Word: melvin
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Harvard admits--and rejects--students from some of the most renowned British preparatory academies and international schools in the U.K., including Eton College, Harrow School, Melvin Girls College, St. Paul's School, the American School in London and the American School in Switzerland's (TASIS) England branch...
Friendship is thrust upon Melvin, and he doesn't quite know what to do with it. When Simon is beat up in his apartment and Melvin winds up caring for his dog (the very one he tried to dump earlier), Melvin develops an attachment to the animal that sets the stage for actual interaction with humans. Similarly, he becomes so dependent on the daily routine of Carol's service that, when she takes time off to care for her asthmatic son, he is virtually forced to involve himself in her life and set things right again. In the process...
Helen Hunt plays Carol perfectly: more than just a foil for Nicholson's humor, she captivates both his and the audience's attention whenever on screen. Carol, struggling between her sick son, her job and unsatisfying relationships with men, is both desperate and dignified. The movie itself, like Melvin, seems to be falling a little bit in love with her. At times she holds the screen in silence for a moment and nearly stares Melvin into sensibility...
...scene, after Melvin's inability to pay her a compliment has nearly destroyed her self-esteem, Simon gets a flicker of inspiration and draws her in the nude, boosting her confidence in her femininity. The attention the camera lavishes on her might seem excessive if her performance wasn't also so disarmingly real: Hunt makes it clear that gutsy Carol, after so much time spent worrying about her son and so many days serving lunch to Melvin, has earned these moments of beauty. Most important, she has an answer for most of Melvin's zingers--which might...
Brooks' steady direction never allows the two-hour-plus movie to sag. The love story between Melvin and Carol plays itself out with plenty of small comedic surprises, courtesy of a script that keeps the story from getting predictable. The strength of the main characters makes a few of the movie's contrivances--like sending Melvin, Carol and Simon on a car trip to Baltimore just to get them all in one location--easily forgivable...