One of the all time greatest romantic comedies

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2017)

When I first saw this movie about five or so years ago I couldn't get past the opening scene just because at my age I didn't like the concept of main characters who are insensitive and totally lack a filter when talking to other people, but watching this movie in its entirety last night made me realize that it had so much more heart that I didn't get to see or notice when I first saw the beginning of this movie. The movie is a character study of Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) a novelist who has written over 60 romance novels that are very popular, but during the course of the film we discover that he is a man who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and refuses to take his pills to improve his condition. Udall is also a germaphob, and always stays true to his habits such as not being able to walk on lines and other stuff of that nature. Udall also goes to the same restaurant every morning, has the same breakfast and asks for the same waitress whose name is Carol (Helen Hunt) who hates him due to his personality and because he made an insulting remark about her son who has been suffering from asthma, and takes care of him with the help of her mother (Shirley Knight). Udall also has a gay neighbor named Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear) who is an artist that has a dog named Verdell whom Udall develops an affection for, and also has a person who happens to be a good friend of his named Frank Sachs (Cuba Gooding Jr.). Also during the course of the movie we see Udall's transition from a grumpy curmudgeon to a nicer person, as well as the relationship between Melvin and Carol improving drastically. The movie was directed and co-written by James L. Brooks who previously directed popular films like "Broadcast News" (1987), and "Terms of Endearment" (1983) unseen by me. One thing that I have noticed in some reviews that I've read about this movie that there was a lot of comparisons to Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" as to how Melvin Udall is this movie's version of Ebenezer Scrooge. The screenplay is expertly by both Brooks and Mark Andrus and they both deliver the proper comic timing at just the right moments, as well as with standout performances by Nicholson, Hunt (who both won Oscars for their respective performances). Kinnear (who received a Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Gooding Jr., and well as Knight (who gives her best performance since her Oscar nominated work in "Sweet Bird of Youth"). Though this movie is very well made there is some fairly minor problems that I have with it as to some of the dialogue that Helen Hunt's character spoke in the movie with her mother about going out to dinner, and how she spoke to the doctor who is trying to help her son with his asthma (Harold Ramis), which I will not spoil. This is a very heartwarming and hilarious movie that proves that sometimes the meanest people can have a soft heart inside, and that people can change for the better during any situation even towards a gay neighbor who got robbed and beaten and in need of financial assistance. What a beautiful movie to watch, and a near masterpiece.