I'm watching the movie and did Jack really just say "Helen, that's as good as it gets" to Meryl when she finished singing the song (when she did it nicely, that is)? I couldn't believe it. Did anyone else catch this?
"It's not tonight? Why are you wearing a tux?"
"Lemmon, it's after six. What am I, a farmer?"
Yep. Then he says, "You were born to be a star."
shareI also caught and smiled at that, too funny.
I would watch it again and again. - blinkmaneast90, IMDb
But was Meryl/Helen really singing that good or was it just in her alcholic state of mind, at the end the audience barely clapped?
shareIt was not an alcoholic hallucination as much as it was a daydream/fantasy. It was written in Kennedy's novel that way too -- even more elaborately, because she imagines the performance leading to her being offered a steady, paying singing gig at that place. But, of course, then we read (in the film, see) the "real" performance and reception. She doesn't really do any of that wandering around and interacting with the crowd; she sings somewhat less well in the "real" version than she had in the imagined one, and the only people who seem to pay her any mind are the ones who know her.
The scene is the highlight of the movie for me. Being able to revisit it was worth the expense of what may be the worst DVD release I have ever seen for a major film (I'm not just talking about the full-frame presentation and lack of extras, but also what appears to be a dreadful recycled-from-VHS transfer).
She really hits the voice well at the end of her dream version of her performance.
sharewhat may be the worst DVD release I have ever seen for a major film
i just got done watching it tonight. amazing line to foretell a movie he would win an oscar for many years later. funny thing too is that meryl streep's character name was Helen and Helen Hunt won the oscar as well with Jack in the same movie. freaky but fun facts.
shareI think it's quite likely that the makers of the film As Good As It Gets deliberately created a connection to Nicholson's previous movie.
share