Here's a strange little film. Take three people who normally would have very little to do with each other, and toss them together by circumstance. OK, I admit it's been done before. But As Good As It Gets is a fun little movie, if uneven.

The film centers on, as I said, a trio: Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson), an obsessive-compulsive SOB; Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt), a waitress with the bad luck to have both Melvin as a customer and a son who is always very sick -- and she's not getting any; and finally Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear), a gay painter who is down on his luck.

Melvin is the glue that brings everyone together. He is rude, loud and insulting. He is also capable of kindness if he really tries. His story in all of this is the finding of that kindness. Melvin has the best one-liners in this film, but they are spaced too far apart.

Carol is the strength of the trio. She has endured so much in her life and still she finds it within her to tolerate Melvin, and give hope to Simon.

Simon is a new wreck. As the film opens, all is right with his world -- then it all comes down. Of the three main actors, Kinnear has the best performance. He takes Simon on a ride through a wide range of emotions.

The story is fairly bare; this is more of a character piece and slowly paced at 138 minutes (in all fairness, you couldn't run this any faster without breaking the piece). The story also has a major motivation flaw between Melvin and Carol, but it seems easy to get past.

Overall, this film is worth your time. The performances of Kinnear and Hunt are very good. Nicholson is not acting, that's just Jack. Yes, we do go to the theater to see Jack be Jack, but he should not be applauded for a great performance.