You have to admire the sheer audacity of a comedy that opens with a man heaving a little dog down a garbage chute. Dogs, after all -- especially ugly-cute ones that look like they should be auditioning for
Gremlins 3 -- are the sacred cows of
contemporary Hollywood. That said, Verdell the ankle-biter recovers and proves to be the downfall of his tormentor, Melvin the monster. Melvin (Jack Nicholson) is a cranky, clinically obsessive-compulsive romance writer who lobs atomic bomb-quality put-downs at all who cross his path, including
neighbor Simon (Greg Kinnear), who provides plenty of ammo by being gay, an artist
and Verdell's indulgent owner. Melvin...
Released:
1997
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
138 mins