As Good as It Gets is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. Melvin Udall, played by Jack Nicholson is a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer who finds his life turned upside down when neighboring gay artist Simon is hospitalized and his dog is entrusted to Melvin. In addition, Carol, played by Helen Hunt, is the only waitress who will tolerate him must leave work to care for her sick son, making it impossible for Melvin to eat breakfast. We watch the storyline unfold as these characters interact and develop relationships that help to crumble the previous structured world of Melvin, a grumpy author with OCD. And eventually, the unraveling leads to an opening into love.
Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, making As Good as It Gets the most recent film to win both of the lead acting awards and the first since 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. It was also nominated for Best Picture. It is ranked 140th on Empire magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time” list.
You can find this movie on Netflix with a subscription. It’s also available on Amazon Prime, Vudu, and iTunes.
This month’s movie group was facilitated by Rev. George Maddox
