Is that California I hear falling into the OCEAN??? Joe Hallenbeck crawls out of his cynical shell to "love" a movie. Not since TITANIC have I seen his adoration spill forth on the computer screen. Maybe it was a reaction to the news about the Jenny McCarthy I DREAM OF JEANNIE movie, which whipped him into a frenzy of anticipation, that he just HAD to love what he saw next. This has to be it!!! And another reviewer reviews it beneath his, and SHOCK agrees!!! No way!!! Has the world gone mad?
Doth my eyes and ears deceive me. Is it possible that I, the Mighty Joe Hallenbeck, saw a good...no, STRIKE THAT...GREAT movie this eve? Aye, laddies...'tis true...'tis very true. The movie which I write of is none other than James L. Brook's latest comedic masterpiece, As Good As It Gets. The film was sneaked all around this fair country of ours earlier this eve(Saturday night). I applaud all of you who dared to venture forth and caught a screening of this after you found out Scream 2 was sold out. Like Jerry Maguire last year, As Good As It Gets will rake in the mula for Tri-Star and be nominated for many Academy Awards...including Best Picture(the other four, of course, being Titanic, L.A. Confidential, Good Will Hunting and Amistad). What a pleasure it was to see fine filmmaking after sitting through such turkeys like Hard Rain, The Postman, and that OTHER film(and I use that term loosely). I haven't given much praise to movies of late because, frankly, I haven't seen any that would warrant such kind words...so please bare with me while I try to muster up the proper frame of mind.
Alrighty, then. I feel ready to start spewing out kind words. Sit back and prepare to read an unusually kind review written by the one...the only... JOE HALLENBECK...(and no, this isn't the first sign of the Apocalypse).
The Plot - Where does one begin breaking down the plot to such a well-written film like this? This is a great character piece. Like Good Will Hunting, As Good As It Gets is not the kind of film one can describe in a few measely sentences. For a hack like me to attempt to do so would not only be an insult to this great film, but to the critiquing community in general.(yes, the movie humbled me!).
The Director - James L. Brooks has proved himself the master of Dramadies with such great flicks like Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News. You can add another notch to that bedpost with this fine piece of filmmaking. At times funny and sentimental, I found myself feeling like Sybil...I couldn't make up my mind if I was crying because I was laughing so hard or because James managed to pull all the right heartstrings. This flick is as good as it gets when it comes to Comedies...more specifically, Smart, Adult, American Comedies. James has been the creative genius behind many hits featured on the big screen and the small. He proved to me, once again, why he's a master filmmaker. This movie made me forget about Evening Star and that "I'll Do Anything" fiasco. This is bar none, the feel good movie of the year(and you'll feel really good later that night if you take your main squeeze to see this flick).
The Writing - I feel sorry for the screenwriting branch of the Academy this year. They have the unfortunate task of choosing which movie is going to take home the Best Original Screenplay Award. Between Good Will Hunting, The Full Monty, Titanic, and now As good As It Gets they truly have a daunting task at hand. I don't know if I would be able to do it. All of these films were masterfully written(along with the 5th nom I didn't predict). They are all reasons why these movies were so good. To pick just one is practically an insult to writing. The all around scope of Titanic is just a stroke of genius. The Characters and Dialouge in the other three truly sets them apart from all those other mediocre or gawd awful films we've had to sit through this year. However, if I would have to pick one, I'm afraid I'd have to go with As Good As It Gets. The dialouge is so crisp. The Characters so fresh and original. And the story has that magical touch to it. My head says the Academy will give it to Good Will Hunting, but my heart wishes it would go to As Good... Three lines of dialouge says it all for me:
1) "People who speak in metaphors should have to shampoo my crotch."
2) "How do you write women so well?", a female fan asks.
Jack's reply, "I picture a man...and I take away reason and accountablity."
3) Now here's a line that even melted my dad's heart. Helen Hunt asks Jack to pay her a compliment. After trying to weasel his way around doing so he finely spews one out..."You make me want to be a better man."
I'll tell you soemthing, after seeing this film, I want to be a better man myself.
The acting - Tops all the way around.
Jack - This guy is so awesome you don't even need to refer to him by his full name. His character of Melvin is a cinematic classic. He's the most insensitive, neurotic, psychotic, Non P.C., mean-spirited S.O.B. to grace the Silver Screen since...I don't know when! He's truly a man after my own black heart. Jack was born to play this role. This is his best performance in decades. Leonardo is awesome in Titanic and Matt Damon kicks ass in Good Will Hunting(who would've thought the kid could act?), but none of these rookies come close to the genius that is Jack.
