IMDb > As Good as It Gets (1997)
As Good as It Gets
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As Good as It Gets (1997) More at IMDbPro »

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As Good as It Gets (1997) -- A single mother/waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship
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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   86,078 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
James L. Brooks
Writers (WGA):
Mark Andrus (story)
Mark Andrus (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for As Good as It Gets on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 December 1997 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
Brace yourself for Melvin. more
Plot:
A single mother/waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 25 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(74 articles)
Helen Hunt may take on Maura Tierney's Parenthood role
 (From AOL - TVSquad. 15 September 2009, 7:33 AM, PDT)

Helen Hunt to Replace Maura Tierney on Parenthood?
 (From TVGuide - Breaking News. 15 September 2009, 6:09 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
How to create something out of nothing? Ask Mark Andrus and Jim L. Brooks more (402 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Old Friends (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 on appeal for strong language, thematic elements, nudity and a beating.
Runtime:
139 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
John Cusack considered the role of Simon Bishop, but pulled out due to conflicts with writing, filming, and producing Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Carol is standing and talking to Melvin in the restaurant, when viewed from the back, Carol's arms are straight down. When viewed from the front her hands are on her hips. more
Quotes:
[last lines]
Melvin Udall: Want something?
Carol Connelly: Warm rolls.
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "Family Guy: E. Peterbus Unum (#2.18)" (2000) more
Soundtrack:
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS more

FAQ

What is that song Vincent plays in Simon's studio?
What is the song Melvin plays in his car marked 'To Use As Icebreaker'?
more
85 out of 105 people found the following comment useful.
How to create something out of nothing? Ask Mark Andrus and Jim L. Brooks, 19 April 2000
10/10
Author: matanovi (matanovi@yahoo.com) from Zagreb, Croatia

Really, how to make something original, fresh and odd out of absolutely nothing except a few characters? Using characters, only characters and nothing except characters. That's the simple formula Brooks uses in all of his work, but, for me, he has never created so much charm, warmth and sensibility as he did in `As good as it gets'.

Characters write the screenplay in this movie, and everything that happens - happens because of what they are. They are nothing special – they are ordinary people we meet in the street every day and that have the same problems a lot of other people have. This movie presents the example of how much you can pull out of that. And if that is written as well as it is in this case, not even a happy ending can bother you. Because, in real life, shown here, what is the end?

Everything is good and warm in this movie, everything is fresh and vivacious, understandable and well performed. Jack Nicholson brings one of the best performances of his career, that terrific Helen Hunt finally got a chance to show how skilfully an actor can connect naturalism with the laws of the camera performance, and Greg Kinnear shows the most convincing emotions coming from a gay character I've ever seen.

The relationships between the characters are created in the way that you can't predict anything that's going to happen, eventhough you know in advance what could come out of their mouth and what kind of attitude they'll have in a certain situation.

You can simply feel the progressive collaboration that occurred between Brooks and the actors and the mutual understanding they developed, and it's not often that you see that kind of artistic superstructure shining on the screen so much as it does here.

I find `As good as it gets' complexed, vital, intelligent, emotionally deep and studied, fresh, original, amusing, cheerful, funny, and one of the best films of 1997.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (402 total)

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
how many times did u watch this movie? j-rule
Much better than Titanic metlaneth
$1.13 gas Simon-120
Could There Have Been LESS Chemistry? arnomation
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder bentoncg
Hey, Yeardly's character is named Simpson. mp3cereal
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