CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

“As Good As It Gets”

Pre-viewing worksheet

1. Look through and get acquainted with the genre and the cast of the film.

GENRE: Comedy drama
CREDITS: Directed by James L. Brooks
Screenplay by Mark Andrews
Produced by Bridget Johnson
Music by Hans Zimmer
PLOT LINE: Love against all odds
RELEASE DATE: 1997

Golden Globe Winner including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress

2. The names of the characters and proper names given below will help you to grasp and understand the plot easier. Look through them before watching the movie.

Cast of characters:

Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson)
Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt)
Simon (Greg Kinnear)
Frank (Cuba Gooding Jr.)
Spenser (Carol’s son)
Verdell (Simon’s Dog) Brussels Griffon dog (played by a newcomer Jill, after a 15 week training performance).

Obsessive compulsive disorder: a neurosis characterised by persistent intrusion of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or the performance of actions or repeated hand-washing that one is unable to stop.

Camp David: an area closed to the public in Cantoctin Mountain Park in N. Central Maryland; presidential retreat with guests quarters and conference facilities.

Baltimore: a seaport big city in Maryland on an estuary near the Chesapeake Bay.

 DO YOU KNOW?

James L. Brooks: He is what is known in the trade a triple-hyphenate: a writer – a director – a producer. He is also a legendary perfectionist who may explain why since his 1983 directorial debut (Terms of Endearment) he has made only three other films. After dropping out of New York University, Brooks ended up in television sitcoms, where his hits as a writer and a producer included “Mary Tylor Moore Show” and “Taxi”.

What the critics said about him: “He deals in a type of comedy that British audiences find hard to stomach. It’s not that he is sentimental. It’s just that in the Hollywood tradition he endows all his characters with a redemptive glow. His latest work is a case in point: its daring asperity pushes (but never breaks) the boundaries of its genre”.

Quentin Curtis

Jack Nicholson: He emerged as the most popular and celebrated actor of his generation. A classic anti-hero, he typified a new breed of Hollywood star – rebellious, contentious and non-conformist. In 1975 Milos Forman’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, the winner of 5 Oscars, firmly established Nicholson as the most popular star. His directorial efforts in 1978 (Going South) and in1990 (The Two Jakes) were not hits. He appeared in more than 50 pictures, the most successful of which were A Few Good Men, Ironweed, Batman, and Terms of Endearment. In 1997 Nicholson enjoyed a sort of renaissance with James L. Brooks’ As Good As It Gets, an enormously successful film that netted a third Oscar for Nicholson.

Helen Hunt: From age of 10 Hunt was drawing paychecks as a TV actress; before she was 17, she had appeared as a regular on two series: Swiss Family Robinson and The Fitzpatricks. After taking on her first adult role in the 1982 sitcom It Takes Two, Hunt’s film assignments improved with sizable roles in Peggy Sue Got Married, Project X-Twister, and Kiss of Death. In 1997 she received a Best Actress Oscar for playing a caring waitress and a single mother in As Good As It Gets:

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Task 1. Watch the movie and make notes on what you learn about the following characters:

Task 2. Give as many reasons as you can supporting the following statements:

1. Melvin Udall was a discourteous, mean and ill-mannered man. His rudeness was displayed in such a cranky obsessive way that he ends up being banned from the restaurant.

2. Melvin’s books were very successful. He made his publisher much money.

3. Vedell was more than a pet in Simon’s apartment. Simon had an extraordinary affection for this dog.

4. Melvin’s prejudices ran to sexism, racism as well as homophobia (antipathy toward homosexuals).

LANGUAGE STUDY

Americanisms: The problem of the discrepancies between British and American variants of the English language exists not only for British speakers, but also for English students. It’s sometimes difficult to grasp the idea of what is said because of the difference in meaning. Most of the Americanisms used in the film are illustrated in the exercises below.

Task 1. Replace each American word or phrase with a British term. If necessary ask your teacher for help or use a dictionary.

– The kitchen tap is not working in my apartment. I will tell the janitor. He will get it fixed.
– I would like a hamburger and French fries, please.
– In this district they collect garbage only once a week.
– Blue-collar workers are asking for longer paid vacations.
– The elevator is broken down again. But it doesn’t matter. We live on the first floor.
– The dog attacked the mailman and tore his pants.
– When the waiter handed me the check I found I had no money.
– When you stop by the gas station please fill up the tank.
– The cop reported a light blue sedan parked right across the sidewalk on 3rd Street.
– Shall we walk or take a cab.
– The only money I have is 20-dollar bill.

Task 2. Study the following phrases known as colloquialisms. Paraphrase or explain their meaning.

