As Good As It Gets, where an aging, homophobic author with OCD falls in love with a waitress in his local cafe and is forced to babysit his gay neighbour's dog. It's the restaurant scene that does it, after he has made an insult about her 'housedress' and she threatens to walk out unless he makes her a compliment:
Melvyn: I've got a really great compliment for you, and it's true.
Carol: I'm so afraid you're about to say something awful.
Melvyn: Don't be pessimistic, it's not your style. Okay, here I go. Clearly, a mistake. I've got this - what - ailment? My doctor, a shrink that I used to go to all the time, he says that in fifty or sixty percent of the cases, a pill really helps. I hate pills, very dangerous thing, pills. Hate. I'm using the word "hate" here, about pills. Hate. My compliment is, that night when you came over and told me that you would never... well, you were there, you know what you said. Well, my compliment to you is, the next morning, I started taking the pills.
Pause.
Carol: I don't quite get how that's a compliment for me.
Melvyn: You make me want to be a better man.
Pause:
Carol: That's maybe the best compliment of my life.
Melvyn: Well, maybe I overshot a little, because I was aiming at just enough to keep you from walking out.
Last edited by tim on Wed Aug 04, 2010 7:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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