Rating: 
Summary: What's all the hubbub about Kathy Bates hot tub scene
Review: Jack Nicholson proves once again why he is one of the more talented working actors in Hollywood today. He plays a character that has some of his typical Jack-isms, but this is a very solid, complete portrayal of Warren Schmidt that the performance is one of the best of the year. About Schmidt opens with Warren Schmidt finally retiring from his job at age 66. He tries to settle into his life as a retired man but realizes that there is nothing fulfilling for him whatsoever. Watching the television one night, Warren decides to sponsor a child. This movie is a black comedy, so the humor is kind of underhanded and is more of a real life humor than anything outrageously funny. The scenes that made me laugh were mostly Warren writing to the child that he sponsors. Instead of writing a normal letter to a child, he writes rants on his life and on his family. He yells, he complains and in the process we are given Warren's entire outlook on his life without having to resort to cheap flashbacks or weak exposition. This was perfectly done and was a real treat to watch and listen to Warren write the letters. Warren's daughter, Jeannie (Hope Davis) is marrying a man that Warren does not approve of. Randall (Dermot Mulroney) is the groom to be, and sporting a mullet he appears to be a perfect rednecked hick. He is a sensitive momma's boy, though and is deeply caring about his family, especially his mother. Randall's mother, Roberta (Kathy Bates) is a very down to earth, open, and free spirited woman. Warren's wife dies rather suddenly early in the movie and while Warren pretends that everything is fine, it is quite clear that things are falling apart. He decides to drive (in a very big Winnebago) a bit early to the wedding in Colorado. It isn't until quite late in the movie before Warren ever makes it to Roberta's house, but the entire movie is steeped in this slightly off beat humor. At the same time, this is also a deeply sad movie that focuses on an empty man. One other thing to mention: the Katy Bates hot tub scene isn't as notable as some have suggested. Yes, she gets naked. You barely see her at all. If this wasn't made such a big deal of, it wouldn't even be worth mentioning. It fits perfectly with her character and in the movie and nothing more than that. Directed by Alexander Payne (Election), this is one of the better movies of 2002. I don't think that I would call this the best of the year, but it is an award worthy film and is worth checking out. It isn't quite like anything else that was in the theaters at the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Below average guy in crisis
Review: This in't a movie about an average guy who retires and then suffers the loss of his spouse only to find himself grappling with the meaning of his life: it is the story of a very below average guy in that situation. This character was as dull as dirt. Unbelievable, literally. This is for people who are not in touch with average people or who simply want to believe others are dull to feel better about themsleves. Sorry, but is doesn't make it even with the good acting. Just depressing.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the deal
Review: Nickolson is great here as a frumpy old man (very non-Nicholson) and this is a great acting job. But I found the character too dull and empty to be realistic. This guy has no interests and no relationships and is totally unengaged with life. I literally cannot imagine and have never known anyone who was 60+ who was this dull and this unengaged with living. The premise of a recently retired person whose spouce suddenly dies leaving them adrift is a worthwhile one. But when you portray the person as an unsympathetic, self-pitying, non-entity you lose the pathos that could have been the basis for a good movie. I think only Hollywood or elitists could possibly convince themselves that the average middle-American is this dang dull. Get real folks. The reason you never met anyone this uninvolved in life is not because you live on one of the coasts, it is because they simply do not exist. This movie is depressing. As Roger Ebert said 'he isn't on a journey of self-discovery because there is no one to discover'. But Ebert liked it anyway and I didn't. I give it 3 stars for the superb acting but would not recommend wasting your time with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Jack Nicholson as Homer Simpson
Review: I think too much is being made of the "man after retirement examining his life" aspect. Yes, that's the character, but it's not the point, which is to show us that even a schlumpy Everyman, who shops in his pajamas and makes embarassingly misguided romantic moves, can be a hero if he is unfailingly polite, loyal to his deceased wife to the point of being enraged at her secret loves, and totally devoted to his daughter's happiness. The reward for such goodness is being able to be moved to tears by something as simple as a child's drawing. It's a simple moral, but told in a fresh and funny way.
Rating: 
Summary: NDUGU IS WAITING, PLEASE GO TO AFRICA FOR PART 2
Review: THIS MOVIE MADE ME WANT TO WRITE & DIRECT "MORE ABOUT SCHMIDT" OR PERHAPS "ABOUT NDUGU". IT CRIES OUT - GO TO AFRICA, SPEND SOME TIME AND MONEY AND LOVE WITH YOUR FOSTER CHILD, BEFOR YOU DIE A BROKEN LONELY OLD MAN. YOU WILL WATCH IT FOR JACK, SO READ THE OTHER REVIEWS NOW. BUT AFTER YOU WATCH IT READ MY REVIEW AGAIN. IMAGINE SCHMIDT SPENDING A YEAR IN AFRICA WITH NDUGU. OR SETTING UP A SCHOLARSHIP FOR THIS CHILD. IT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE THAN TRYING TO FORCE HIS LOVE AND MONEY ON HIS UNGRATEFUL DAUGHTER.
