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A Cuckoo's Nest May Be As Good As It Gets

© Candice Livingston

Jack Nicholson has been very successful at portraying characters that are dealing with issues involving their mental health. In both One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and As Good as It Gets, Nicholson plays men who are faced with their own fears and faults. As a result, each man becomes a powerful figure in the lives of others. For his portrayal of these both these characters, Nicholson won a Best Actor Oscar for his roles in both films.

Jack Nicholson is R.P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. McMurphy is a convict who is doing time in a mental hospital to avoid serving his time in a work camp. At several different times throughout the film, doctors question whether or not McMurphy really is crazy because he fits in so frighteningly well. His oddities result in positive changes for some of the men he associates with, as well as some disturbing and emotional scenes.

As Melvin Udall in As Good As It Gets, Nicholson plays a character whose mental problems are completely revealed and acknowledged by himself and those he deals with everyday. Udall is an obsessive-compulsive who learns a little at a time how to step outside his own selfish world into the lives of others.

In both films, the character Nicholson plays touches the life of someone else very directly. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, McMurphy forms a powerful friendship with 'Chief' that results in a way out out of the mental institution for both men. In As Good As It Gets, Melvin finds himself in love and being loved back by a woman who 'makes [him] want to be a better man.'

Not only are the movies themselves absolutely unforgettable, but there are moments and words that are imprinted in the viewer's mind:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

McMurphy: Which one of you nuts has got any guts?

McMurphy: I must be crazy to be in a looney bin like this.

McMurphy: (referring to nurse Ratched) She likes a rigged game.

McMurphy: (trying to change the schedule, so they can watch the World Series) A little change never hurt anyone. I'm talking about the World Series. I haven't missed the series in years, even when I'm in the cooler. Be good Americans."

McMurphy: (after trying to move the marble stand in the bathroom) I tried...at least I did that.

As Good As It Gets

Carol Connelly: Do you have any control over how creepy you can get?