james l. brook be a man with a gift for develop interesting character but with a weakness for squeeze them into cliched and or or manipulative circumstance . when obsessive compulsive jack nicholson pay for helen hunt seriously ill son medical expense just so she would not have to stop be his waitress and the movie flow along with a lot of invention and energy . but then the movie become another one of those dangerous romantic fantasy where an unlikable guy be cure of his xenophobia by the love of a good woman . at the begin the racist and sexist and and homophobic joke make by nicholson be play for laugh and which be fine for the movie purpose and but then brook expect u to feel threaten by the exact same type of comment and then warmhearted when he try to change his way . who care about a bigoted old man happiness . the movie go a lot into hunt devotion to her son but do she really think nicholson would make a good father figure . hunt and nicholson fall in love be an easy out because then brook doesn not really have to deal with the more difficult ( and more interesting ) idea bring up in the first half . so be the movie actually good . well and sure . it quirkier than most romantic comedy ( if you want to call it that ) but it disappoint intellectually in the end . soooooooo and out of .