Choice: Film, As Good As It Gets

As Good As It Gets, on general release

When I grow up, I think I want to be James L Brooks. That would mean that in a 30-year career I would have either scripted, produced or been the driving force behind American TV's finest half hours: The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Taxi and The Simpsons. I would also have written, produced and directed Broadcast News, a romantic comedy with a sharply observant edge anchored around TV journalism and its ethics. OK, so I would also be responsible for Terms of Endearment, but I would get round that one by saying that even if its sentiment made you choke, get a load of Jack Nicholson having a ball on screen, leaping around with Shirley Maclaine and winning an Oscar for his effortless efforts. Jack's back with James (and another Oscar nomination) in Brooks's new comedy, which has gladdened the hearts of everyone from American mass audiences to our own Ryan Gilbey. David Benedict