Editing As Good as It Gets (section)

=== Critical reception ===
''[[Chicago Reader]]'' film critic [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] wrote that what director James L. Brooks "manages to do with [the characters] as they struggle mightily to connect with one another is funny, painful, beautiful, and basically truthful—a triumph for everyone involved."<ref>{{cite web | last=Rosenbaum | first=Jonathan | title=As Good as It Gets | url=http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movies/capsules/15960_AS_GOOD_AS_IT_GETS.html | work=Chicago Reader | date=December 22, 1997 | access-date=June 25, 2018 | archive-date=February 20, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220184351/http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movies/capsules/15960_AS_GOOD_AS_IT_GETS.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Praise for the film was not uniform among critics. While [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film three stars (out of four), he called the film a "compromise, a film that forces a smile onto material that doesn't wear one easily," writing that the film drew "back to story formulas," but had good dialogue and performances.<ref>{{cite web | first=Roger | last=Ebert | title=As Good as It Gets | work=RogerEbert.com | publisher=Ebert Digital LLC | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/as-good-as-it-gets-1997 | date=December 22, 1997 | access-date=June 25, 2018 | archive-date=June 25, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161233/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/as-good-as-it-gets-1997 | url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' critic Desson Howe gave a generally negative review of the film, writing that it "gets bogged down in sentimentality, while its wheels spin futilely in life-solving overdrive."<ref>{{cite news | last=Howe | first=Desson | title='As Good as It Gets': Saving the Worst for Last | newspaper=The Washington Post | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/asgoodasitgetshowe.htm | date=December 23, 1997 | access-date=June 25, 2018 | archive-date=March 30, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330132506/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/asgoodasitgetshowe.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

Review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports that 86% of professional critics gave the film a positive review based on 85 reviews, with an average rating of 7.30/10. The consensus states that "James L. Brooks and Jack Nicholson, doing what they do best, combine smart dialogue and flawless acting to squeeze fresh entertainment value out of the romantic-comedy genre."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/as_good_as_it_gets/|title=As Good as It Gets|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=May 6, 2024|archive-date=February 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214152152/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/as_good_as_it_gets|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] gave the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/asgoodasitgets|title=As Good as It Gets|publisher=[[CBS]]|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=June 25, 2018|archive-date=June 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629152330/http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/asgoodasitgets|url-status=live}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=CinemaScore |language=en-US}}</ref>