You make me want to be a better man

Rating: 7/10 (16 August 2013)

As Good as It Gets positions itself from the get-go as the romantic comedy to recommend to people who don't like romantic comedies. The first scene establishes Melvin (Jack Nicholson) as a cold asshole, the second reveals his OCD, establishing him altogether as a guy you wouldn't normally find in a romcom, while also getting people who are bummed about being forced to see the film on board. In the third, however, we find Melvin writing romantic literature, pointing out the direction of the film. Shot from behind some shelves, we are told that his sensitive side is hidden only deep beneath, but as the camera moves to the other side of the shelves for the next shot, we also know that this side will be uncovered eventually.
The grittiness of the film is pretty much limited to Nicholson's unusually bad behavior and allowing the actors to curse, which is hardy enough to subvert genre conventions. Other than that, there's not much originality in the "unlikely love" trope or the gay supporting characters. But as always, just because we know A and B does not mean there isn't any fun to be had getting there.
There's a really weird pacing to this film. As described above, the protagonist is presented very economically, as is his counterpart Carol (Helen Hunt), but then it feels like the film noodles around for like an hour, which only feels partly necessary for developing the characters and their relations further. In any case there is really no need for this film to be more than two hours long. Once the unlikely trio Melvin, Carol, and Melvin's gay neighbor Simon go on their trip, though, the film becomes a lot of fun. Comedies rarely make me laugh when I'm alone but both "I'm afraid he might pull the stiff one-eye on me" and something about "whether crabs were in season now" made me lose it. The film also delivers in the sweetness and romance department; "You make me want to be a better man" is one of the most heartwarming lines ever.
I think one of the measures of success is if you want the lead characters to get together at the end of the film. As an incurable cynic, I wouldn't have minded if the only victory was the suggestion that Melvin's ailment was improving (by him forgetting to lock his door and finally stepping on some tiles), but the mere fact that I wasn't bothered by the happy ending was a small victory in itself.