ONE MORE THING, THE SOUNDTRACK IS BY ROLFE KENT, ALL 23 TRACS.
HE DID A COUPLE OF TRACS ON THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS, TOO.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but very harsh
Review: Let me begin by saying that Nicholson, again, does a fantastic job acting in this film. In fact, I'd say that he clearly carries the film. The story here is one of self-discovery during retirement. Nicholson's title character finds himself suddenly retired, and then suddenly single, in a world that in many ways has lost meaning for him. The film is a search for that meaning. On that level, it is a fairly good film. On another level, the film is an extremely harsh -- almost gratuitously so -- critique of the midwestern setting in which it takes place. The writers here really took the gloves off and, in my opinion, overdid it in a way that really detracted from the film in general. Virtually every scene is dripping with ice-cold contempt for the midwest and the people who live there, and at times the settings and scenes seemed forced in order to reinforce this bitter, stinging critique. I am not from the midwest, but even I think that the criticisms offered in this film were too much. Importantly, it made it very hard to sympathize with any of the characters in the film, and it's that kind of spillover effect that was damaging to the impact of the self-discovery story. It's not a forgettable film, but I was expecting much more from it. If it weren't for the terrific job Nicholson did as the lead actor, it would have been a poor film, I think.
Rating:
Summary: About what?
Review: A story is supposed to take the reader or viewer on a journey. Along the way, there is introduction, description, conflict, and resolution. With ABOUT SCHMIDT, director Alexander Payne introduces us to Warren Schmidt, a shallow, anal retentive retiree harboring enough suppressed bitterness, sadness, and anger to create his own personality disorder. At the end of ABOUT SCHMIDT, director Alexander Payne leaves us with Warren Schmidt, a shallow, anal retentive retiree harboring enough suppressed bitterness, sadness, and anger to create his own personality disorder. Three stars go to Jack Nicholson as the vinegar-faced Schmidt and to Kathy Bates as Roberta Hertzel, the mother of our protagonist's soon-to-be son-in-law. Much has been made regarding Bates stepping into a hot tub in her rather full-figured, middle-aged natural glory; I tip my cap to her, and hereby serve notice to Mr. Payne that should he ever feel the need to show a flabby, middle-aged man step into a hot tub--pending receipt of comparable compensation, of course--I'm your guy. ABOUT SCHMIDT goes full circle, starting at Point A and ending at Point A. If you're looking for character development and plot resolution, look elsewhere.
--D. Mikels
Rating:
Summary: Jack Nicholson in a very unique role
Review: Summary:
Warren R. Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) has just retired from an all but illustrious career as an actuary for the Woodmen of America insurance company located in Omaha, NE (as an interesting side note, he is replaced by my cousin, Matt Winston (I)). His life is plain, ordinary, and boring. All he has to look forward to is watching television and going out to eat with his wife, Helen (June Squibb); at least, so he thinks. This all changes with a couple of events. First, he decides to participate in one of those 'adopt-a-child' programs where you send them $20 a month to help feed a child in Africa. The child he adopts is named Ndugo. In his welcome packet he is encouraged to write Ndugo a letter, including some personal information. Well, Warren does just that... Of course, the letter is far too personal, including a very derogatory description of his wife, with whom he is now spending all of his time. This comes back to haunt him as his wife suddenly dies from a stroke (or aneurism, not sure which). Throughout the movie Warren continues to write Ndugo "Dear Ndugo", having found someone who will listen, though Ndugo obviously has no choice in the matter. Warren's only child, Jeannie (Hope Davis (I)), who has moved to Denver, comes for the funeral wither her fiancé, Randall Hertzel (Dermot Mulroney). Jeannie seems to be fairly normal, but Randall, well, he is almost as memorable a character as is Warren. His mullet is second to none and his job - wow - he's a used waterbed salesman who is constantly falling for MLM/pyramid schemes. But before Warren can do something about the wedding he discovers something else - Helen had an affair. While going through her things he finds a bunch of letters written to Helen by his best friend. So not only has he lost his wife and best friend, but he's also lost his image of his wife being true to him. With all of these changes occurring so suddenly Warren decides that he needs take control of his life. The most immediate way he believes he can make this manifest is by stopping his daughter's wedding. With the wedding just a few weeks away Warren decides he'll head to Denver early, in his Winnebago, and help them get everything organized. When he calls Jeannie to tell her he's on his way she demands that he not come yet but follow the plans already made. Not having anything to do back in Omaha Warren decides to go on a road trip. He visits his birthplace, museums, etc. and even ends up making a drunken pass at a woman he meets in a campground. All of this leads him to eventually come to better terms with the loss of his wife and what he is beginning to feel is a wasted life. With renewed vigor he heads to Denver to stop the wedding. Once he arrives he is introduced to Randall's family, in particular his mother, Roberta (Kathy Bates). They're, well, odd to say the least, which only reinforces Warren's desire to end this wedding before it begins. However, his desire is never realized and he ends up telling them how happy he is for them before heading back to Omaha and his new perspective on life - which seems to be just an understanding of what his old perspective was without changing his actual behavior very much. My Comments:
