As Good as It Gets
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) | Release Date: December 23, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A sporadically funny romantic comedy with all the dramatic plausibility and tonal consistency of a TV variety show. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Wicked, but it works. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
As Good as It Gets works: by the end you'll no doubt be won over by its cranky hero. But for those of us who cherish the quirkily unformulaic Brooks of old, it's a tainted victory. Read full review
60
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Billed cleverly as a comedy from the heart that goes for the throat. If only Brooks had had the guts to avoid the schmaltz.
50
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
Nicholson, one of the best actors in American screen history, is miscast again… He is quite visibly uncomfortable in his role. It needed an actor who could easily be viciously stuffy, like William Hurt. Nicholson struggles for the core of the man but never gets it. [Feb. 2, 1998]
50
New York Daily NewsDave Kehr
The material has no dramatic center, a problem pointed up by Brooks' failed solution to it -- his use of an ugly-cute little dog, Simon's pet. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Gets bogged down in sentimentality, while its wheels spin futilely in life-solving overdrive. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineSandra Contreras
An overstatement. The movie's too long, and the direction is sometimes slack -- but the script is crammed with withering ripostes, ably delivered by Nicholson and Hunt. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Nicholson's over-the-top acting gives an entertaining edge to the plot's feel-good manipulations. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
In between all the laughs and tears, it becomes painfully obvious that there's not a whole lot of story here to prop up the constant emotional yanking. Read full review
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