Helen Hunt - First off, I want to point out that she shows a little skin in the movie, which, in my opinion, already gives high marks to the film. Nudity aside, Hunt's tender, yet strong performance as (forgot name) the waitress should earn her a nom for Best Actress(especially with the year we've been having). I don't know if it was her persona, Brook's directing and/or writing, or in the way she looked in the film, but I would've sworn she was a reincarnated "Golden Age" actress. She's the first actress I've seen in years to come across as the beautiful, sophisticated actresses of yore. Truly a site to behold on the Big Screen.
Greg Kinnear - The best damn supporing actor out there. He was the only good thing in Sabrina proving to me and the world that he can act(and steal a movie from Ford). Unfortunately, he has picked the wrong movies to star in thus loosing that luster to that shining star that was lit so bright in '95. However, that star is blinding now because Kinnear is back and kicking ass in the acting dept. His role as Simon, the fag(as Jack puts it) is sure to generate enough praise and buzz to make him a lock for a nom in the supporting actor field come Academy time. Hell, the man has already won the NBR award. All this guy needs is one great starring role and he'll never have to look back on those Talk Soup Days ever again.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Really good, but underutilized.
Jill the Dog - aka Verdell the dog. It's bizarre when they use a female dog as a male dog in a movie, but what can you do. If a suppoorting actor(or actress) award could be given to an animal it would be for Jill's brilliant performance in this film. Never have I seen such great acting by an animal. This little shit dog stole the movie. It's the smallest, ugliest little thing in the world, but I couldn't help but fall in love with it(a lot of women have said that about me). This dog was just plain AWESOME!
The Music - A sweet, whimsical score by Mr. Zimmer. Chalk up a nom for him in the Best Comedy/Musical Score Category come next Feb.
This X-Mas, do yourself the favor and skip the bigger flicks like The Postman, American Werewolf in Paris, and that "Other" movie and go see As Good As It Gets. I'm not easily pleased. If I like a movie, then you know it's gotta be pretty damn good!
My Quote for the film: "As Good As It Gets is just that!"
Teela Jandrova Brown sent in this review of AS GOOD AS IT GETS, and damn if it doesn't sound like a winner. We'll see if them National Board of Review people are right. It'll be a treat to see a good Nicholson movie again. Hey I'm watching CHINATOWN right now, and seeing Jack be THE MAN!!! It's (As Good As It Gets) got a ways to go, to stun me.
I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago to express my appreciation for your site. I also feared that I would never be able to contribute to your remarkable work. Well, I haven't seen any reviews of the new Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear flick "As Good As It Gets", and I just got back from a sneak of it in Orlando so...
Interested?
I understand why the National Board of Review liked Jack, and Greg Kinnear, for that matter. Kinnear's potential is finally being realized in this film in his role as the gay painter, Simon. Finally getting past dreck like "Dear God," Kinnear plays a character with some depth. There's one thing I can say for Nicholson in this movie: he plays one of the most detestable humans I've ever seen on screen, but I loved him. In fact, part of the charm of James L. Brooks' movie is how he twists your perception of the characters in the piece.
Jack Nicholson plays Melvin Udel, a writer who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. He locks his door and turns on light switches five times in a row, he walks to avoid cracks in the street, and uses a new bar of soap for each washing of his hands. You at once sympathize with him for his condition and loathe him for his apparent disregard for others.
The plot is fairly unimportant, the story is more about the characters and their interaction with one another. Jack is utterly delectable to watch on screen. You will love the scenes he shares with the dog owned by Simon. I admit I even loved the dog (and there are some beautiful shots of him in the film).
A couple of complaints: some of the dialogue is very hard to hear, especially with the crowd laughing over some lines. I will probably go back to see the movie, just to hear some of the lines I missed. Cuba Gooding Jr. is wasted here as Simon's art dealer, Frank. Though Cuba does a good job in the role presented to him, his impact is negligable. Helen Hunt holds her own against Nicholson, but I think her best work was with Kinnear. I would love to see these two in a film together.
Nicholson's work here is certainly better than it was in "The Evening Star" and not as cartoony as in "Mars Attacks" and "Batman". Jack's portrayal of a man suffering a bizarre psychological condition is very real. I felt a lot of conflict regarding his character throughout the film, and ultimately those feelings stayed with me afterwards. Brooks has made a very funny, sometimes poignant film. It will probably get lost among the other films being released on Christmas Day. Hopefully word of mouth and some more accolades will draw people to see it.
Harry, I think that as a character piece, you will really like the film. You seem to love big action pictures as I do, but I also appreciate a movie which is willing to put aside fantastical stories for a good old fashioned character piece (and romance of sorts). Don't forget to see it sometime during the movie deluge we will experience shortly.
Thanks for listening, just thought I'd drop you a line, from one film lover to another...