With the summary I just wrote you may think this movie is kind of slow. Well, it is, in a sense, and normally I would consider this a major problem with a movie. But in this case it works perfectly. The movie even begins with time passing - Warren staring at the clock in his office as his career officially ends and his retirement begins. The slow passage of time is also perfect for the setting of the movie, Nebraska. For anyone that has ever driven through Nebraska you will quickly begin to understand that time crawls in that state. So, the slow pacing is definitely intentional, but there is so much going on otherwise that it is not a detractor. Of course, what really makes this movie remarkable are the characters. Despite some of them only having very brief screen time, each is well-developed and definitely very unique, at least in terms of movie characters. Which is part of the reason this movie is so appealing - the characters seem so real, almost too real. These are just ordinary people, but the movie is cast in a light that makes the events and their responses to them extraordinary. Everyone of the actors is superb. As for the storyline, it just gets better and better as the movie progresses. When the movie opens you're really wondering what could happen to make this movie interesting, to make it worth watching. After all, isn't insurance about as boring a profession as there is (no offense intended)? And an actuary of all people? But it works and it works very well. Warren is beginning to realize that his life has been boring and he's just been getting along, not really taking control and making his life any more than it absolutely had to be. This leads me to the message(s). Is there a message to the movie? Well, I'm sure there is but it's not so blatant that you can only come away with one message. The movie is subtle, nuanced, and because a specific message is never really defined every person that watches this film could come away with something different; which to me is the major attraction of the film. You can read into it pretty much what you want because you aren't really sure what Warren has learned when the movie is over, but he's had plenty of opportunities to learn. Overall, this is a remarkable movie with a very simple premise. It is complicated, but only in the details and characters. You're never really sure what is going to happen next, but each new chapter in the movie brings with it a wave of new ideas, characters, and developments. For a particularly enthralling commentary on life you should see this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Did ya think this was a comedy? No way!
Review: Based on the previews for this movie at the theaters and on TV, I expected more of a comedy. I didn't expect a comedy that left me laughing out loud through the whole movie but I expected to chuckle a bit. This movie is not funny in the least. If it were not for the excellent performance by Bathy Bates (I just LOVE her!) I would give this movie 1 star instead of 2. I'm all for character study type movies but this one was the pits. Very slow moving movie. Also, very depressing. I started to watch the deleted scences after the movie and could not get passed the first one where there were close up shots of everyones mouth chewing food. Yuck!
Rating:
Summary: jack nicholson is good but....
Review: Many critics say that this movie is unsentimental in it's portrayal of middle class values. I know I'm in the minority when I make this admission, but I can't stand unsentimental portrayals of any kind. I never came to the point of fast forwarding or skipping sections of the movie though. The movie is well made, and Jack Nicholson's performance is great. His anguish over whether his life has meant anything resonates through the movie, right up to somewhat of an effective ending. What bothers me about characters like Schmidt though is that they're usually sarcastic old dregs that you want to hate, but can't hate because there is always a daughter or son that they love so much. This "loving of a child" (whether grown or otherwise) is oftentimes used to endear you to somebody who you can't stand. Check out the Novel Empire Falls (though it is admitedly different, it belongs to the same school of thought) we have a father who loves his daughter more than anyone else in the world (which of course is fine), who has a father who is somewhat of a smuck, who also loves the daughter. The daughter, of course, loves them both. And because of this formula (and don't forget to attach the word "Unsentimental" to it) all sorts of mean, angry observations about others may justifiably be made. There's always a nitwit too, in About Schmidt there's his future son in law (who I never quite understood what attraction his sensible daughter saw in him). In Empire Falls there's the main characters former high school friend who is now a jerk of a cop, and there's two relatively stupid teachers. In both situations I came away feeling a bit manipulated.
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