As Good as It Gets [Region 2] | ![As Good as It Gets [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/212269DDEWL._SL500_.jpg) | Director: James L. Brooks
Actors: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich
Category: DVD
Buy Used: $30.85
as of 2/10/2010 09:05 EST details
Seller: valleycd
Rating:  288 reviews
Sales Rank: 147544
Format: PAL
Languages: German (Original Language), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), Danish (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), Turkish (Subtitled), Finnish (Subtitled), Norwegian (Subtitled), Polish (Subtitled), Czech (Subtitled), Hebrew (Subtitled), Greek (Subtitled), Italian (Subtitled), Arabic (Subtitled), Hungarian (Subtitled), Hindi (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 0326461
EAN: 4030521264618
ASIN: B00004RYFD
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
For all of its conventional plotting about an obsessive-compulsive curmudgeon (Jack Nicholson) who improves his personality at the urging of his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) and a waitress (Helen Hunt) who inspires his best behavior, this 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 humor), 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
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 288
 I WAS IN THIS FILM January 24, 2010
John Watts (NYC, USA)
I HAVE VERY FOND MEMORIES OF BEING THIS MOVIE. I WAS AN EXTRA, PLAYING A NEW YORK CITY COP, WHO WAS HAVING LUNCH IN A BOOTH IN THE RESTAURANT WHERE JACK USUALLY ATE AND WHERE HELEN HUNT WORKED AT AS A WAITRESS. THE ORIGINAL TITLE OF THE FILM WAS MEANT TO BE, OLD FRIENDS BUT WAS CHANGED TO, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, AFTER THE FILM WAS SHOT.
I WAS IN THE SCENE WHERE JACK IS THROWN OUT OF THE RESTAURANT BY THE MANAGER AFTER JACK RUDELY INSULTED A CHUBBY WAITRESS BY YELLING AT HER AND CALLING HER ELEPHANT GIRL. HE HAD BEEN PISSED OFF THAT HELEN HUNT WAS NOT WORKING THERE THAT DAY, TO WAIT ON HIM.
I REMEMBER THAT THE FILM'S DIRECTOR, JAMES BROOKS, HAD NOT TOLD ANY OF THE EXTRAS IF THE FILM WAS INTENDED TO BE A COMEDY OR A DRAMA. THE SCENE I WAS IN OCCURS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOVIE. THE BOOTH WHERE I SAT WITH FOUR OTHER EXTRAS WHO WERE DRESSED AS COPS WAS ONLY ABOUT SIX FEET FROM THE TABLE THAT JACK SAT. I WATCHED HIM VERY CLOSELY WHEN HE FIRST CAME ONTO THE SET AND SAT AT THE TABLE. THIS WAS ABOUT 30 MINUTES BEFORE THEY SHOT THE FIRST FEW TAKES. I SAW JACK SUDDENLY TAKE DEEP BREATHS AND THEN QUICKLY EXHALING THEM AND THEN VERY QUICKLY AGAIN, TAKING MORE DEEP BREATHS AND EXHALING AGAIN VERY QUICK. HE RUBBED HIS FACE, CLENCHED HIS FISTS, SHOOK HIS HEAD AND GRIMACED. HE MADE HIMSELF SWEAT AND PERSPIRE. I WONDERED WHAT HE WAS DOING AS I SAT THERE AMAZED.
WELL, WHAT HE HAD BEEN DOING WAS GETTING HIS CHARACTER MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY READY FOR HIS SCENE IN WHICH HE GETS STRESSED AT LEARNING THAT HELEN HUNT WAS NOT WORKING THERE THAT DAY AND INSTEAD, ANOTHER WAITRESS WOULD BE SERVING HIM. SO THIS IS WHAT ACTORS DO, I TOLD MYSELF, THEY TRY TO ALTER THEIR PULSE, TEMPERATURE, RESPIRATION, ETC., TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THEIR CHARACTERS, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE SCENE CALLS FOR.
THE GUY WHO PLAYED THE RESTAURANT MANAGER ACTUALLY PULLED UP A CHAIR BESIDE MY BOOTH WHERE I SAT AND BUMMED CIGARETTES OFF OF ME PART OF THE DAY. HIS ONE LINE IN THE WHOLE FILM WAS TO ANGRILY DEMAND THAT JACK LEAVE THE RESTAURANT OR ELSE THERE WAS GOING TO BE TROUBLE, AS HE LOOKED BACK AT ME AND THE OTHER COPS.
