Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
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
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
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Some films need seeing more than once to fully appreciate them... and here's one. First time through the superb black comedy of this story of Melvin Udall - "a truly awful human being" - dominates your reactions. His incredible rudeness to everyone around him is unexpected, shocking and very, very funny and the tension & laughs it generates grab your immediate and undivided attention but mean you miss a lot on the way.
Second time through the sheer excellence of the acting really hits home. Nicholson's interpretation of Udall's incredibly complex character is superb while Helen Hunt's portrayal of a desperately lonely waitress who's inextricably drawn to him and Greg Kinnear's portrayal of a gay artist struggling to come to terms with his sexuality and Udall's incessant verbal abuse are believable and beautifully touching. And then there's the gay artist's dog... putting in an Oscar level tour de force in the "Best Supporting Canine" section, plus excellent cameo performances from just about everyone else involved. Still very funny but, devoid of the shock of it all, you've got time to fully appreciate the quality of what's on offer and how the characters combine to produce a genuinely moving, multi-layered story about people's need for love and affection.
And then... well there's more to come because as you go back and explore it once again you'll still be laughing - which is some feat for any comedy film - but you may also start to realise that things are not quite as straightforward as you thought. Udall gets the girl he wants but at no time during their relationship does he do anything that isn't based on total self-interest - in fact the only genuine tenderness he shows is towards the dog and, in the end, to the gay artist, leaving you wondering whether in addition to being a suppressed dog lover he may also be a suppressed gay, or indeed whether self interest isn't such a bad thing if it also gives other people what they want, or... maybe not? One thing's for certain: it's getting much deeper, more complex and more thought-provoking than it all seemed to be. Time for another viewing?
Second time through the sheer excellence of the acting really hits home. Nicholson's interpretation of Udall's incredibly complex character is superb while Helen Hunt's portrayal of a desperately lonely waitress who's inextricably drawn to him and Greg Kinnear's portrayal of a gay artist struggling to come to terms with his sexuality and Udall's incessant verbal abuse are believable and beautifully touching. And then there's the gay artist's dog... putting in an Oscar level tour de force in the "Best Supporting Canine" section, plus excellent cameo performances from just about everyone else involved. Still very funny but, devoid of the shock of it all, you've got time to fully appreciate the quality of what's on offer and how the characters combine to produce a genuinely moving, multi-layered story about people's need for love and affection.
And then... well there's more to come because as you go back and explore it once again you'll still be laughing - which is some feat for any comedy film - but you may also start to realise that things are not quite as straightforward as you thought. Udall gets the girl he wants but at no time during their relationship does he do anything that isn't based on total self-interest - in fact the only genuine tenderness he shows is towards the dog and, in the end, to the gay artist, leaving you wondering whether in addition to being a suppressed dog lover he may also be a suppressed gay, or indeed whether self interest isn't such a bad thing if it also gives other people what they want, or... maybe not? One thing's for certain: it's getting much deeper, more complex and more thought-provoking than it all seemed to be. Time for another viewing?
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
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.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
As good as it gets
Watched this when it first came out and enjoyed it. As im older now it made it more funnier! As expected Jack Nickleson,Greg Kinnear fab actors. Great.
Published 17 hours ago by elliott
As good as movies get!
Wonderful and no negativity.It's also an accurate portrayal of obsessive compulsive dis order.It's about a wealthy writer who has no love or compassion for any single person,until... Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2009 by Mr. A. J. Ralph
Could get better
In the year when Titanic dominated the Acadamy Awards, As Good as it Gets was the other big winner, particularly in the case of the acting Oscars. Read more
Published on 4 July 2009 by Phil Hattie
amazing film
This is compulsive viewing. As usual Jack Nicholson really gets into the part and is amazing and to be teemed up with the wonderful Helen Hunt just makes a magical combo. Read more
Published on 20 April 2009 by jeannie
One of the greats
I'm so glad to see the positive reviews here making big claims for this film - I agree, it's one of the great, underrated gems of cinema. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2009 by N. Armstrong
As good as it gets...
Great comedy...
What do you see on the cover? - Jack Nicholson! That's quite appropriate, as he carries the movie - like a tornado...
Mr. Read more
What do you see on the cover? - Jack Nicholson! That's quite appropriate, as he carries the movie - like a tornado...
Mr. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2008 by Jeep Tenk
'I should have danced with you'....
This is one of my favourite movies of all time. I harass as many of my friends as possible into watching it (preferably with me so I can have my fix!). Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2008 by RD
It does what is says on the wrapper.
A really well executed feel good romantic comedy with excellent performances from the three main characters played by Helen Hunt, Jack Nicholson and Greg Kinnear. Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2007 by Jay Zee
Quite simply 'as good as it gets'
This is a wickedly funny movie, dealing with an illness often reduced to the butt of jokes. It is fitting then that Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Melvin an obsessive compulsive is... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2007 by Penelope
Definitely recommended - very funny, very touching
This is a film which could be defined by what it's not. Yes its a rom com, but its far too edgy for that to fit. Its not a chick flick , its an everybody movie. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2007 by P. G. Harris
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