1. You are gonna get yourself in trouble.
2. Are we done being neighbours now?
3. I wanna tell you something.
4. Lemme do this by myself.
5. I dunno what’s going on.
6. I betcha he is there already waiting for us.
7. I sorta felt faint.
8. He kinda imagines things.
9. You gotta do this right.

Task 3. What is the meaning of:

– You take care and I will see you on Friday.
– What is all this junk doing in the room? You are such a slob.
– Don’t worry about the mixer. I will ask John to fix it for you.
– How come you don’t know him?
– What an awesome day! You wanna go for a ride?

MINI TOPICS

Health

What is the word for:

1. Chronic chest illness causing wheezing and difficulty in breathing.
2. Medical condition that produces an unfavourable reaction to certain foods, insect bites, etc.
3. Substance that can destroy or prevent the growth of bacteria.
4. A sudden serious event or situation requiring immediate action.
5. Guarantee of compensation for sickness, death in return for regular payment.

House

Give synonyms for the words:

– garbage chute
– cleaning lady
– apartment
– sleeper

Vehicles

Define each word and make up a short sentence using the American words:

– convertible
– cab
– to pull over
– License plate
– truck
– trunk
– windshield

ABOUT MELVIN UDALL

Task 1. Study the following statements, which were said about Melvin by different people. Try to remember under what circumstances and by whom they were used.

1. “You don’t love anybody Mr. Udall...”

2. “...and I grew my beard back but you are not interested in changes in me...”

3. “What you did changed my life...”

4. “... if there is somewhere a mental health foundation that raises money for people like you, please, be sure you let me know...”

5. “... all this makes you the most important, surprising, generous person I have ever met. You will be in our prayers, our daily prayers for ever...”

Now look through the list of descriptive adjectives given below. Which of the features do you think are the most important in understanding Melvin? Give your reasons. You may add some others.

Task 2. What is an obsessive-compulsive neurosis? In what way did it affect Melvin’s life? Did he do anything to get over his illness? Prove your point.

Task 3. Trace the transformation of Melvin’s personality. Make sure you talk about the following things:

– Melvin babysitting for Simon’s dog
– Melvin setting up medical care for Carol’s son
– Melvin driving Simon to Baltimore
– Melvin taking Simon into his apartment

Task 4. Read the dialogue between Simon and Melvin:

Melvin: I’ve been clearing my head. Don’t feel like myself. It’s not just tiredness... Boy...
Simon: It’s sick, nauseous...
Melvin: Sleepy
Simon: Everything looks disturbed. Everything inside just aches... and you can barely find the will to complain...
Melvin: Yeah, yeah... I am glad we did this. Good talking to you...

What do you think the conversation is about? Are they talking about the same things? Why did Melvin break off the conversation?

Task 5. Do you think that in the final scene, when we see Melvin a nicer and a happier man, he is also a less interesting and duller one?

ABOUT CAROL CONNELLY

Task 1. What was so peculiar about Carol that attracted the obsessive novelist? What kind of person was she? Comment on Melvin’s words about her:

– “I can’t get back to my own life. She evicted me from my own life”.
– “You make me want to be a better man”.
– “She is the kind of a woman who makes a laugh and you get a life”.

Task 2. Comment on Carol’s behaviour in the car. How did she manage to take Melvin in hand? While driving Simon to Baltimore?

ABOUT SIMON

Task 1. Explain Simon’s role in the development of the film.

Task 2. Evaluate Simon’s relationship with Melvin.

ABOUT THE FILM AS A WHOLE

Task 1. Melvin is shown in the film as an abusive and arrogant man. But all his psychological states can be excused by his obsessive-compulsive disorder. Do you think that some of his actions or deeds (good or bad) were driven by his human nature and were not mere symptoms of his neurosis? If yes, what are they?

Task 2. Melvin was a different man who had a lot of problems in a “normal” society. He lived an isolated and lonely life, being rejected by most people. But with the help of Simon, his dog, and a local waitress, he managed to get over his illness. What are the implications of Melvin’s transformation? Do you believe that love cures everything?

Task 3. In our society people who are different are discriminated against. Is it true? How do we act toward those who are different from us (sick, racially different, less intelligent)? Do we respect them? Do we make fun of them? Do we reject them?

Task 4. Analyse the following lines taken from the script. What did Melvin mean to say?

– How do you read women so well?
– Well... I think of a man and take away reason and accountability.

Develop one of the following tasks:

1. Write a review of the film. Include the following: title, director, setting, characters, events evaluation.

2. Imagine yourself in Simon’s place. Write a short paragraph describing your feelings about Melvin. Would you make friends with him? Would you feel comfortable around him? Would you feel pity for him?

М.Ю. Кудряшов