Poster © Sony Pictures Releasing. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy, Drama & Romance
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 19 mins
ReleasedDecember 25, 1997
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJames L. Brooks
StarringJack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear
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As Good as It Gets (1997)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| As Good as It Gets's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama & Romance |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 12/06/1997 (Regency Village Theatre); 12/25/1997 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 19 mins |
| Budget | $50M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| As Good as It Gets's Interests | |
| General | Plastic cutlery, sidewalk cracks, double-checked locks, the same table every morning, Verdell. |
| Music | Hans Zimmer, who got an Oscar nomination for the score. |
| Movies | Terms of Endearment (1983). Same director, same Nicholson, more tears. |
| Television | Monk. Another brilliant guy who will not touch the doorknob. |
| Heroes | Verdell. A tiny dog that softens the grumpiest man in New York. |
| As Good as It Gets's Crew | |
| Director | James L. Brooks |
| Writers | Mark Andrus, James L. Brooks, Mark Andrus (story) |
| Producers | James L. Brooks, Bridget Johnson, Kristi Zea |
| Cinematography | John Bailey |
| Music | Hans Zimmer |
| Edited By | Richard Marks |
| Production | TriStar Pictures, Gracie Films |
| Distributed By | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Melvin Udall insults pretty much everyone he meets in As Good as It Gets, and the movie treats a lot of that cruelty like a quirky trait instead of a real problem. His digs at his gay neighbor Simon land as punchlines, and some have aged terribly. The romance has a math problem too: Carol is a smart, worn-out single mom, and the movie needs you to believe a couple of nice gestures cancel out years of nasty behavior. And yet. Jack Nicholson is so precise, so funny and so obviously scared under the bluster that you can’t look away. Helen Hunt is the real engine, sharp, fed up and refusing to be anybody’s prize. Greg Kinnear gives Simon a quiet dignity the script barely earns. The sneakiest scene stealer is Verdell, a tiny dog who picks up Melvin’s habit of hopping over sidewalk cracks. A 7.0 because the performances are wonderful and the guy at the center gets forgiven way too easily. $466 says you step over a sidewalk crack this week on purpose and can’t explain why.
What works: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear are all terrific, and the dialogue crackles.
What doesn’t: Melvin’s cruelty is played for laughs too often, and the romance asks Carol to forgive far more than it should.
Who it’s for: People who like grumpy-guy-softens comedies and can watch one with a critical eye.
Spoilers
On the road trip to Baltimore with Simon, Melvin tells Carol she makes him want to be a better man, then wrecks the evening anyway. Back home, he shows up at her door before dawn, they walk to a corner bakery, and Melvin steps on a sidewalk crack without even noticing.
Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) writes bestselling romance novels and is rude to absolutely everyone. He also lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder, which means every lock gets checked over and over, no stepping on sidewalk cracks, and breakfast at the same table every day with his own plastic cutlery. Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt) is the only waitress who will put up with him. When his neighbor, painter Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear), ends up in the hospital after a robbery, Simon's agent Frank Sachs (Cuba Gooding Jr.) leans on Melvin to look after Simon's dog, Verdell. James L. Brooks directs. One hundred thirty-eight minutes, one tiny dog with huge influence.
Anyone who brings their own silverware. Verdell says hi.
| Jack Nicholson | Melvin Udall |
| Helen Hunt | Carol Connelly |
| Greg Kinnear | Simon Bishop |
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | Frank Sachs |
| Skeet Ulrich | Vincent Lopiano |
| Shirley Knight | Beverly Connelly |
| Yeardley Smith | Jackie Simpson |
| Lupe Ontiveros | Nora Manning |
| Jill | Verdell |
| Bibi Osterwald | neighbor woman |
| Brian Doyle-Murray | handyman |
| Missi Pyle | Cafe 24 waitress |
| Leslie Stefanson | Cafe 24 waitress |
| Shane Black | Brian |
| Randall Batinkoff | Carol's date |
| Lisa Edelstein | woman at table |
| Peter Jacobson | man at table |
| Jesse James | Spencer "Spence" Connelly |
| Jamie Kennedy | street hustler |
| Justin Herwick | street hustler |
| Maya Rudolph | policewoman |
| Lawrence Kasdan | Dr. Green |
| Wood Harris | Cafe 24 busboy |
| Julie Benz | receptionist |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $314.2M; Domestic box office $148.5M; Opening weekend $12.6M; Profit / loss (est.) +$82.1M; Rotten Tomatoes 86%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 86% (84 reviews); Metacritic 67 / 100; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 7.7 / 10 (340,995 votes); movie.guru score 7.6.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.