As Good As It Gets

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

San Francisco (1936) tries to do so many things and does few of them with much success at all. We have a film that wants to be a disaster picture, a love story, a tale of religious conversion, and a Jeanette MacDonald vehicle all at once. Unfortunately, only the disaster portions come off well; the special effects are exceptional for the period and some of those scenes can still hold their own today.Too bad nothing else in the film can do the same. Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald have nil chemistry, making the central romance feel extra forced. There's no passion or affection between them, and considering the behavior of the Gable character for the majority of the film, it seems that MacDonald's ingénue only fell for him because he donated an organ to a church despite being a womanizing atheist who openly mocks her for her faith. What a catch... Speaking of religion, the religious aspects are painful, even tacky at times. Gable's conversion at the end is so sudden and his prayer of thanksgiving is so unemotional and forced ("Thanks God... I really mean it.") that it makes you realize the 1927 film San Francisco indoctrinated its religious aspects into the plot with much more finesse-- and that movie's even worse than this one!The worst part has to be the musical portions, which are shoved into the run time and only serve to stop the story in its tracks. I understand MacDonald was a singer and her character's being a singer is important to the plot; but do we need ten plus minutes of her opera debut? The scenes where she sings "San Francisco" are painful for me too; her style just doesn't mesh with the ragtime tune she's performing.San Francisco was the highest grossing film of 1936, but watching the film now, it's obvious commercial success never equals artistic success, or even entertainment for that matter. Just as true then as it is today...

I have never placed a review prior to this one, but i feel compelled to do so. This movie had such promised and I was looking forward to watching this movies based on the reviews I read, but I was disappointed. I do think that Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy were very good. On the other hand Jeannette MacDonald was painful...I mean really that singing...it just goes right through you. I simply could not stand her screeching (that is what it sounded like to me). I feel like I am being overly generous by giving this a 4...it is only due to Gable and Tracy. So if you do not like opera you might want to stay away...I wish I had.

San Francisco is a truly remarkable film. The special effects in the earthquake scene rival the special effects from any decade of film making. It is such an entertaining movie. Clark Gable is well cast in a role that's perfect for him. Spencer Tracy is fine as always, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in this film. I am not a fan of Jeanette MacDonald, but this is one of her best roles. Jessie Ralph provides fine support. The plot is a familiar one to audiences today, but was quite fresh in 1936. Good music, excellent sound, costume design and score. Great production values. Very memorable and a great classic.

This movie focuses on romantic entanglements on the Barbary Coast, culminating with the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Until the earthquake comes, the film is mostly an excuse for MacDonald to sing, and she starts warbling every chance she gets. Between songs there is some rather uninteresting soap opera as Gable and Holt battle for Jeanette's singing contract as well as her affections. The earthquake finally comes after Jeanette has sung about her 43rd song, but the old gal has one more tune left in her even after the quake, when the film turns quite corny. The special effects are not bad for their time, but look lame compared to today's CGI capabilities.