finding the courage to face life full-on is a difficult task .
summoning up the audacity to fall in love is a harder job .
if you’re a total jerk like melvin udall is , the odds are even more against you .
melvin ( jack nicholson ) is a successful romance author who is just the opposite of what you would expect someone in that profession to be .
a solitary man hidden away in his new york apartment with no human interaction and not even a hint of ever having been in a passionate relationship , he avoids the outside world as much as possible .
his obsessive-compulsive disorder rules his life as he uses several different bars of soap to wash his hands and refuses to step on a crack on the sidewalk .
( there’s a great scene when he has to cross a floor made of mosaic tiles — _very_small_ mosaic tiles . )
melvin has some great lines .
when his publisher’s receptionist asks him how he writes women so well in his books , he responds ” i think of men and i take away reason and accountability . ”
don’t get him wrong , he’s not merely a misogynist .
setting his sights higher than that , he’s also a homophobe , racist , anti-semite , xenophobe , animal-hater and intensely dislikes people who talk in metaphors .
when we first meet him , he’s busy dumping a neighbor’s dog down the garbage chute .
he’s an equal opportunity bigot .
he does venture outside his apartment every day to eat breakfast at a local cafe .
melvin is such a grouchy curmudgeon that waitress carol connelly ( helen hunt ) is the only one willing to wait on him .
and she’s none too happy about it .
when carol doesn’t show up for work , melvin’s routine is shot and he’s determined to do something about it .
tracking down her address , he shows up at her place begging her to come back to work so that he can eat breakfast .
the fact that she’s a poor single mother caring for a chronically ill son doesn’t appear to phase him , he wants his food .
much more upsetting is that his gay artist neighbor simon bishop ( greg kinnear ) is brutally attacked during a robbery .
this doesn’t upset melvin much ( ” don’t worry , you’ll be back on your knees in no time ” ) but when he is bullied into taking care of simon’s dog , his life is turned topsy-turvey .
melvin is sequestered because he’s afraid of what’s out there on the other side of his apartment door .
he has to make sure it’s ritualistically locked three times to keep the world on its proper side .
when he brings the dog home he reluctantly grows fond of it , talking to it and taking it everywhere he goes .
this little crack in his emotional armor opens him up .
hiding behind his need for carol to return to work so she can serve him , he pays for a specialist to treat her son .
he even develops a friendship with simon .
all three people are heavily damaged .
melvin has retreated from life in his apartment .
carol has devoted herself to her son , convinced that she has to give up her life for him .
simon is estranged from his parents and his friends disappear when he is hospitalized and his money runs out .
a more unlikely trio to form relationships , you’d rarely see .
and in the midst of it all , there are some wonderful moments .
melvin is hilarious in his grouchiness and touching as he attempts to be nice .
” you make me want to be a better man , ” he tells her .
one of the best aspects is that even as he opens up , he is still a curmudgeon .
carol , afraid that his monetary contribution to the wellness of her son hides a hidden agenda rushes over to his apartment in the rain to explain in no uncertain terms that she will never sleep with him .
it only takes her a second to realize that she is delivering that statement while looking as if she just left a wet t-shirt contest .
there’s hardly anything left to say about jack nicholson .
i don’t remember ever seeing him in anything less than a stellar performance and his over-the-edge melvin is no disappointment .
nicholson may be the best actor working today .
hunt does a commendable job matching nicholson’s energy .
she isn’t afraid to be seen as something less than a babe and her portrayal of exhausted run-down carol struggling with seemingly overwhelming obligations is top-notch .
their on-screen chemistry is a bit odd .
each does a wonderful job with the character , but together , there’s something a little off .
it’s a minor problem : they do work well together , but that missing element is what prevents this from being a four-star film .
director james l . brooks ( ” terms of endearment ” , ” broadcast news ” ) has a movie that is picking up awards by the bucketsful ( nominees for all the top golden globes , winners from the national board of review , inevitable oscars ) and has a winner on his hands .
” as good as it gets ” isn’t exactly the quality that the title says , but it’s pretty darn close .
( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and as soon as he finishes this one , he’s off to an annual 12 night celebration typically held in freezing weather during a snowstorm .
this year it’s in the sixties and raining .
that wacky el nino . )