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As Good as It Gets

As Good as It Gets

Drama · Comedy · Romance · 1997

A misanthropic author, a single mother and waitress, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.

Movie details

As Good as It Gets

“A comedy from the heart that goes for the throat.”

1997 Drama · Comedy · Romance 2h 19m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

A misanthropic author, a single mother and waitress, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over As Good as It Gets?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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A photographer and her best friend are roommates. She is stuck with small-change shooting jobs and dreams of success. When her roommate decides to get married and leave, she feels hurt and has to learn how to deal with living alone.

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Sweet November

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Nelson is a man devoted to his advertising career in San Francisco. One day, while taking a driving test at the DMV, he meets Sara. She is very different from the other women in his life. Nelson causes her to miss out on taking the test and later that day she tracks him down. One thing leads to another and Nelson ends up living with her through a November that will change his life forever.

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The Magic of Belle Isle

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

James L. Brooks

Written by

James L. Brooks · Mark Andrus

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson

Melvin Udall

Helen Hunt

Helen Hunt

Carol Connelly

Greg Kinnear

Greg Kinnear

Simon Bishop

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Frank Sachs

Shirley Knight

Shirley Knight

Beverly Connelly

Jesse James

Jesse James

Spencer Connelly

Yeardley Smith

Yeardley Smith

Jackie Simpson

Court is in session

Put As Good as It Gets on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.