The story is about an obsessive-compulsive, embittered romance novelist named Melvin and the unlikely bond that forms between him and two other New Yorkers who don't appear to have anything in common except the location of their apartments and their favorite restaurants. Melvin (Jack Nicholson) is secretly in love with Carol (Helen Hunt), a waitress and single mom. Greg Kinnear rounds out the trio as Melvin's gay artist neighbor. A dog named Verdell brings them all together.
While Helen Hunt is wonderful as Carol, there are few more enjoyable
moments in the cinema than watching Jack play a witty and nasty curmudgeon.
I wish, however, that his character wasn't drawn so over the top.
This unfortunate excess cripples the love story (how can you root for the
girl to go with a crazy man?) and otherwise stretches the credibility of
the entire movie. Despite this flaw, As Good As it Gets is pretty
good.
See a trailer and the official site (which gives you showtimes if you enter your zip code)
--AHB