rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1997
Directed by James L. Brooks; produced by James L. Brooks, Bridget Johnson, Kristi Zea; screenplay by Mark Andrus, James L. Brooks
Starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Shirley Knight
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
Jack Nicholson is one of the greatest actors ever and in a movie like this
he proves that. He says things and you laugh, but if another actor said the
same things you would not like the actor. Consider a scene early in the
movie where he explains to his gay neighbor that he saw a colored guy inside
his apartment. The neighbor asks him what color that would be and Nicholson
answers with the most racist remarks. They get funny because they come from
Nicholson's mouth. Not much later the black guy Nicholson was referring to
has pushed him in a corner. Nicholson shouts: "Assault and Battery - and
you're black!" I laughed, not because he makes fun of the black guy, but the
way he does it. It doesn't make any sense, but for him is totally normal.
Not only Nicholson, as the writer Melvin Udall with an obsessive compulsive
disorder (that is why he is mean to everyone, and why he has some other
strange habits), is great, also the love interest played by Helen Hunt is
great. She is the only waitress who wants to wait on Melvin. Greg Kinnear is
the gay neighbor and Cuba Gooding Jr. is the black guy. They are both great
too. The story is a little predictable but because Nicholson is there almost
every scene that doesn't matter. With great dialogue, great performances and
a screenplay that keeps you interested this is a terrific movie.