Melvin Udoll’s a mean man. A real mean and grumpy old prick, and an obsessive-compulsive one too. Every day’s a struggle for him. He has to go through the same patterns every day or he’ll flip out. Getting in his apartment or just taking a walk is a hard task for Melvin. His own annoying habits piss him off, but he can’t help it so it’s the people around him who are the targets of his frustration and anger, mostly Simon Bishop, the homosexual painter next door with whom Melvin is really not hitting it off. It seems that Melvin hates everybody and that everybody hates him in return. Well… You see, there’s this little restaurant where the old cooke has breakfast every morning, and he insists on always being served by the same waitress, Carol Connelly. She’s the single mother of a very sick little boy, and responding to Melvin’s every demand ain’t what she needs. But what if Udoll changed? That’s what seems to happen when Melvin begins to care about someone else: Simon’s little pooch! And he kinda likes Carol, and maybe even Simon! Who knows, he might not be such a bad guy after all…

“As Good As It Gets” is a really enjoyable film which was co-written and directed by James L. Brooks. What’s really cool about the script is that the characters are all endearing and memorable, and their interaction together is very interesting. I also love the snappy dialogue, especially Melvin’s blunt yet hilarious remarks. It’s fascinating to see how Melvin behaves around people, and the way he evolves in the course of the film. At first, he’s nothing but a jerk, but he becomes more human after a while. This is a smart and original movie, and the love story is never corny.

The best part of Brooks’ direction is probably how he works with actors. You could say that Melvin is just a variation of a typical Jack Nicholson character, but you can’t deny that his Oscar-winning performance is great. The man’s hilarious, but he can also be touching. TV’s Helen Hunt might be even more striking. She’s just so lovable as the cynical yet charming Carol. She also won an Oscar, and she deserved it. I also liked Greg Kinnear and the always enjoyable Cuba Gooding Jr as the gay couple. They’re funny and sometimes moving, but they never go too far and get caricatural like many actors playing queers do. The film also features Sream-ers Skeet Ulrich and Jamie Kennedy as gay bashers. What makes “As Good as It Gets” such a special comedy ain’t that it’s really funny, but that it’s also well written and involving. Oh, and Nicholson is so darn good!