As Good as It Gets

Who it's for

One of the best-known films depicting OCD rituals (locks, light switches, hand-washing, avoiding cracks, bringing his own cutlery).

Feelings it meets

• OCD
• Loneliness

What it is

A 1997 comedy-drama directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. Melvin Udall is a misanthropic, bigoted novelist in New York City with obsessive-compulsive rituals, who eats breakfast every day at the restaurant where Carol Connelly, a single mother with a chronically ill son, waits his table.

Where to find it

Rent or buy on major digital stores. Streaming rotates, so check JustWatch.

Before you start

Heads up: A graphic homophobic assault.

Age: PG-13 (Common Sense: 15+)

The mind, sharp but not broad, sticks at every point but does not move.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 50