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As Good As It Gets

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Rather boring and not funny.The story is boring with no surprises and ends exactly where you had guessed after a few minutes.The characters aren't credible. The acting is very average.The script desperately tries to be funny a la Foyr Weddings and a Funeral or similar, but pathetically fails. It tries to shock with some sex but fails so ridiculously it is sad. It tries to have THE big funny scene but it fails miserably. The acting is very average as if the actors were wondering why they ended up in that thing (we know they have done better elsewhere).It's not even particularly romantic: so not a "romantic comedy"I'm not sure why someone would want to watch this?

...because this is one hilarious British comedy with a great cast consisting of Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Anna Faris in leading roles as well as some truly great supporting/cameo roles; especially Stephen Merchant who says all the wrong things which is just hilarious & also Olivia Colman as the marriage counselor who has a massive swearing outburst over the phone which was brilliant too. All of the characters added something to the story.Although it is considered a romantic comedy, it is a little different to most of the others I have seen. This is anti romance as the two main characters get married when they really shouldn't have, and rather than seeing their relationship build we see it fall as they both try to go their separate ways.I was pretty much laughing from start to finish, even though some jokes fell a little flat (the dove scene in particular didn't seem to work for me anyway). My favourite scenes would be when the explicit photos come up on a screen in front of the parents, great reactions from all the characters. I also liked the repeated joke of Rose Byrne singing songs and getting the lyrics completely wrong. Any scenes with Stephen Merchant were probably the best as he constantly dropped his mate in it by saying all the wrong things, he is really crude but hilarious. All of the characters had great comedic timing and the film developed at a good pace and kept me laughing all the way through.Overall it was much better than I thought it would be and a thoroughly enjoyable comedy. If you don't take it too seriously then I would recommend it to anyone who just wants a good laugh.I give it an 8/10 easily.

It's love at first sight for ambitious ad exec Nat (Rose Byrne) and writer Josh (Rafe Spall) struggling after his first book. Her friend Naomi (Minnie Driver) says, "I give it a year." at their wedding. That seems to be the opinion of almost everybody about the opposite pairing. Danny (Stephen Merchant) is the embarrassing best man. His ex Chloe (Anna Faris) seems to be a better fit. Guy Harrap (Simon Baker) is Nat's new client. Nine months later, the couple feels something is wrong with the pairing and they go to counseling.There are some fun jokes. The comedy from the couple is mostly awkward. The pairing of Byrne and Spall seems off which is kind of the idea of the movie. Part of the problem is that their courtship is done in a series of montages. The audience never gets a chance to see them in love. They don't fit and they're not always naturally funny together. They should not play it as a rom-com. Instead they should be a lot angrier with lots of black comedy. Stephen Merchant is having loads of fun. Anna Faris has a weird threesome scene that seems unattached. Rose Byrne is hilarious in the dove scene. This seems to be a lot of funny ideas trapped in an awkward rom-com. Writer/director Dan Mazer who normally works with Sacha Baron Cohen is unable to fit his wacky sense of humor within the strict confines of a rom-com. He should skip the rom-com and make a truly black comedy instead. A black comedy would actually work quite well.

Sometimes when you wonder where comedy could possibly go from here, from this moment in time (I'm writing this review Sept. 6, 2014) (in the afternoon) along comes a movie like this that reaches out into new comedy ground and invites you to see it.This is an exhibition of modern art. Something new and fresh. One of the things that makes for great art is when an artist takes up an artistic theme that's already been covered many times by other artists but then presents the very same theme in a new way.Its hard to think up something new using the same tools other artists have used for years and years. Originality is a rarity and as such, when someone presents something new, it often creates impressions among those who view it which can vary greatly.This movie moves comedy down the road a bit. It takes risks that other movies simply haven't taken before. Not in this way.One could look here and see nothing new at all. They could comment that there's nothing new here to see.Another could look at this and find it confusing. They're not sure if its good or bad and so they pry it apart - looking at it in pieces instead of as a whole. Their comments about it could seem disjointed if they can't fully see whats going on further down the road.I see this movie as a familiar theme presented in a new way. A new way of making you laugh. Which is really really hard for a new work of art to do.I found it fresh and stimulating. And hilarious. I laughed my way through it, from beginning to end. And I was disappointed when it ended cause I didn't want to have to leave these new screen friends, just yet. Cause where could I ever find them again? I'm not sure I could have laughed so loud and so often if I wasn't as old as I am. This is an adult comedy. What makes it so great an art piece too is that it offers not just one, but at least two different and distinct meanings to the phrase "adult comedy", one of which is entirely new.New modern art right here. Worth looking at. Look again.Enjoy.