Wow, am I on a romantic comedy streak. Just finished As Good as it Gets and it's the first movie I've seen in a long time where I genuinely cared about the characters involved and had to put down my guitar to finish the movie and it all leaves me scratching my head wondering why. Jack Nicholson is such a curmudgeon while Helen Hunt sparkles . . . those two should never have ended up together and yet I found myself rooting for Jack in an odd way.
You know, the beauty of this movie is how three characters, Simon, Melvin, and Carol, overcome their differences and "issues" and find love and friendship. I guess that's why I liked it. Who doesn't like chicken-soup like that? Who doesn't love to see the impossible happen? Just makes you feel kinda warm and fuzzy. Check out this line from the end from crusty ol' Jack himself (to Helen):
"I might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you're the greatest woman on earth. I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do. And how you are with Spencer. And then every single thought that you have and how you say what you mean and how you almost always mean something that's all about being straight and good. And I think most people miss that about you. And I watch them wondering how they can watch you bring their food and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive."
Wow.
The thing I liked about this movie is that it was too quirky and unpredictable to be "sappy." I mean that last line might sound kind of sappy if you hear it out of context, but I think most people who have seen the film would agree with me that the people involved and the things that happen to them are just too lop-sided and out-of-the-blue to make this movie pretty and cute. Instead, this movie is about imperfect people with imperfect lives who find the "inner beauty" in each other. I really like that because that is real love, in my opinion. Great relationships, be they romantic ones or friendships, are all about digging beneath the surface of things and appreciating the divinity in another human being. I suppose the message of this movie is that two people, no matter how how dysfunctional they may be or how different from one another they may be . . . two people--no matter what--can bond when they they discover and value the divinity in each other.
And now I know why I liked that movie.
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Whatever I'm thinking about at the moment! Usually music/literature/social commentary related. The blog is named after a perfect summer afternoon I spent with my dog Libby at a Watsonville beach, the likes of which I've returned to many a time to clear my mind and do all my best thinking.
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The night before Christmas
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About Me
- Kristin
- Writing is a process of self-discovery. It's the purest, freest, most intelligent way of exploring one's ideas and communicating them. I've turned to religion and school for security, status, and answers to the "big questions." But somehow I think I get closer to truth with a pen and paper...or keyboard. In short, I'm a Cal music-major turned aspiring singer-songwriter trying to uncover my conscience the best way I know how: in words.
4 comments:
I've always loved As Good as it Gets, and until now I've been ashamed. Maybe I'll just accept that somebody else loves it, I'm not alone, and stop trying to figure out why it works and accept that it does. I mean, the monologue you posted, "You sick? You don't look sick. Just tired and bitter" as a pick-up line? "Sell crazy someplace else; we're all stocked up here." "You make me want to be a better person." I've always imagined sweeping a girl off her feet with that line.
James L. Brooks has that fine eye here, that color scheme that's that perfect blend of 1990s cliche drama/soap opera/ Woody Allen passion. The brunt shots (how long does any one shot take?) . Helen Hunts melodrama fits, there's nothing Jack does better than crazy (and no one does crazy better than Jack), and they try to deal with homosexuality in, for a mainstream movie, an honest way.
Maybe that's the best thing about the movie. It wants to be mainstream. From the actors, to the sets, music, dialogue - it all wants to be accepted, but it's 'broken' from the inside. It can never really accepted. Just like it's characters.
Well, I did the opposite of what I wanted to do. On the other hand, I still like Good Will Hunting.
I love your analysis of this. You are so right. There's something so offbeat about this film, but it works. And what still leaves me scratching my head is that Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson were a "likeable" couple for me; I mean, I was rooting for them, I wanted it to work out for them. But he's such a grouch and too old for her, etc. etc. And yet I found it all touching. Why? Why?!
I'm intrigued by what you mean by the color scheme and the "brunt shots." What are those (brunt shots)? Did you take a class on film or something? Those are some pretty cool A+ "college" words, young Danielson!
See, but you have to ask yourself: who IS right for her? Is there a man that would be 'perfect' for her? How about him - is there a woman out there who's got it all together that can show him the beauty of life in a sophisticated way that he'll understand? In a more traditional romance, that's what we would see. Except that in traditional romances, you still really don't get these nuances of relationships.
In another post you mention 10 Things I Hate About You, another kind of guilty pleasure for me. It's based on Shakespeare, so of course it's kind of hard to talk about, but it's a fairly traditional romantic comedy. Why does the older girl end up with the hairy guy (it's been a while since I've seen it)? Are they perfect for each other? Does he fill in her blanks (ooh, that sounds sexier than I meant it to)? At the end of the day, they end up together because the movie's almost over and he's around. We, as viewers, can accept that because the filmmakers have put us into a world where there are no other men or women (that could end up together) except these two characters. It could just as easily have been a hamster and a bunch of chickens for as much as they 'belong' together, and the fact that we (I)accept that is part of what makes a movie 'good.'
As Good As It Gets takes the opposite route and shows characters that couldn't reasonably be with anybody else. It's an interesting spin on it and (I know you don't date now, but if you have in the past you might agree with me) it's much more true to life. Of course, how 'true' is art supposed to be? And maybe it's just like that with me because I'm as messed up as Jack Nicholson.
And no, I've never taken a film class. Well, I took two in high school, but mostly I know film from literature. And I am taking a film class that starts next week, so...
Watch this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32cil3p55z4
What I mean by 'brunt,' is forecful. It's not a technical term. How many shots are in this scene? I counted ten in the first 30 seconds. Watch Jack's monologue, right? He doesn't even get the camera to himself through the whole thing.
@0:49, look at the colors. Jack's shirt, Greg's shirt, the door. Obviously, Jack is wearing faded blue and brown, with a faded, worn green doorframe. But even Kinnear's shirt isn't as vibrant as we expect purple to be. Look at the light in the background - it's shot in soft focus. There's nothing revolutionary happening here, you find something similar in any adult themed movie, and that's what I mean by this film's desire to be a mainstream film.
While we're on color, and the color in this scene isn't great, it's used again here to great affect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbyP8gbb1hw&feature=related
And this is what I'm talking about - we know from Jack's character that he doesn't belong there, and we can look at Helen's outfit and makeup and see that she doesn't belong there, so they get together because neither of them belongs anywhere else.
I've long since forgotten what I'm talking about, so I'll leave you with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8shdlcJjAJ8&feature=related
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