Monday, January 12, 2009

as good as it gets

Lakshmi and I had been meaning to catch up on a good flick for a while now. Though we had had a few decent outings in the form of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and not so decent in a Valkyrie, we had been longing to check out one in the cozy confines of home on a large screen. It never materialized owing to our hectic schedules and my erratic sleeping patterns.

Until today.

The day started fine; bright, cold yet warm, sunny. After running a few errands, I headed straight to the Mitchell Memorial. Now visits to the Mitchell Memorial have been more for their DVD collection than the academic resources at least for a while. Formalities taken care of, it was home beckoning me. What an organic, fluid, warm start to the day just like the movie that was to follow.

Jack Nicholson at his very charming, charismatic best, shows what good acting of high caliber could do to a seemingly simple script. Everything about him; the mannerisms, the behavior, the act, the costume design was absolutely water tight. It felt as if the director had them measured to the last ounce, and with the needles pointing to the right balance served them on a platter.

The goddess a.k.a Helen Hunt's Carol Connelly just had asking me for more. Women like Helen Hunt make movie watching an absolute pleasure which at times cannot be described to the fullest. Supple, graceful, witty, and vulnerable Helen Hunt is one of those rare movie personalities that make you want to know the person more in real life beyond the characters they get to enact. If I said Jack Nicholson takes the seemingly straight, simple narrative to an altogether different level it is not without the support from Helen Hunt. It happened to me earlier in Balki's Cheeni Kum where going by the chemistry between the lead pair I had naughtily wished for them to be a real life item too. The same happened here as well. The fact that this was repeat viewing never mattered.

Simple, classy, unpretentious, sexy, warm, organic the film and its title, I didn't know, would actually symbolize a perfect Sunday afternoon spent in absolute joy, and calmness after a long time together.


Just like "good times, and noodle salad" of Melvin Udall.

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