exception. The Jack Nicholson character, reclusive writer Melvin Udall, is a deeply disturbed individual in dire need of his medication and some intensive therapy. His compulsive, antisocial behavior is sad and disturbing, neither cute nor funny. Director James L. Brooks co-wrote the script, which insists that Melvin Udall's sickness is merely a lovable quirk. The romantic comedy, which never rises much above a sitcom mentality, consistently throws plausibility to the wind. It is a stretch to believe that these characters would ever speak to each other, let alone take trips together, share rooms and become romantically or buddy/buddy involved. The likable Helen Hunt, a refugee from network television, steals the show and has even scored with Academy voters. Jack Nicholson resorts to his familiar mugging as the obsessive Melvin. Greg Kinnear, another TV transplant, has been inexplicably honored by the Academy for his functional but less-than-exceptional portrayal of the gay neighbor, Simon. What happened to the rest of Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s role? Don't Baltimore hotel bathrooms come equipped with doors?