Example Of Essay On Social Psychology Movie Paper: “As Good As It Gets”

The 1997 movie “As Good As It Gets” is a wonderful example of a character-driven demonstration of several social psychology topics. Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) is a grouchy, sarcastic, OCD-recluse author of romance novels who only leaves his apartment to get breakfast at a local café. Melvin will only accept waitress service from Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt), a single mother with a very sick little boy at home. The other main character is Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear), a gay artist with a very cute and lovable dog, who lives in Melvin’s building. When Carol’s son gets severely ill causing her to miss work, Melvin pays for a high-priced specialist to care for the boy just so Carol will return to work. When Simon is brutally assaulted, Melvin is tasked to watch the little dog and finds himself embroiled in the unpredictable and obviously-annoying world of emotions and social mores.
In this movie, numerous social psychology topics are introduced and developed by various characters, but some are much more memorable than others. First, Melvin’s inability to form friendships and loving feelings for anyone develops into his acceptance of the requirement that interacting with other people demands such things (much to his dismay). There are also numerous instances of Simon being discriminated against and ridiculed (most notably by Melvin, himself) due to Simon’s status as a famous gay artist in a long-term relationship with another man, which leads to his brutal assault in the movie.
The turning point in the movie occurs when Melvin accidentally agrees to accompany Simon on a road trip to ask for money from his parents, and Carol joins them. As is Melvin’s standard, everything is planned down to the tiniest detail. However, as life always happens, the two other people on the trip (Simon and Carol) refuse to go along with any of his plans. During the trip, Melvin is forced to confront his inability to bond with others in relationships and love alike, but eventually finds his own way of expressing his feelings to both Simon and Carol.
I really enjoyed this movie, because it shows how Melvin’s character goes from being a bitter loner who everyone hates – to someone people can actually learn to like. Or at least stand being around. Although there are very sad parts of the movie, there are also some very funny parts in the movie and quite a few life lessons along the way. I highly recommend it!