About Schmidt

Rating:
Summary: Literally painful to sit through
Review: Another example of a movie that received praise from elitist "critics" (I'm using that term loosely), despite the fact that it is terrible. It's boring. It goes nowhere. Nothing really happens. It's like watching "The Man Who Wasn't There" all over again, which was another example of a terrible movie loved by critics.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Movie
Review: Team one of the greatest actors ever,Jack Nicholson, with one of the greatest actresses of all times, Kathy Bates, and bring one of the most talented directors,Alexander Payne, and what you get is one of the best movies I have seen in a long long time.
What makes a good actor, is not only knowing your lines by heart and deliver them with the required emotions(well that helps of course), but it is much much more. It is the ability to look the viewer in the 'eye' and without uttering one single word, affect him/her, speaking tons and expressing many different emotions wihtout words. This is the genuis of Jack Nicholson.
Words can not amply describe how brilliant that film is. Nicholson yet again plays the retired man looking for a purpose, minus the obsessions and demons that racked him in the Pledge.
Kathy Bates, as excellent as she always is in all her roles, plays the eccentric, loud mouthed in-law to prefection.
While Alexander Payne, after doing one of the most underrated films,the delightfully 'black humoured' Election, manages yet again to pull a film that not only is driven by character, but is quite visual too, and the opening scenes of Omaha set the mood beautifully to that moment when Schmidt retires,his last minutes in a job he held for so long.
There are so many memorable scenes, Kathy Bates nude in the bath tub, is a very funny surprising and perfect reflection of the women she is playing, while the very end scene is one of the best moments of cinema I have seen, one that is so powerful, sad, yet with a hint of hope at the very last second.
This is a film about loneliness, about deceptions, about memories, about death and the significance of one's worth, about fulfillments, about estranged children, about quirky characters, about communication, about resigning one self to situations he/she can not control or alter, and about hope, this film is about you, me and anyone, because it is about life, about Schmidt.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful and brilliant, one of my all time favorites
Review: About Schmidt is one of those rare films that actually has a grounding in reality. It's hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time, much like life.

If you're afraid of confronting the human condition then you may not like it, but for those of us with a contemplative side it's a wonderful movie.

Rating:
Summary: Schmidt Happens
Review: Ooohhhh, Jackie boy...you've done it again. It isn't hard to see why the Academy loves Nicholson so very much. In About Schmidt, he flawlessly captures the lonely, scared, depressed, angry, and sad title character. Warren thinks that his life will truly begin after retirement, but when his wife dies suddenly, he turns his attention to stopping his daughter from marrying the wrong guy (Dermot Mulroney). Kathy Bates plays the "wrong guy's" somewhat unusual Bohemian mother to sheer perfection (as usual). Someone before mentioned that this movie is depressing and therefore, caused them to not want to watch it again. The point of the movie IS depressing. It's about how insignificant our lives sometimes feel when compared to greater things. But as Warren Schmidt learns from sponsoring a Tanzanian child named Ndugu, no good deed is too small. And if you can touch even one other person's life, well then, perhaps your life really isn't insignificant after all.

Rating:
Summary: DULL!!!!!
Review: I am a huge fan of Jack Nicholson, but this movie bored me to tears. It seemed quite pointless and dragged through what could have easily been a 30 minute movie.

Warren Schmidt is a recently retired man who loses his wife and has a bad relationship with his daughter who feels that her father never cared for her. He is miserable in every state of his being and sends these lengthy letters to his foster child in Africa that he adopted through one of those Christian Charity things where he contrives things to make himself look better.

I did enjoy Kathy Bates character. She is another one of my favorite actors and I wasn't disappointed in her.

I don't know, I really was disappointed in this movie. Like I said, I love Jack, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Rating:
Summary: I think this movie might mean more to me later...
Review: I though Jack Nicholson was excellent in this film. He really brings this tragic character to life. It's simply heartbreaking to watch him go through this journey.

That said, I am the father of two young daughters. I couldn't really connect with this film, but I think that I will as the years go by. It's a film about reflection and I simply haven't travelled far enough to reflect as much as this character does.

Rating:
Summary: Well-acted, depressing semi-comedy
Review: I call this movie a semi-comedy rather than a comedy-drama because I found the balance between satire and seriousness a little uneven. Unlike director Alexander Payne's earlier films, Election and Citizen Ruth (both brilliant satires), About Schmidt comes across a little ambiguously. Many of the reviews for this film focus on Jack Nicholson's performance and what an achievement it is for him to play a downbeat character like retired insurance salesman Warren Schmidt. I agree that Nicholson gives a great performance, but we should consider the film on its own merits and not in comparison with other Nicholson roles. When Warren Schmidt's wife dies shortly after his retirement, the fabric of his life begins to unravel. Of course, he never had much to hold onto in the first place. He reveals his thoughts through longwinded letters to an African boy he adopts by mail. It is unlikely anyone would write such letters, but that is the device the film uses to reveal the character to us. Schmidt's main concern after his wife's death is his daughter's (played by Hope Davis) impending mariage to a man (Dermot Mulroney) he believes is not worthy of her. He drives an enormous motor home to his daughter's home in Denver, having some misadventures along the way. Against a backdrop of a desolate Middle American landscape, we see Schmidt almost desperately trying to fill the void the absence of his wife and career has left him. The fact that neither his marriage nor his career were very fulfilling makes the scenario doubly sad. His interaction with his wacky future in-laws provides most of the film's comic elements. Mulroney is good as a salesman who tries to get Schmidt into a multi-level marketing scheme. Kathy Bates is also amusing as Mulroney's outspoken mother. One problem is that, while the in-laws are silly and buffoonish, it's not clear that the downtrodden Schmidt has a right to look down on them. His daughter, meanwhile, is high strung enough to fit right in with her new family. I'm not completely sure if the ending is meant to show an emotional breakthrough for Schmidt or if it is a darkly satirical attempt to show how pathetic his life really is. In either case, the movie's overall effect is rather depressing. If About Schmidt has anything important to tell us, it's how easily life can fade into emotional oblivion.