DIRECTOR JAMES BROOKS TOLD ME THAT WOULD BE CUE TO RISE FROM THE BOOTH AND WALK OVER TO JACK AND GIVE HIM A MEAN LOOKING STARE SO THAT HE WOULD, IN FACT, LEAVE THE RESTAURANT. BROOKS NEVER GAVE ME ANY DIOLOG TO SAY TO JACK WHEN I WAS STARING HIM DOWN. THEY FILMED THAT SCENE A HUNDRED TIMES OVER A TWO WEEK PERIOD AND JACK REALLY GOT PISSED OFF, YELLING TO BROOKS THAT HE WAS WASTING SO MUCH TIME BECAUSE HOW MANY TAKES OF A SCENE CAN THEY FILM UNTIL THEY EITHER GET IT RIGHT, JACK SHOUTED IN PROTEST, "I'M NOT GONNA DO THIS ANY OTHER WAY!!!".
BROOKS WANTED JACK TO BE UPSET AS POSSIBLE FOR THIS IS WHAT THE SCENE CALLED FOR AND BROOKS ACCOMPLISHED HIS GOAL BY MAKING JACK SO AGITATED AND ANGRY, THAT IT SIMPLY ADDED ALOT OF REALISM TO JACK'S REACTIONS.
I REMEMBER JACK SNARLING AT BROOKS QUITE ANGRILY SO THAT EVERYONE HEARD WHAT HE SAID, "JESUS CHRIST, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO DO THIS SCENE?!" DURING ONE TAKE, WHILE I WAS STANDING RIGHT ON TOP OF JACK, WITH MY NIGHTSTICK IN HAND, JACK FLUBBED HIS LINES AND SAW THAT I WAS STARTING TO SMILE BECAUSE HE SUDDENLY BEGAN READING HIS LINES AGAIN, ONLY IN THE VOICE OF DONALD DUCK. I WAS DYING BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO STOP FILMING THE SCENE IF I CRACKED UP FROM LAUGHING. JACK GOT THE BEST OF ME AND I NEARLY COLLAPSED FROM LAUGHTER. WISH I HAD THE OUTTAKE FROM THAT.
BY THE WAY, THAT RESTAURANT SCENE WAS ACTUALLY FILMED IN LOS ANGELES, INSIDE THE LOBBY OF OLD HOTEL THAT HAD LONG SINCE GONE OUT OF BUSINESS AND DECORATED TO LOOK LIKE A NYC RESTAURANT. THE FILM IS SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE ENTIRELY IN NYC. I WILL SAY THAT JACK WAS VERY CORDIAL TO THE EXTRAS, CHATTING WITH US BRIEFLY, ANSWERING QUESTIONS POSED TO HIM ABOUT SOME OF THE MOVIES HE'D BEEN IN AND TELLING FUNNY STORIES TO THE CREW. I TOLD JACK THAT THE OTHER GUYS WHO PLAYED COPS IN THAT SCENE I WAS IN, HAD NEVER WATCHED THE LAST DETAIL, ONE OF HIS BEST FILMS. HE LOOKED AT THEM FOR A MOMENT AND THEN SHRUGGED,SAYING, 'AH, THEY'RE TOO YOUNG'.
WELL, WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BIG SCENE WITH JACK? MOST OF IT WAS EDITED OUT AND JAMES BROOKS LEFT ME SITTING IN THE BOOTH, EATTING LUNCH WITH THE OTHER COPS. ANYWAY, THIS IS A VERY COMEDY FOR MANY REASON. JUST DON'T SEE IT, BUY IT.
Awesome January 23, 2010
Andrea S. Dolan
Thanks for the shipment and great product! The DVD came in the exact condition described!
 Thank god for Helen Hunt! January 15, 2010
Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm thinking about making today `Jack Nicholson Friday', but now that I say that, watch this be the only review of a Nicholson film I write today.
