Enjoying the Romance of ‘ As Good as It Gets’

In “As Good as It Gets,” three very different people become close, with two of them finding romance. Jack Nicholson is the crazy novelist, Greg Kinnear the gay artist and Helen Hunt the weary mother in this romantic comedy by James L. Brooks. Rated PG-13.

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There are several complex characters in “As Good as It Gets,” from Jack Nicholson’s intensely misanthropic writer to Greg Kinnear’s delicate-but-not-foppish gay artist, and most youngsters found them easy to connect with.

Their depth and shading didn’t throw kids off, proving that young people often are more clever about grown-up relationships than many adults care to believe. Smaller children were bored by this high-strung romantic comedy, but young teenagers and above slipped into the movie’s smart-funny groove.

“It was clever [the way] it showed how these people really were inside,” said Greg Campbell, 15, of Irvine. “I laughed a lot at what they were doing.”

His girlfriend, Lisa Hunter, 14 and also of Irvine, said the characters were compelling because they were realistic. She said she didn’t know anybody quite like the folks on screen but was sure they existed.

“People are really strange,” she said. “And all of them were from New York anyway.”

Lisa, like many others, was particularly enthralled by Nicholson’s novelist. And repulsed. He’s a compulsive who throws out bars of soap after one use and avoids every sidewalk crack. And that’s the nice stuff. He also insults everybody within earshot; the word “tact” has never been part of his vocabulary.

“He was hilarious [because] he was so weird,” Lisa said. “I didn’t like him [at first], but then I did later on.”

Elise Huerta, 13, of Costa Mesa also liked Helen Hunt’s character, a waitress with a sick son. She begins a fits-and-starts relationship with Nicholson after he unexpectedly helps them.

What Elise appreciated was how responsible and loving she was, no matter how complicated or troubled her life became. “She was a good mom,” Elise said. “She seemed like a good person.”

Greg did think it was unlikely that someone as sane as the mother would connect with the writer, but he was willing to play along with the film.

“They didn’t seem right” for each other, he said, “and he was a lot older than her. . . . I guess it could work, though.”

Lisa didn’t have any problems with the relationship, once she got over how old Nicholson looked. “They were in love,” she said.

Kinnear’s sensitive artist also drew in youngsters. They felt sympathy for him, especially after he survives a brutal attack by street thugs, and thought he brought an intriguing element to “As Good as It Gets.”

Nicholson’s character “hated [homosexuals] but then liked [the artist], and that was cool how that happened,” Greg said.

Elise agreed: “If people are good, you should just like them no matter what.”

The film fell flat for some younger kids. David Torres, 9, of Irvine couldn’t keep still. Asked why it bored him so much, he just shrugged and said it wasn’t funny. What recent movie did he think was funny?

“ ‘Flubber,’ ” he said. “That was really funny.”

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PARENTS’ PERSPECTIVE: “As Good as It Gets” drew unqualified praise from adults as grown-up entertainment. On the question of kid suitability, views were mixed.

Frank Torres, David’s father, conceded that his son was too young for the mostly mature humor, but he had no trouble recommending it to teenagers.

“Sure, I think 14- and 15-year-olds would enjoy this,” he said. “It’s a little sophisticated [but] not too much for them. It really is a hilarious picture that many people should enjoy.”

Janet Freeman, a Costa Mesa mother of girls 10 and 12, said she probably wouldn’t take either of them.

“It might be OK for older teens, but younger kids aren’t going to get something like Nicholson’s character,” Freeman said. “He’s so against everything that they may just see him as an old creep and be turned off.”

* FAMILY FILMGOER, Page 17