As Good As it Gets
In the film
As Good As it Gets by James L. Brooks we observe many motifs around the quote “You look at someone long enough, you discover their humanity.” There are several instances where Melvin exposes a bit of humanity.
One scene that reveals Melvins ability to be a genuine person and shed some of his humanity is the scene where he walks in to see Simon in his wheelchair. Just when Simon has had enough Melvin notices how bad of a situation he is in and tries to cheer him up by showing him why Verdell prefers him over Simon. Melvin sees that Verdell is very important to
Simon and by the look in Simon’s eye as he is told it is because of the bacon, it seems as if he has hope for Melvin, that somewhere deep down Melvin has a sensitive side. Although, it doesn’t work we still get a little insight into Melvin as a character. He even tries to point
Verdell towards Simon to make him feel better. Yet the camera angle shows that Melvin still resides above Simon in the different angles. The look Simon gives Melvin also shows discovery, a new layer to Melvin at this point in the movie.
Another scene that displays the theme of humanity is when they are on the way back from going to Simon’s parents and he gives Simon the keys to the apartment, and lets Simon stay in his apartment. It shows Melvin has grown a lot as character, and they have grown between their differences and he has really opened up considering in the beginning of the movie he was extremely defensive if anyone came into his place. He made sure everything in his room was looking good and all of the things Simon held dear to him were there. His paintings, Verdell, and the comfort of knowing someone still cared. At