This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Little Mind in the Big Apple
Plot Overview
New Yorker Melvin Udall (Jack
Nicholson) became an accomplished pianist, and his talent
there has crossed over into his writing of pulp romance fiction
always in demand. He has a way with words and has sold sixty-two
books to an adoring public. He works from home (“I work all
the time.”) While his practice on the 88 keys has translated
to skill on the QUERTY keyboard, his father's discipline of
rapping his knuckles with a ruler resulted in an acerbic wit
afflicting all he comes in contact with. He's an equal opportunity
critic insulting kikes, blacks, chicks, nuts, queers, whites, and
fats left and right. Authoress Kim Ponders would be “jealous
of these writers—the lives they lead and portray—and I
believe I could have the same experiences, the same feelings, in my
own life if I didn't isolate myself” (177). He has no boss
looking over his shoulder but is limited by obsessive-compulsive
disorder enslaving himself to routine and repetition.
His neighbor “Simon the
fag” (Greg Kinnear) was beat up by his “queer party
friends” and incurred insurmountable medical
expenses. He needs someone to drive him to Baltimore so he can
hit up his mom for the dough he being disenfranchised
from his folks for being a homo. Melvin feels obligated to drive
him after the way he mistreated the guy's dog. Being distrustful of
gays he persuades waitress Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt) to chaperone
the trip after he'd intervened in her asthmatic son's care through
industry contacts in order to get her to return to the restaurant
where he's used to her waiting on him. She incurred an obligation not
discharged through a mere thank-you note. Unexpected intimacies result.
Ideology
Single mother Carol with her hands full has no man in her life. She laments, “Why can't I have a normal boyfriend? Just a regular boyfriend, one that doesn't go nuts on me!” Her mom replies, “Everybody wants that, dear. It doesn't exist.” That seems to be the thought of wise King Solomon, too, who has it that, (Prov. 30:18-19) “There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.” Trying to track boy-girl relations is like following the course of an eagle floating on air currents, or a slithering serpent on a rock, or a ship tossed on the sea. It just doesn't compute, at least not to any so-called norms.
This movie, however, does hint through projections at how it pans out. “The way of an eagle in the air” is represented by the dog being sent down the garbage chute (“Yelp!”) The guy will get summarily dumped at times.
“The way of a serpent upon a rock” is Melvin walking down the sidewalk stepping over the cracks—even the dog high-steps over them. In Mel's mind there are a lot of land mines to avoid triggering, the inconvenience of surrounding pedestrians inconsequential. He is most insensitive to the girl, too.
“The way of a ship in the midst of the sea” is a boat in the bay at Baltimore. The lady just observes it out the hotel window, doesn't ride in it. Melvin is excluded from conversation in the car, he just has to listen to Carol & Simon enjoying each other's company without him.
Production Values
“” (1997) was directed by James L. Brooks. It was written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks. It stars Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear who were in fine form.
Cuba Gooding Jr. made hay playing Frank Sachs the straight—he wears a wedding ring—artsy fartsy agent of portrait painter Simon. Frank is a colored, whitenized art expert with a shaved head to obviate any nappy hair and a flimsy mustache to obscure his flared negroid nose. But he is shot at an angle as he's looking up resulting in a protruding jaw. He “goes crazy” at the way he sees his client mistreated by Mel—who mistreats everybody—and blows his top indicating his roots in the ghetto (“hell,”) which impression he tries his damnedest to avoid. Meanwhile, Mel has a framed picture in his place of two blacks in conversation, indicating there's some drama associated with blackness. To top it off the hotel in Baltimore has pictures on the wall of monkeys. The impression given is that Frank is not long down from the trees. Mel also insults a waitress (“elephant woman”) for being fat and Jews for their big noses, so blacks aren't really singled out in this picture.
MPA rated it PG–13 on appeal for strong language, thematic elements, nudity and a beating. We suppose New Yorkers are good at tolerating/celebrating their diverse mix of cultures in which a narrow-minded writer sticks out. Runtime is 2 hours 19 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
NYC seems to have its own sense of humor that might not ring everybody's bell. The film is well made, though, and the characters interesting. I liked it in a movie but I might not want to live there. To each his own.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability for Children: Suitable for children 13+ years with guidance. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Ponders, Kim. The Art of Uncontrolled Flight. Copyright © 2005 by Kimberly A. Ponders. New York: HarperCollins Pub., 2005. first edition. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org