As Good As It Gets

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Directed by: James L. Brooks
Released: Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1997

One of the rare examples where the studio's tagline is sufficiently bullshit-free enough to warrant its use in criticism. Billed as a "comedy from the heart that goes for the throat," this James L. Brooks-directed piece is the epitome of the feel-good holiday film. Jack Nicholson stars as an aging, racist, homophobic, obsessive-compulsive -- essentially every bias in American society and proud of it. Helen Hunt is the sexy-smart waitress who balances out Nicholson's tough-guy act (inflecting some female sensibility into an otherwise male picture), and the audience believes in the romance that follows. Director Brooks has an eye for comedy, conducting great sequences featuring Nicholson and supporting players Greg Kinnear and Cuba Gooding Jr. The story is well told, and when all else fails, Brooks has Nicholson at his worst -- er, best -- as his trump card.