AS GOOD AS IT GETS

      MELVIN
      Just let me talk.
       (gathers himself
        with uncertainty,
        then:)
      I'm the only one on the face of
      the earth who realizes that you're
      the greatest woman on earth. I'm
      the only one who appreciates how
      amazing you are in every single
      thing you do -- in every single
      thought you have... in how you
      are with Spencer -- Spence...
       (he has reached
        her)
      ... in how you say what you mean
      and how you almost always mean
      something that's all about being
      straight and good...

 ON CAROL

 She stands on the precipice of being transported away
 from the logic which has been her lifeline.

      MELVIN
      I think most people miss that
      about you and I watch wondering
      how they can watch you bring them
      food and clear their dishes and
      never get that they have just met
      the greatest woman alive... And
      the fact that I get it makes me
      feel great... about me!
       (a real question
        filled with
        concern for her)
      You got a real good reason to walk
      out on that?

 That last question clearly a true question, not the least
 rhetorical -- she considers her answer, then:

      CAROL
      No! It's certainly not. No -- I
      don't think so. No.

      MELVIN
       (tentatively)
      I'm gonna grab you.
       (with conviction)
      I didn't mean it to be a question.
      I'm gonna grab you.

 He kisses her. An awkward bomb of a kiss. They separate.
 A tense beat. Then:

      MELVIN
      I know I can do better.

 They embrace again. He does indeed do much better. A
 first-class smooch. CAMERA MOVES DOWN to see his foot
 land squarely on a crack in the sidewalk without his
 knowledge. They break -- look at each other without a
 notion of where to take it from here, and the ALMOST in
 unison begin to walk away FROM CAMERA, Melvin following a
 path that avoids cracks. Suddenly the lights of the
 bakery turn on as it opens for business.

      CAROL
      Warm rolls...

 They walk to the bakery, Melvin avoiding the cracks. As
 they enter the bakery, a WORKER moves toward them to
 clean the entranceway. Melvin, forced to step back onto
 a crack, this time notices -- registers the momentous
 fact and joins Carol inside as we:

       FADE OUT

 THE END