I never understood why Jack Nicholson had received so much praise. I have seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, and Terms of Endearment, yet the greatness of Nicholson had eluded me, that is until now. In As Good As It Gets, he doesn't act like Jack, he acts like Melvin and he does it so incredibly well. This film is a masterpiece of drama that I haven't seen since Forrest Gump. It's so realistic and down to earth.
Both Nicholson and Helen Hunt won Academy Awards for this film and they both overwhelmingly deserved it. Helen Hunt is so good. She made me think of her character and not of Helen Hunt and that is what good acting is. She seems so much more like a person instead of a big Hollywood star. She made me think of the waitresses I know. She really touched me, like a performance hasn't in so long. She had crediblity that I have never seen in her body of work.
Greg Kinnear, though, shocked me the most. I never thought the nutty guy from Talk Soup and Later had the ability to perform so well. In Sabrina, he was okay, but nothing special. In AGAIG, he seemed like he was actually gay without being a queen. I never thought Tom Hanks was gay in Philadelphia and Robin Williams and Nathan Lane were just too much. Kinnear makes his gay man more human than any gay performance before him.
James L. Brooks was robbed by James Cameron. Titanic was overrated and everyone knows it. It's like The Bridges of Madison County; everyone says they like it, but deep down I know everyone doesn't. Brooks' lines for Melvin, the snappish man with OCD, are so insanely funny and ones that I've said myself. Brooks sneaks them in though when I've least expected it. Who would have thought that Melvin would get upset with the maid?
Overall, AGAIG lived up to the bravado and hype that Hollywood has given it. It sucked me in so much, when the film ended I thought my bladder was going to rupture. It took me on an out of body trip that made me have tears in my eyes from both laughter, joy, and sadness. It was so nice to have an ending that was both a happy one and a real one. Nowadays, you rarely get them both. I give As Good As It Gets an A-.
