Rating: 
Summary: Made me want to go on Prozac
Review: First, to the reviewer who accuses anyone not liking this film of being shallow and needing to stick to Hollywood formula movies like Legally Blonde..."About Schmidt" is not a "deep" or intellectually challenging movie. It is as much a Hollywood formula movie as any other. As usual, the film does not do the book justice, but simply skims the surface, meandering through in a superficially dark and somewhat meaninglessly depressing manner. Do not see this movie expecting anything resembling "As Good as it Gets." Do not see it expecting it to be the movie it's been promoted as being. Don't even see it expecting the silly Kathy Bates hype to be much of anything (although she does turn in the best performance of the film). I think it was thrown in to trick people into seeing this dismal piece of cinema. I don't mind dark movies if there is a well-crafted story that builds, or characters that develop, or meaningful relationships that are fully examined. This movie just doesn't accomplish any of these. It drags along, taking you down with it, then the story starts to begin just as the movie ends. Even the brilliance of Nicholson and Bates can't save it. No one seems to really know where to go with their characters, I think because there is so little to be done with them. The subject and story deserved much better than it was given here. I'm sorry about this film because I think there is a great need for Hollywood to bring us movies with adult themes and characters. Someone said this movie is as dull as the Midwestern landscape. I'd drive through the Midwest any day before I'd watch this movie again. At least it doesn't leave me depressed for days after.
Rating: 
Summary: About...boring.
Review: Nicholson is a genius when it comes to acting, and it shows in everything he does. The least that the writers of this film could have done is to give him a chance to use what he's got. Yes, he's made the best of the script that he's been handed, and given us a very believable character, but his efforts are unfortunately overtaken by the lack of writing efforts that seem to have gone into (or not gone into) this movie. I was so amazed at the huge chunks of silence throughout the film, that I found myself being able to watch huge sections of this movie at 2X speed, and reading the subtitles. Fearing I might have actually missed something, I occasionally went back and watched these sections in real time...and was rewarded with the knowledge that I hadn't missed anything...except the silence. I'm confused as to whether this was intended to represent the character's reflection on his predicament, or provide me time to reflect how I got into the predicament of watching this movie. The scenery and locations were nice, and very well filmed. The direction seemed to get everything out of the actors you would expect. And the story even seemed like it could work at times. But overall, this movie was a general loser. Even the ending, which was very predictable, doesn't play as well as similar endings in other films. If you're a hard-core Nicholson fan, and absolutely have to see it in order to complete your viewing catalog, fine. But if you are looking for a good movie, this isn't it. In fact, it's incredibly boring, and not at all worth the time. And to be honest, this was one of the movies I had been anxiously awaiting to see...what a disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Ahoy there!
Review: If you don't get this movie then you should perhaps buy "Legally Blonde" or the like. This is a sophisticated piece of material that might be accused of trying to be more than it really is. What it is is a slice of life that many of us might find painfully amusing. Jack Nicholson does a superb job a portraying an individual who through years of working in the system is just beginning to find the personality that was driven below the surface by the corporate world. The humor in this movie is hard to match elsewhere. With a theme perhaps not as morose but certainly as funny as movies such as "Fargo" or perhaps "The Big Lebowski" "About Schmidt" leads us down a serious path and then breaks us up with the surprises enclosed within the characters of the film. How many of us ache for the chance to express ourselves - our real selves- the way we knew we could before we became slaves to responsibility to our jobs and families. Although still rather restrained, we get a glimpse of a truly likeable man - Warren Schmidt - who we hope will continue his trip toward self-awareness. I recommend this movie highly.
Rating:
Summary: I was told I wouldn't understand this
Review: I am not 66 years old, not anywhere near it, but older viewers of "about schmidt" warned me I wouldn't understand..
it is perfectly understandable! The story of a man who has a second chance at life after losing his wife, starring the always intense Jack Nicholson, is a bittersweet, often quite comical, and very odd. Jack plays Warren Schmidt, the just retired actuary who starts up as foster parent to an underpriviledged child. This is how the story gets told part of the time. He is writing letters to this small boy telling him about his wife's annoying habits, about his daughter who's abandoned her family, and suddenly his wife is gone.
He packs up and takes a road trip in a new Winnebago. Daughter Jeannie(Hope Davis)is getting married, and he wants to talk her out of it.
Kathy Bates does an outstanding job as Ray's eccentric mother. She was fun to watch.
In a nutshell this film is 'about schmidt' and his complexities and him finding purpose. In between there are a few oddball characters thrown in for good measure.
Rating:
Summary: Another Hollywood Bomb!
Review: The Producers of this movie advertise the most humorous scenes, which MAY total 30 minutes, TOPS, and call it a Comedy??? This, and the Actors were my reason for watching it....and waiting... and hoping for some relief from this agonizingly boring 2+ hours. If you can't depend on Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates to make you laugh, who can you depend on?....What a colossal waste of time! Don't even Bother!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Portrayl of Real Life
Review: I really enoyed this movie for the simple fact that it painted a very clear picture of what the vast majority of everyday people's lives are. The fact it was set in Omaha and Denver doesn't matter. There are thousands of Warren Schmidts out there. It was interesting watching him deal with his world. Life can be very mundane and sometimes ugly, but it really all depends on how each individual looks at it.
Rating:
Summary: Nicholson must be desperate for money to make this film
Review: This movie was so facinatingly boring that I had to watch it to the end to see what would *not* happen! bleh!
Rating:
Summary: Horrific waste of time
Review: This is the worst movie I have ever watched. And I sat thru AI (Arificial Intelligence). I never thought it could get worse than AI. It was so slow and dumb I was embarassed to be watching it. The ending just all of a sudden happened, thankfully.
Rating:
Summary: Powerfully slow
Review: About once a year there's a movie that I really look forward to that leaves me dumbfounded by the amount of praise it receives. Last year it was The Royal Tenenbaums. This year, it's About Schmidt. I give this movie two stars for superb acting and directing technique. Nicholson and Bates, together for the best scenes in the movie, can't save this film. Nicholson makes the best of a really bad character..a man without any discernable interests, principles, ideas...nothing. GOOD GOD this movie was boring and depressing. You do not, in the end, learn anything about the characters. There is no plot setup, no climax, no resolution...nothing. It just goes nowhere very very slowly. And what's with the ending?! Maybe I can make my ... life complete by giving to Childreach?! Indeed, that was among the worst attempts to end a movie in the history of moviemaking. I recommend not buying this movie without renting it first. Feel safe turning this off after the first hour if you are unimpressed. It improves barely in the second hour, due only to Kathy Bates.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Terrible
Review: This movie is vastly different from the book. The only part similar is the very beginning, the rest doesn't relate to the novel at all. It's incredibly boring, it starts off sad, ends even worse. Incredibly depressing, would never watch again nor ever recommend.
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