Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10438 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-12-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, Letterboxed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, German, Hindi, Swedish, Turkish, Danish, Hungarian, Polish, Icelandic, Finnish, Czech, Greek
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 133 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
For all of its conventional plotting about an obsessive-compulsive curmudgeon (Jack Nicholson) who improves his personality at the urging of his gay neighboor (Greg Kinnear) and a waitress (Helen Hunt), who inspires his best behaviour, As Good As It Gets is one of the sharpest Hollywood comedies of the 1990s. Nicholson could play his role in his sleep (the Oscar he won should have gone to Robert Duvall for The Apostle) but his mischievous persona is precisely necessary to give heart to his seemingly heartless character, who is of all things a successful romance novelist. As a single mom with a chronically asthmatic young son, Hunt gives the film its conscience and integrity (along with plenty of wry humoor)and she also won an Oscar for her wonderful performance. Greg Kinnear had to settle for an Oscar nomination (while cowriter-director James L. Brooks was inexplicably snubbed by Oscar that year) but his work was also singled out in the film's near-unanimous chorus of critical praise. It's questionable whether a romance between Hunt and the much older Nicholson is entirely believable but this movie's smart enough--and charmingly funny enough--to make it seem endearingly possible. --Jeff Shannon

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English German
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Theatrical Trailer
Filmographies
Directors Commentary
Czech\Danish\English\Finnish\German\Greek\Hebrew\Hindi\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Swedish\Turkish

Synopsis
Acerbic and outwardly despicable pulp novelist Melvin Udall lives in a haze of obsessive-compulsive behaviour patterns, avoiding cracks in the sidewalk and rigidly adhering to his regimen of daily breakfasts in the cafe where harried single mom Carol Connelly is the only waitress he'll accept. But his ordered, hermetic world falls apart when his neighbour, a gay painter, needs a babysitter for his cherished dog--and only his long-time nemesis Melvin will do. Then, when the waitress's son's serious illness keeps her from work, Melvin realizes how much he needs her after all.

Customer Reviews

One of the best scripts I've ever heard Nicholson is great
At first it seems boring. Give it time. Please give it time. One of the executive producers of the always superb Simpsons, James L. Brooks writes and direcs this superbly funny and slow moving movie about a novelist with OCD who is extremely rude to almost anyone. Full credit has to go to James L. Brooks for achivieving such a brilliant film and having the patience to direct a film where nearly every scene is a slow one and the script is so simple and so out of action. The beaty of the film lies in two areas: The writing and the acting. Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt (she plays a waitress in the restaraunte where Nicholson eats every morning) both put on exceptional performances as their characters while in the script is pure genius as we get some fantastic one liners which will make you laugh out loud every time you see it. Make no mistake, As Good as it Gets is the sort of film you can watch again and again. With great acting, superb lines and loads oflaughs, this is a film that simply cannot be missed.

An epic tragedy - sprinkled with laughs
If this isn't the best film ever made, it's at least among the top ten. However, classifying this a "romantic comedy" applies a grievous misnomer to a film of great importance. Only superficially humorous, this film is rather a tragedy in the finest Sophoclean tradition. The "professional" critics, uneasy with the power of the story and Nicholson's performance, have mis-categorized this film in almost every way. It's a story of hubris, an inflated ego and intelligence, challenged by an envious world concerned only with its daily survival.

The story concerns a professional writer [Nicholson] living alone in a New York apartment. His gay neighbour dotes on one of those yappy, scruffy dogs "cliff-house" dwellers seem to favour. Melvin Udall, the writer, suffers almost countless compulsive disorders, exacerbated by his urban life. He avoids cracks in the sidewalk, is obsessive about cleanliness and, cloistered by his work, incapable of everyday discourse with other people. Opening with him disposing of the dog, Nicholson sets the tone of the film in its first moments. What seems cruel and inhuman is simply the expression of a man easily perturbed by minor irritations. Which is crueler, disposing of the dog, or keeping one in urban confinement?

