Both characters were people on the mend, who had no intention of improving their shortcomings until people came into their lives that convinced them to do so. Neither were particularly relatable for me. Nicholson's character was at least entertaining, and his character arc from over-the-top xenophobe to genuinely befriending and taking in a gay dude was a more satisfying character arc than Damon's character.

The romance in As Good as It Gets was mostly stupid, as even the weirdest of dudes have sex drives and even the instinct to want to have a relationship, but the Helen Hunt character drove his character arc both in direct relation to her and in the way he was able to function in society. So, she was obviously entirely necessary, they had to have some character to that effect and a woman is probably the only thing that could reasonably make that guy "want to be a better man."

As far as Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting goes, I think part of it was that I was just happy to see him playing a more subtle character. He would have subtle moments in other movies, but spent so much time being cartoonish that I enjoyed seeing someone who was down-to-earth for a whole movie. His scenes with Damon were the worst part though? Really? I can't even begin to understand that. To be honest with you, those scenes are the only ones I really remember vividly...the other ones I remember well enough to remember the general storyline, but I didn't find any of them memorable save for the soundbytes that have already been repeated ITT.

A character like Damon's, a troubled youth who has to get over his own bull****, should be more sympathetic. I understand that he's "supposed" to be unlikable at the beginning...but there should still be moments that make you as an audience member care about seeing him improve. For me, there wasn't much sympathy, to the point that even the "it's not your fault" scene was nothing that really moved me. Your mileage may vary, I guess. Again, I didn't think this was a bad movie, it was worth watching, but I've never really understood why it gets this much praise.