As Good As It Gets

: As Good As It Gets is also a novel by British author Simon Nolan (ISBN 0704381087).

Plot

Simon, a struggling artist and neighbor to famous but antagonistic writer, Melvin Udall, is hospitalized after his home is burglarized and he is assaulted and brutally attacked by a male model he bad been painting. Simon's friend, having nobody else to turn to, ends up demanding that Udall take care of Simon's dog, Verdell, while he is in the hospital.

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This serves as a severe strain on Melvin who on a normal day is able to cope only by leading a life of strict regularity. The incredible effort Udall must put into managing his disorder causes him to be irascible and unapproachable to all but the most determined.

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Although Melvin's life is intolerably complicated by having to deal with the (very intelligent and cute) dog and its homosexual owner, He is drawn more and more out of his shell and into their lives, almost powerless under the influence of the amazing intelligence and charisma of Verdell.

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Once Simon returns from the hospital to his apartment to convalesce Melvin is distraught at the thought of giving up living with the dog which he had hated so intensely at first but he is saved from that because Simon needs more time to be able to regain full mobility and independence so Melvin is asked to watch the dog for awhile longer which he agrees to begrudgingly even while being internally thrilled at not having to deal with losing his new companion.

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Because Melvin is such a buffoon when it comes to social interaction, even when he attempts to be helpful to Simon, Simon takes it as hazing. Furthermore, his most recent art show was an utter failure. Simon sinks into depression. To make matters worse, Verdell appears to prefer the gruff attention he gets from Melvin to the unending adoration Simon lavishes on him.

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Eventually Simon, sinking deeper into despair as he continues trying to avoid facing the reality of his situation is the target of a veritable intervention, forcing him to confront having to give up his dreams, sell most everything he owns, and most devastatingly to ask his parents, whom he has been estranged from for a very long time, for money.

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Melvin (who has a good heart under the years of anal retentive rigidity) cannot stop from eventually becoming something like friends with Simon as he becomes more and more attached to Verdell and as Simon's situation becomes progressively more desperate. Even so, he is stressed by the sudden disruption to his life and the many accommodations he is forced to make for Simon and Verdell.

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Further challenging the comfortable regularity Melvin has built around himself, his regular waitress Carol, at the restaurant he eats lunch at daily, has left her job to take care of her chronically ill child. Out of concern mostly for himself (in order to get her back to work so that he can continue with his routine) Melvin offers to pay for the medical care of the child. But this too, like his dealings with Simon, is just the start of being drawn more and more into a relationship with her, This one though, he hopes to steer toward romance.

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The three of them end up going on a road trip to support Simon as he goes to face his parents. On the trip, Melvin feels threatened by Simon because of how well he instantly clicks with Carol. Being in competition with Simon for Carol's attention, combined with the stress of attempting to control his own emotions and social interactions with grace (which he has little) proves too much and he completely alienates Carol, who despite trying to keep him at arms length, had been finding herself starting to fall for him.

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Meanwhile, largely due to Carols support, Simon ends up not only reconnecting with his parents -- though they are unable to give him a loan -- but also having a breakthrough with his art, which he had been unable to even touch since the attack.

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When the trio returns from the trip, still deeply hurt by Melvin, Carol tells him that she would like to never see him again.

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By this time though, the three have been inexorably drawn into each other's lives; rather than see Simon turned into the street, Melvin moves him into a spare room in his apartment and Simon tries to get Carol to give Melvin another chance but she refuses. Eventually Melvin becomes more and more miserable until Simon convinces him (feeling perhaps that Carol really does care for him and that they would be good together) that he must go and see her no matter what.

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Upon his arrival, at an inopportune time of the night, he gets her to listen to him and through the sheer force and charm of his socially inept but wholeheartedly sincere expression of his feelings for her, she is persuaded to give into her feelings for him -- against her own better judgement. The film ends with them walking into an uncertain but potentially bright future.

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