I've been thinking a lot about this film this past week. My friends and I were discussing the 97 Oscar race, especially the Best Actress race (which always brings heated debate). This year holds one of those lineups that many people look back on with either love or hate. You had Bonham-Carter, Christie, Dench, Hunt and Winslet. Most of my friends firmly believe that Hunt stole Dench's Oscar. A few consider Winslet's turn to be the rightful winner, while the majority find her nomination horrendous. Christie remains mostly an afterthought in our group (not her finest moment), and Bonham-Carter is consistently considered great but not the best. One thing is for certain though, the majority of my cinephile friends consider Helen Hunts win to be one of the worst in the History of Oscar. Personally I find Dench to be overrated, Christie to be an afterthought (I often forget she was a contender), Winslet to be beautifully effective, Bonham-Carter to be utterly entrancing and Helen Hunt to be, quite simply, PERFECTION.
Yes, to much of my friend's dismay (aside from a few smart people), I am a Hunt Fan, and proud of it.
For me, this film works because of her delicate yet earnest performance. She really captures everything that her character is experiencing, as a mother, as a woman. She exposes her character's brittle emotional composure without losing the strength that she has to maintain. She only allows her character to fold, to break, in small increments (that scene with her mother is just utterly magnificent) before drawing her back out of her fragile state and placing the mask of stability back over her face. Her character's yearning to find peace, pleasure and companionship is so believable, and so sincere; to the point where a relationship with the vile Melvin Udall seems almost realistic. Sure, she has her moments where you can tell she is `trying', but it is saved by her genuine approach to the character's entire persona. She embraces the flaws, for it is those flaws that make Carol Connelly a real person.
Enough about Hunt though.
The film, for me, is great, but much like `Good Will Hunting' (which was released the same year), this film is not complete. The script is generic at best (it is better than `Good Will Hunting's script, but that isn't saying much), but it is the earnest performances that really carry the film. Hunt and Kinnear (such a layered and heartfelt performance) are fantastic, and while Nicholson is undoubtedly phoning this in (as many have mentioned, he could do this in his sleep), his chemistry with Hunt is sensational. This `relationship' really shouldn't make sense, and yet the sell if flawlessly.
Ha, so since this is `Jack Nicholson Friday', maybe I should talk about him. I love Nicholson. I consider him one of the finest actors to ever grace the screen, and I devour almost every film he's in. For me, he is the weakest link here, but that isn't because he doesn't give a good performance. This is too easy for Nicholson. He has given this performance in a slew of films. He's `comfortable'. I prefer him when he's broken out of his mold (watch him in the stellar `About Schmidt'!) and so, while he is effective, his performance is far from noteworthy. His Oscar win was a bit too much, especially since Duvall, Damon and Hoffman were all better in their respective roles.
Alas, I still heart him.
So, I really like this film. Sure, it could have used a better script, one with more layers and more depth, but Hunt is too good to ignore here (I really abhor the hate she receives from so-called cinephiles). This may not be as good as it gets, but it's still very good.
As Good As It Gets for Romantic Comedy June 24, 2009
Dr. Jane Branam (Charlotte NC)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Calling this fantastic film a romantic comedy is misleading because it is so much better than what we typically label as romantic comedy. Helen Hunt is fantastic as the nice waitress to Mr. Mean Jack Nicholson who gives a stellar performance as a sharp tongued obsessive compulsive unable to find any joy in life. Greg Kinnear and Cuba Gooding Jr. also do a great job in this film. This makes you examine what makes a good couple and how two total mismatches can come together. Power Path to Love
What a life, what a movie! May 29, 2009
Beach Walker (Bay area)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
When things, most of the time challenges, happen that bring our vulnerability up front, we begin to re-exam the meaning of life and transform to, hopefully better human-beings.
The characters created in this movie are realistic and the plot is ideal and dreamy. Here we meet Melvin who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and has been forced/pushed to his lonely safety corner, Carol who is afraid to face herself and hidden in her son's demanding illness, and Simon the gay artist who seems to have a promising future until he got brutally mugged. With such great social difficulties, luckily Melvin is rich and he finds confidence in work. Carol the poor single mom waitress is blessed with a supportive mother and a good spirited son..... When all people meet, they bring each other new perspectives and dimensions to life. It makes me laugh and cry watching it and feel satisfied afterword.
Although we can't always expect comedy in life, but sometimes things do result in a way that in the end it will all make sense ~ thank you for reminding us by making this wonderful film.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 288
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