Although the dog, Verdell, is rescued [to go on to stunning visuals later in the film], Udall is confronted by his neighbour and blurts his aversion to Simon's homosexuality. As a writer who's set himself apart from the world surrounding him, it's not an unexpected attitude. His vehemence is an almost predictable reaction. Offending people, even when he doesn't intend it, keeps that world at bay and protects his own ego. This isn't a particularly unusual condition among creative people, who are usually viewed by suspicious envy by the rest of the world. The models for Melvin Udall are legion. Patrick White and Xavier Herbert of Australia, George Bernard Shaw in the UK, J.D. Salinger in the US are but examples. Aloof, detached from society, they rarely expressed what are commonly termed "human emotions" to their contemporaries. Udall is following an all too-common pattern.

What is different, but not unique, is Udall's being forced to come to grips with the aptness of his viewpoints. That this realization comes through waitress Helen Hunt is what gives this film an additional fillip of humanity. Hunt [Carol] chastises him, disciplines him, harries him, but in the last analysis, talks to him - as an equal. She refuses to submit to his overbearing demeanor which gains his grudging respect. Learning of her son Spencer's asthmatic condition, he provides help with the only resource he can give - money. He doesn't do it for altruistic reasons - he's being selfish, wanting her to return to wait on him at the restaurant. But the act opens his world which he tentatively, grudgingly begins to explore. The exploration is fraught with feints, mis-steps and errors, but he continues the effort. He's reluctant; it's a massive challenge for someone who's held himself intact alone for so long.

Classifying this film as a comedy is due mainly to Nicholson's ability to deliver stinging one-liners a viper would envy. No-one else in Hollywood could have entered this part with a finer track record in delivering the scathing character assassination, the piercing insult, the scornful rebuke. One can envision other "romantic comedy" couples [to remain unnamed] who might have been cast in these parts. The image is hollow and flat. Nicholson is unmatched at biting wit delivered with facial expressions that a Falstaff couldn't convey.

It is, of course, Helen Hunt who emerges as the wonderful surprise as an unexpected talent as the single mother struggling for survival. Caught for years in a stultifying TV sitcom, Hunt became visible to movie audiences through some simplistic roles - until this one. From this film, one can hear the grinding teeth of envious peers who will be hard pressed to match this performance. Suffused with grace even in adversity, she achieves complete mastery of what was needed for the role. One scene alone will reside in your memory. The pressure overwhelms her and she breaks down in a storm tears. "Women's tears" have long been a mainstay of Hollywood gender allotment. Hunt, however, fights the breakdown every step of the way, her conflicting emotions flashing across her face as the camera moves to close-up. Could you do it? Can any other actress match it? Possibly, but not likely. Her Academy Award was richly deserved. She's not been given a proper occasion to display these talents since AGAIG, but we can only hope another opportunity will arise soon.

Those who've criticised this film on these pages and elsewhere should sit down in front of their screens quietly and undisturbed and look again. If you're prejudiced by the label "romantic comedy" [which is understandable given how many such films are issued by Hollywood], strip the label from your mind and view this film again. You may join me in saying it will be a long time before the quality of this film is matched. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

One of the finest Hollywood films ever?
Let's get straight to the point. If you haven't seen this film, you're in for a treat As Good As It Gets is quite simply one of the finest Hollywood films ever made. Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt both received Oscars for their performances but you would have to search long and heard to find a film where acting awards were more richly deserved. You will find moments in this film that are some of the most touching, rewarding and uplifting ever seen on the big screen. In parts, it's hilariously funny but though billed as a romantic comedy (frankly, I usually hate the genre) it has an awful lot more than the usual platitudes with which these films tend to deal. With strong supporting roles from Greg Kinnear and Cuba Golding Jr, Director James L Brooks presents us with a wonderfully entertaining and charming movie. Nicholson's performance is as brilliant as we've have come to expect but Helen Hunt's is remarkable - a real tour de force. The nuances and strength of her acting are quite amazing.

The DVD itself is standard - trailers, scene selection, audio set -up but no Making Of, though the Director's commentary is a useful bonus. Picture quality and sound are excellent.