ocd

Rating: 8/10 (20 October 2005)

AS GOOD AS IT GETS, is a fine portrayal of a man, Melvin Udall (played marvelously by Jack Nicholson) with a debilitating condition that restricts his daily life and interactions. From the beginning of the movie we can tell that Melvin is somewhat off. He uses a brand new bar of soap every time he washes his hands, he wont step on cracks when walking down the street, he brings his own silverware to restaurants and he is obsessed with cleanliness. Also Melvin lacks any control over social grace and tact, such as being very self-entered and blurting out rude comments that most people would refrain from. He compulsively engages in these activities. He is bound to his daily routine, which include going to a certain restaurant, being waited on by a certain waitress Carol (played by Helen Hunt), and ordering the same meal. Melvin is a classic example of Obsessive Compulsive disorder, and it can even be argued that he also has an Obsessive Compulsive Personality disorder. The movie starts to take shape when his routine is disrupted when "his" waitress does not show up for work one day. You can see his agitation. He becomes very rude to the new waitress and rudely tells her to get Carol so he can eat his food and go along with his routine. Melvin attempts to contact Carol at her home and even pays for her sick son's medical treatment just so she can get back to work and Melvin can get his routine back. This behavior may seem extremely excessive for the normal person, but for Melvin this behavior is a necessity to satisfy his compulsion. Melvin has his moments of kindness that show a kinder more sensitive side, but for the most part Melvin comes off as a completely insensitive asshole, however even when he does come off this way you get a feeling that he really wants to be a nice guy, he just can't control his compulsions to act in a socially acceptable way. In one scene Melvin blurts out to Carol "I'm going to die, you're going to die, and by the sound of it your son is going to die pretty soon too." Now immediately after saying that Melvin knows that he has done it again (saying something inappropriate, even though he meant no harm), upon Carol's retort which was much less harsh that Melvin deserved, you can clearly see Melvin's anxiety from his remark and he immediately shuts up and promises Carol that he will never talk about her son again. Melvin is a perfectionist, it is immediately apparent when the inside of his apartment is shown. His place is immaculate, everything has its place and nothing is out of order, we get another glimpse of this when he is packing for a trip he is taking with his gay neighbor Simon (played by Greg Kinnear) Melvin has all his music planned out for different situations during the trip, and his bag is packed in an overbearing sense of orderliness. These characteristics that Melvin displays throughout the movie account for his diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive and probably a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder.
This movie has a comedic edge to a very real condition. I found the movie to be very entertaining and Jack Nicholson's performance hilarious. While Melvin's case seemed to get better upon beginning his relationship with Carol, most people's recovery is not that rapid some people do not respond that well to drugs at all, and in some cases people need to undergo brain surgery to correct their OCD condition.