I watched As Good as it Gets on TNT this weekend, and watching this movie just cemented my belief.... Simply put, the man is the greatest American actor ever. So many great and varied roles, from a mental patient to an obsessive compulsive to a psychopath, and of course, the best portrayal of a comic book villain in cinematic history. Even when he's in a crappy movie (Mars Attacks), you can say, "Well, at least Jack Nicholson put forth a great performance". Now that he's older and doesn't need to command $20 million per movie, he's starting to pick and choose his roles more carefully, so he should only get MORE enjoyable in the future. I haven't seen EVERY movie that Jack Nicholson's been in, but I can honestly say that I've never been disappointed by one of his performances...
As Good As It Gets is a pretty lame movie, but there was a period (from 1970 to 1975) where Jack was the best actor on the planet. When you watch him in Five Easy Pieces or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, it's amazing how natural and believable an actor he was. Since then, he's become somewhat a parody of himself (you can almost hear the director saying "let's raise those eyebrows Jack" in some movies) and has tried a couple of roles that just weren't right for him (Ironweed comes to mind). But he's still a great actor and his recent films seem like he's choosing more wisely. BTW, did you know that Jack was one of the first actors to demand a percentage of his films' gross? The man was rich long before he got the big salary.
For a great look at Nicholson's genius, you should rent a movie he made in 1974 that everyone seems to have forgotten about. Go rent "The Last Detail". Nicholson plays a Navy MP who is in charge of escorting a young enlisted man (Randy Quaid) to the brig on charges of stealing money from a church donation box. He goes about giving the kid the time of his life before turning him in. If you haven't seen this Nicholson movie, go rent it.
I have seen just about every Nicholson movie ever made, including the Last Detail, and I repectfully disagree with A-Train, and the grounds for my disagreement can be found in his own statement. Jack Nicholson is not a very good actor...he is an incredible movie star, with remarkable on-screen charisma, and is the lead in many of my favorite films...but he is not, I say again, a very good actor. Reason being, with minor variations, he pretty much always plays the same kind of character, with a very minor range...He always plays a sarcastic, cynical, rebellious border-line mental case whose psychosis and humour barely conceal an underlying sensitivity...A-Train...look at your own descriptions of his 'range'... .." mental patient....obsessive compulsive...psychopath..." etc..and the Joker is also, let me remind you, mentally unbalanced...See the trend? His range is about 2 degrees of the acting spectrum, going from clearly insane to is-he-insane?, but the other elements are usually the same...sardonic/sarcastic/caustic wit, rebellious I don't care for societal rules! temperment, etc...It's Jack...and I love to watch him, but he is far from a great actor. Like John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart, for most of their careers, he is incredible to watch doing what he does, even if you've basically seen it before...and like them he is a great movie star, but not a great actor. I will say that in s Good As It Gets he showed more vulnerability than he usually does...
blasphemy! As Good as it Gets was excellent. You keep thinking to yourself, "Damn, doesn't Udell realize how frustrating he is to everyone?!?" Then, you realize that he DOESN'T realize, because of his condition....Also, "Carol the waitress, Simon the ***" ranks up there with "Here's Johnnny" as one of his best lines ever... Heck, I even loved Greg Kinnear's performance, and I'm not the biggest Kinnear fan
I hated "As Good As it Gets". There is NO way that the female lead would fall in love with Nicholson's character. That movie sucked, and I want my money back.
I thought As Good as It Gets was great as a comedy, but severely lacking as a "drama." Jack should win best actor for About Schmidt.
as luke skywalker told the rebel forces planning their attack on endor, "count me in, too!" AGAIG sucks massive balls. helen hunt's oscar is one of film's greatest injustices -- she's interesting in the same way wallpaper hanging is interesting and her accent is suspect, at best. i saw ABOUT SCHMIDT recently, and it's probably my favorite film of this year, and jack is terrific in it. i'd reference that movie as proof of his genius long before i'd even think about AGAIG. hell, his other two performces for james l. brooks (TERMS and BROADCAST NEWS) are far better.
"As Good As It Gets" is one of the most inspiring movies of our time. Sunday morning I whiled away the time watching "A League of Their Own" and "As Good..." doing laundry. Two great movies that I will watch almost every time they are on TV.
