Brace yourself for Melvin.

Jack Nicholson gives an Academy Award winning performance as Melvin Udall, an acid-tongued, obsessive-compulsive romance novelist with Manhattans meanest mouth.

But when his neighbour Simon (Greg Kinnear) is hospitalised, Melvin is forced to look after Simons dog.

And that unexpected act of kindness - along with the daily exchange of insults with Carol the waitress (Helen Hunt) - helps put Melvin back in the human race.