Sick Product of a Sick System

As Good As It Gets

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I just discovered this program on Amazon Prime. Don't know how I missed the original. One of the best series I have watched in years. The conflicts, the human aspects and the characters touch us all. Great writing - well done by all!My only complaint was the "Lulu" character. I found her to be a narcissistic, insensitive, offensive and repulsive human being. Other viewers seem to like her character, but she did irritate me.I would highly recommend this program. Enjoy!

(SPOILERS) There were at least a dozen writers for the series and multiple directors. In season 1, whenever a speech was given it was very impressive. There was SOME continuity to the story line between Nick and Lulu. In season 3, Nick was becoming more expressive and responding with smiles at folks. He became more likable. Then the writers didn't stick to a steady development. The writers were a mixed bunch who would go off on tangents such as the rapid succession of sex with the female police officer. It is reasonable to assume that the overall plan would have a season 4 which would have resulted in a better relationship between Nick and Lulu and they finally get married before the series ends. In the entire series, Nick never tells her that he loves her. The two of them would look at each other without saying a word and you are waiting for him to say it but he folds. She occasionally looked like she was consciously waiting for him to say something. If she could read him she'd know he cared. The writers had Lulu insulted for her assuming that Nick only wanted to marry her for the sake of the pregnancy. He didn't respond to that! The writers could have set up a happy ending by having Nick acting like a young man in love and telling her over and over again how much he loves her, and she respond irresistibly. Or, was that supposed to happen in season 4? How much notice did the writers have of the cancellation in order to slap together the close of the series? Were they holding out for the series being eventually renewed? The writers ruined the series for the viewers in season 3. They had Nick and Lulu getting along better but they didn't develop it the way the fans wanted it and the ratings suffered.

It is an excellent, excellent cast, Simon Baker is really excellent actor. I like the drama. I enjoyed every single episode, I did not see the moment to continue to the next one. It was so good and interesting. I am looking forward to more seasons. All cast is good, I am looking forward to see the other actors. I love the music, the drama was really good. Simon Baker is acting in The Mentalist which is as good as this show. It was interesting all the episodes, I did not get bored at all. I will miss the show. I hope Simon Baker do more shows as this one. His performance is excellent. Not to mention the character Lulu was excellent also as Nick. Oh and Nick's father was great.

The Guardian is hands down the best drama currently on television. It's amazing to me how Simon Baker has never won an Emmy for his portrayal of Nick Fallin - the ex cocaine addict who's forced to put in 1600 hours of community service as a child advocate for the legal aid services center in Pittsburgh. This is in addition to being a principal partner in his father's corporate law firm. Watching Nick run from the courtroom to the board room (and occasionally the bedroom) and back again with nary a moment to gather his thoughts can leave the viewer exhausted by the end of the show but this is also part of its appeal. We can feel Nick's stress and associate it with our own harried lives.None of the central characters on this show are without their flaws - Nick is often aloof and emotionless - caring more about corporate mergers than whether or not he is best serving the interests of those he defends during his community service. He rarely gives his downtrodden, legal aid clients a second thought once he has finished representing them. His father, brilliantly played by the veteran character actor Dabney Coleman can also be abrasive, manipulative, callous and, as the second season finale graphically showed also violent and dangerously obsessed with a twelve year old girl he took in as a foster child. The interaction (or lack thereof) between the two, neither whom is able to really show their true feelings towards one another is often painful to watch.The rest of the cast with the exception of Wendy Muniz are all expertly cast. Charles Malik Whitfield as James Mooney, the ex gang member who has escaped the ghetto to become a lawyer for the legal aid group is both menacing and heroic at the same time. One powerfull episode has him almost beating to death a young black man who he has been told caused the death of his troubled nephew. He later discovers that this person was innocent and must deal with how to come to terms with almost killing and disfiguring an innocent man. Raphael Sbarge as Jake Straka, another success driven lawyer at Nick's firm, makes us think of all the lawyers we have known who can barely give us the time of day unless the reward is large enough. Alan Rosenberg who plays Alvin Masterson, the director of the clinic, tries to keep the chaos controllable even while fighting his own demons which include an unhealthy weakness for some of his former female clients. Only Wendy Muniz fails to convince in her role as Lulu Archer, another one of the legal aid lawyers. The series' writers seem unable to decide whether she should be a foil to Nick or just another lovesick conquest. Their romantic scenes together lack passion or chemistry and often seem contrived. All in all though this is a thoughtful, powerful, and at times, emotionally brutal show. Enjoy it while you can - it's sure to be short lived.