As Good As It Gets March 19, 2006

Presented by the History of Psychiatry Through Film Series

Acerbic and outwardly despicable pulp novelist Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) lives in a haze of obsessive-compulsive behavior patterns, avoiding cracks in the sidewalk and rigidly adhering to his regimen of daily breakfasts in the cafe where harried single mom Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt) is the only waitress he?ll accept. But his ordered, hermetic world falls apart when his neighbor, a gay painter (Greg Kinnear), needs a babysitter for his cherished dog ? and only his long-time nemesis Melvin will do. Then, when the waitress?s son?s serious illness keeps her from work, Melvin realizes how much he needs her after all. Rated PG-13. 139 minutes. 1997.