As Good As It Gets

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Like a few others writing here, I am a Dylan fan, so that is bound to color my view. I saw this movie twice in its theatrical release, the first time in San Rafael, CA with about 4 or 5 others in the theatre. The movie affected me deeply--at first, the apocalyptic scenario was intensely disturbing--almost too bleak for me to handle, but then I got into the absurdist flow of the film. This movie ostensibly has a "plot," but it's also plot less at the same time-- the plot may not matter as much as the illusions created along the way. My other most salient memory is of my being moved to tears during Dylan's performance of "Dixie." Such a stark and plaintive rendition of that old song. The musical performances throughout the movie are some of the best performances by Dylan captured on film. This is a great way to see latter-day Dylan (2002 in Canoga Park to be precise), and you can watch the video of "Cold Irons Bound" on youtube to see what I mean. I wish Dylan's people would release a DVD of the songs recorded that day in Canoga Park--as many as 20 songs, according to some accounts. As I write this review, president-elect Trump is waiting in the wings, and I fear the film's apocalyptic tone will be more relevant than ever. If you love Dylan and film as an art form, this movie is definitely worth a look. I've looked many times!

This is a great movie, great visuals, great music, great acting...it's not for everyone but if you like intense emotional outbursts by some great actors, like you've never seen them before, which are really funny, the costumes remind me of 1969 in LA, if you can dig a totally acid drenched setting, ambiguity, mysticism, magical colors and above all, some great Dylan performances..check it out. It's worth it for just his performances. Made me go and dig out Nashville Skyline and listened to it this morning. I happened to catch it on HDNet and was hypnotized. I didn't see it from the beginning so clearly must do that, but I don't think the plot line matters, it's just fun, weird, annoying but some great lines and some great performances. Makes you think, about what I don't know but somehow it's a hopeful sort of movie. Got to get the DVD.

I think this move is greatly underrated, it is a sad reflection of the fact that when a movie goes beyond the boundaries of most people's morale and intellectual comfort zone, it ends up paying the price. If you don't believe me, think of what happened to British director Michael Powell, after making 'Peeping Tom', a movie which by contemporary standard can only be described as tame and which is now acknowledged by many as one of cinema all time classics, a promising career was cut short and Powell was all but run out of the movie business for some thirty years. The comparison may seem extreme, but to me confirms the fact that we leave our morale, intellectual and even political hangups get in the way with regard of how we perceive and judge movies. Think of how much cinematographic fodder is unleashed on movie-goers every week, this movie is packed full of original ideas, feeling, atmosphere, plus the star-studded cast most of the time delivers excellent performances! OK the movie is technically far from perfect, but who cares! The mere fact of being able to watch His Bobbyness for a couple oh hours would be more than enough for me, but the movie has a lot more to offer, a wonderfully surreal atmosphere, spirited performances by the likes of Penelope Cruz, Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, the latter clearly having the time of his life! But what I most enjoyed is the portrait of a futuristic dystopian US, transformed into some sort of banana-republic dictatorship, whose borders have now extended to include most NAFTA countries! I understand that the project was mainly the brainchild of a Mr. Dylan and it is quite true that the dialogue could have used a little bit of expert editing at times, but who cares! This is happening cinema! Enjoy!

This is just so "Dylan". It's like hearing Dylan's songs for the first time way back in the 60's. We said back then: "What IS he trying to say? And he can't even sing!" It is the same with this film: "What IS going on? And he can't even act!" Everyone will have their own interpretation. Some will like it, some not. Some will understand it, some not. But I'm sure, just like his first songs, it will be a classic. People will want to watch it over and over again, for generations to come. I've seen it 5 times, and passed it on to my sons. Who knows what they think. Like poetry, it's food for the intellect, and who can explain poetry.