Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

vincentlynch-moonoi I know that few will agree with me, but I think this may be Gary Cooper's finest film.But let me begin with the plot: Mary Smith (Merle Oberon) is a very bored young lady. Bored because all she does in life is support her widowed father's run for the presidential nomination. She has not private life of her own, although she is egged on to get one by her free-spirited uncle -- Harry Davenport. After a near-accidental-scandal, she heads off to Palm Beach where, on a lark with her maids, she attends a rodeo, where she falls in love with Gary Cooper, one of the cowboys. Because he doesn't care much for society types, she pretends to be a lady's maid. But, they quarrel and he heads by boat to the next rodeo in Texas...with her in hot pursuit. On the boat they get married, but Mary knows she has to go back to face the music and her father...whom Cooper believes is a poor drunkard. Mary delays getting back to the ranch in Montana, so Cooper returns to Palm Beach looking for her, only to interrupt an important political dinner. Realizing Mary's story of being a poor maid, Cooper returns by train to his ranch, only to find that Mary, her father, and her uncle have flown to the ranch where they demonstrate rather quickly that even the rich can be very down to earth. All live happily ever after.So why do I think this may be Gary Cooper's finest film? Let's see -- he accomplishes drama, comedy, pantomime, and romance...all in one package. And he's great at all of it. The pantomime segment is a classic, particularly after he gets a whole bunch of cowboys to participate.Except for her extremely high forehead, which always distracts me, Merele Oberon is beautiful here and turns in a fine performance as the little rich girl who realizes her true happiness will be a very different life, though her fibs seem to have screwed that all up.The supporting cast here is superb. The highlight is the performance of one of the screen's great character actors -- Harry Davenport as Mary's uncle. You even get to see him dance and dressed as a cowboy! Patsy Kelly and Mabel Todd are fine as the maids. Walter Brennan is on hand as a cowpoke and friend, and is -- as always -- a treat. Finally a film in which I enjoyed the performance of Fuzzy Knight, here as another cowpoke/pal. Henry Kolker is fine here as Mary's father, and the presidential hopeful. In fact, for once, he redeems himself in his role as a stuck-up father.It's difficult to find anything to criticize here. So savor this delightful comedy-romance with fine sentimental overtones. Highly recommended.

lovewenn I watched this movie for the first time on what used to be a great channel AMC when I was about 10 years old. At the time, I thought old movies were silly especially black and white ones. I had all the stereotypes down and hated westerns most of all. After seeing this movie I was hooked on old movies, and watched AMC religiously, but never saw this one again until last year when TCM premiered it on their channel.Is it the greatest storyline ever told? Umm,no. I think a lot of people miss an important line to make it seem more plausible. Mary Smith grew up on a farm with her father and uncle until her father decided to get into politics for whatever reason. She even makes a comment to him early on that she wished they could go back to those days before she even met Stretch. Thus making it more realistic that she wouldn't miss the rich life.The pantomime scene is the best scene and stuck with me for years. What a man in love will do.

preciousladyg2 I saw this movie recently on TCM and for the most part, loved it!I liked the shy, bumbling character of "Stretch" and the sheltered, Mary who fell hard for him.Of course, being sheltered, she was limited in her experience with men.But fortunately, she fell hard for a man with character and who loved her truly.I knew that when she lied and misrepresented herself that she would be caught.I especially loved the night when they married. It was a sweet throwback to an earlier time when single ladies weren't in single men's rooms at night or any time for that matter! It wasn't proper in 1938. It was very sweet and romantic for Stretch to propose marriage. His search for a wife was over!Here are my slight criticisms:Also, unsure if I can believe that his REAL name was "Stretch".Then, there are the scenes where Mary was at the rodeo cleaning up. She became filthy and her dress was torn as a result.I would think that she could have had her maids send her some clothes or wire her some money so she could purchase some clothes and toiletries. Or even ask her new husband to purchase her some clothes. There was a scene where she attempted to purchase some pants but was interrupted by the phone call. Why didn't she or Stretch purchase clothing and toiletries for her she before she boarded the bus?Even rich ladies have to bathe and look presentable. A rich lady with her background wouldn't travel on the train for 3 days in a filthy, torn dress and unwashed. Suppose her dad and his friends had ALREADY arrived when she got there? How would she explain her appearance?Also, the scene in the framework of the house lasted a little too long, in my opinion.But other than that: I enjoyed this movie! Gary and Merle were great in the leads!

krorie Though slow moving at times, overall "The Cowboy and the Lady" is an entertaining romantic comedy with a twist, a high society lady whose father is about to throw his hat into the ring as a candidate for President falls head over heels in love with a rodeo cowboy. There are two scenes that really pack a comedic wallop. One is aboard the ship from Florida to Galveston, Texas, when 'Stretch' Willoughby (Gary Cooper) compares horses to people while wooing Mary Smith (Merle Oberon) when suddenly a crew member starts singing an outlandish song, "Give a man a horse he can ride." It becomes more outrageous when Stretch joins in and Mary ends the tune with a bass vocal. The other is when Stretch pretends to be entertaining his beloved wife, Mary, in their new house with only the framework completed. Cooper shows a hidden talent for pantomime that is very good indeed. Before he knows it his partners played by a bow-legged Walter Brennan and Fuzzy Knight along with the carpenters are invited in and play along with Stretch's fantasy. The spell is broken with the appearance of Ma Hawkins who brings everyone back to reality by delivering a dreadful telegram.There is one telling part near the end when Stretch searching for his wife appears as an unwanted and unwelcome guest at a political dinner. The big-wigs spout several false concepts and prejudices that exist concerning the American cowboy. Their ignorance is further denoted when Oliver Wendell Henderson attempts to show his knowledge of the west by declaring Montana to be the Lone Star State. Stretch carefully corrects Henderson, then proceeds to shoot them all down with his rebuttal.There were several cooks sirring the broth when it came to writing the sometimes witty script. Amongst the writers were Dorothy Parker, Leo McCarey, Anita Loos, and some say Garson Kanin.