Jack Nicholson in As Good As It GetsImage via Sony Pictures
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Thomas Butt
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Thomas Butt is a senior writer. An avid film connoisseur, Thomas actively logs his film consumption on Letterboxd and vows to connect with many more cinephiles through the platform. He is immensely passionate about the work of Martin Scorsese, John Ford, and Albert Brooks. His work can be read on Collider and Taste of Cinema. He also writes for his own blog, The Empty Theater, on Substack. He is also a big fan of courtroom dramas and DVD commentary tracks. For Thomas, movie theaters are a second home. A native of Wakefield, MA, he is often found scrolling through the scheduled programming on Turner Classic Movies and making more room for his physical media collection. Thomas habitually increases his watchlist and jumps down a YouTube rabbit hole of archived interviews with directors and actors. He is inspired to write about film to uphold the medium's artistic value and to express his undying love for the art form. Thomas looks to cinema as an outlet to better understand the world, human emotions, and himself.
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One of the greatest screen actors who ever lived, Jack Nicholson belongs to a rare, vaunted club in the history of the Academy Awards as one of six actors to receive three or more Oscar statuettes. Already a beloved icon and weighty dramatic performer in 1997, Nicholson entered a whole new stratosphere of fame and prestige by winning his third Academy Award for As Good as It Gets, a low-stakes romantic dramedy also nominated for Best Picture. Now available to stream on Netflix, you might find yourself frustrated watching it, as these kinds of movie-star-driven, character-focused films belong to a bygone era that's hard to find in 2025 in mainstream form.
It's no surprise that two of Nicholson's Oscars were in movies directed by James L. Brooks, a showbiz mogul and creative luminary who understood Jack better than anyone. As Good as It Gets pushed the envelope regarding the audience's unconditional love for Nicholson, who plays the misanthropic author, Melvin Udall. We're inclined to loathe Melvin, but, as he does with the characters in the film, we warm up to him.
Jack Nicholson Plays a Misanthrope with a Heart of Gold in 'As Good as It Gets'
Terms of Endearment, Nicholson's second Oscar and Brooks' feature film debut after decades of success as a sitcom writer on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi, kicked off the actor's incredible run as a dynamic supporting player. Despite being a prodigious, all-consuming star on-screen, he could thrive as a romantic foil or figure on the periphery of a story. Following a bit part in Broadcast News, Nicholson received his proper late-period romantic-comedy lead role in As Good as It Gets, Brooks' last universally acclaimed film, depending on the response to his upcoming movie, Ella McCay.
As Good as It Gets is a triptych narrative focusing on three interconnected characters in New York City: Melvin, a cynical, bigoted best-selling romance novelist with OCD, Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt, who also won an Oscar for her performance), a single mother and restaurant server patronized by Melvin, and Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear), a gay artist who gradually befriends Melvin. The film, which ran into the buzzsaw that was Titanic at the Academy Awards, grossed a staggering $314 million. The concept of a movie solely driven by movie stars releasing wide in theaters, let alone becoming a blockbuster, feels alien.
James L. Brooks' Blend of Light Comedy and Sincere Drama in 'As Good as It Gets'
While he rarely transformed on the screen, Jack Nicholson knew how to perfectly modulate his indelible screen persona defined by his sharp smile and rapscalion nature. In As Good as It Gets, he cranks up his mischief to the next level by playing perhaps his most unlikable character, a recluse who has no patience for anything that throws off his routines. Brooks is a nuanced enough writer-director not to judge mental disorders, but he never lets Melvin off the hook regarding the destructive nature of his tendencies. Beneath Melvin's coarse exterior is a sensitivity that longs for special attention, something he hopes to satisfy with Carol, seemingly the one person who tolerates his neurosis due to her strong-willed assurance. Melvin should be completely irredeemable, but because of Nicholson's undeniable charisma and willingness to display romantic sentimentality, audiences pray for a Hollywood ending.
Nicholson's meticulously realized performance is also a credit to James L. Brooks' unique talents as a writer, director, and comedy visionary, which were essential to the development of The Simpsons. The light comedy and sincere drama in As Good as It Gets never worked against each other, but rather, created a delicious confection that directors like Cameron Crowe and Judd Apatow have aspired to achieve. He makes you feel comfortable laughing along with a narcissist like Melvin while also portraying him with a skeptical eye, an intricate balance that made everyone in Springfield in The Simpsons endure in pop culture for over 30 years. Coming from sitcoms, Brooks' punchy dialogue and rhythmic way with words are on full display in As Good as It Gets, which makes Nicholson's chemistry with Hunt and Kinnear pop off the screen.
Jack Nicholson wasn't done by any means, as he would later give arguably a career-defining capstone performance in About Schmidt five years later, but his turn as Melvin Udall in As Good as It Gets was the culmination of his leading man era from the '70s and unflashy supporting work in the '80s and '90s. The grating side of Melvin showed that Nicholson still had his menace from Five Easy Pieces and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in him, while his surprising romanticism reflected his newfound easygoing vibe unlocked in Terms of Endearment and Heartbreak. There will never be another Jack, nor will there be anything like the tonal balance and blockbuster success of As Good as It Gets.
As Good as It Gets is now available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
As Good As It Gets
Like PG-13 Drama Comedy Romance Release Date December 19, 1997 Runtime 139 minutes Director James L. Brooks Writers James L. Brooks, Mark Andrus Producers Bridget Johnson, Kristi Zea, James L. BrooksCast
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Jack Nicholson
Melvin Udall
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Helen Hunt
Carol Connelly
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Greg Kinnear
Simon Bishop
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Cuba Gooding Jr.
Frank Sachs
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Jack Nicholson
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