'As Good As It Gets' is an intelligent, witty, brilliantly directed, absolutely lovely and perfectly cast film.

It stars Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear as three people with differing problems who between them manage to help each other out.

Nicholson's character Melvin is an obsessive compulsive who can't help being rude to people, Helen Hunt is Carol who has a sickly son and Greg Kinnear is Simon, an artist who loses his confidence, his apartment and hope.

The act of looking after a neighbour's despised dog begins to turn Melvin's life around, and his liking for waitress Carol also helps to awaken Melvin's human side. Burdell is the dog owned by Simon and this helps to bring the two antagonistic neighbours together...over the course of  time.

Between them all, as they all support each other, there forms a close, tightly knit bond.

Released in 1997, this film became a firm favourite of mine very quickly, and I've watched it many times since then.

JACK NICHOLSON     HELEN HUNT     GREG KINNEAR     CUBA GOODING, JR.     SKEET ULRICH     SHIRLEY KNIGHT

MUSIC BY HANS ZIMMER     ASSOCIATE PRODUCER ALDRIC PORTER     EDITED BY RICHARD MARKS A.C.E.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER BILL BRZESKI     DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY JOHN BAILEY A.S.C.

CO-PRODUCERS JOHN D. SCHOFIELD AND RICHARD MARKS

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS LAURENCE MARK - RICHARD SAKAI - LAURA ZISKIN

STORY BY MARK ANDRUS     SCREENPLAY BY MARK ANDRUS AND JAMES L. BROOKS

PRODUCED BY BRIDGET JOHNSON - KRISTI ZEA

PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY JAMES L. BROOKS

A JAMES L. BROOKS FILM

This page was created Sunday 3rd August 2008