Rating:
Summary: About Life
Review: "About Schmidt" is certainly not a film for everyone. Those who want what passes for "action" these days, those who don't like films that make you think, and those who don't like to be forced to look at some of the more unpleasant aspects of life need not apply. However, for the rest of us who like to be occasionally challenged by a film, "About Schmidt" is a veritable masterpiece, and in my eyes a powerful warning against the complacency and conformity that our society breeds.
For the most part, we are taught to chase the so-called "American Dream", a dream in which we go to college, graduate and get a job in some office where we work from 9 to 5 for the greater part of our lives. When we get too old, we are replaced by someone younger, much like an old cog is replaced in a machine. Not to worry though, for now we are finally free to enjoy life. The problem is, at this point we have become so dependent upon routine, we don't know how to enjoy life or what to do with ourselves. We are left feeling useless, lonely and forgotten, struggling to prove to ourselves that our lives actually mattered.
This is where we find Warren Schmidt. He has been rendered numb by the banality of his existence within the "American Dream". However, a series of life shaking events awaken him from his sleepwalking and force him to confront his very existence. He begins a journey, slowly waking up to life while seeking to find some way in which he has made a difference in the world.
Along the way, this film confronts these difficult issues and exlplores the alarming loss of humanity in the face of routine and conformity. Should identity be sacrificed for the sake of keeping the machine humming along? There are some who are content to play the part they are handed, but for those with a mind to question, challenge and explore, that is a fate worse than death.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Depressing Movies I have Ever seen
Review: Made me want to jump off a bridge 30 mins into it. Had some funny lines by Jack but otherwise was just a depressing movie that wasnt that good.

Rating:
Summary: 'Road Trip' for the elderly...
Review: Jack Nicholson is one of those actors who, when in a movie, either makes the movie or breaks it. In 'About Schmidt', Jack easily makes the movie a worthwhile experience. And although his latter blockbuster 'Anger Management' seemed to have more success at the box office, his performance here is much, much better. As it has been said, this is a very depressing movie from all angles. So if you don't like gloomy, depressing movies (to begin with), don't watch this one. It moves at a slow pace; a pace that works wonders for the type of movie this is. A drama, that is. Even with the endless bits of melancholy and sadness, Jack, with some help from Kathy Bates, manages to fabricate many humorous lines and situations that make it amiable enough for just about anyone to watch. In the end though, it seems to be designed for a more mature audience (hence my title). An overview...

Jack Nicholson plays Warren Schmidt. The movie begins with the retirement party for Warren, who, after countless years at the insurance agency office, is finally letting go. He struggles over feeling useless and as if he is unneeded (or unwanted) in the big, bad world. That feeling is the feeling that is used throughout the movie; a feeling you'll either attach yourself to from the start or hate. He has one daughter, Jeannie (played by Hope Davis), who is engaged to a guy who in the mind of Warren, is a deadbeat underachiever. The one stability in his life seems to be his wife. She's always there for him, cooking for him, reminding him of things, and so on and so forth. But even that bright spot in his life doesn't seem to help him cope with his unhappiness. He even goes on a rant about all the things Helen (his wife) does that bother him. That rant is part of an important piece of the movie's puzzle. In order to try to fill the void left in Warren's spirit, he decides to donate $22 a month to a charity; helping one underprivileged child get medical care, food and whatnot. Along with his checks, Warren inserts a letter to Ndugo ('en-do-goo') telling him about his life achievements and his feelings towards them. Those letters are read in voiceover, and are very important. They allow for us to learn about Schmidt (no pun intended) directly through his private thoughts rather than just his actions. Those parts of the movie were some of the most amazing, and certainly the most informative. After he writes his first letter to Ndugo, his wife dies. As if being out of work and having a "nincompoop" of a son-in-law weren't enough, right? So after the funeral, which Warren labels: "well attended", he hits the road in hopes of stopping his daughter from marrying that guy who's "not up to snuff". Oh, but not before he finds out his wife of 42 years cheated on him 15 years ago with his best friend of 20 years. With all the things already lagging him, that doesn't even seem to phase him. In fact, it almost motivates him. Along the way through Nebraska and Kansas he makes many stops at particular places (his childhood house, his former college, random museums, etc). All of those stops are very unique as their results capture the "lost" feeling that Nicholson's character obviously possesses. During his mobile home'd journey he continues writing letters to the child he sponsors, and eventually makes it to the Hertzel family home--the family of which Warren's daughter is about to marry into. Here we are introduced to the character of Roberta (vividly played by Kathy Bates). Roberta is kind of a spontaneous individual; someone who says what's on her mind but maintains the same outlook on life. Here role, beside Jack, is absolutely great. Without her addition the film's prominence would've been greatly lacking. The way those two interact is priceless. I do have to make note that the R rating for 'About Schmidt' is only because of Kathy Bates. She uses countless swears and even appears nude for a few seconds, which was horribly nasty. I didn't find that as funny as I think it was intended to be. From there we see Warren struggle forward and backwards in his attempt to stop the wedding. And that attempt is basically a concealed effort to do some good in a life he views as insignificant and overly useless.

I think that is where I'll leave you. I have some strong opinions about the ending and those opinions are the only things that keep the movie from being 5 stars (in my mind). But I never like to spoil movie endings and this is no place to start. A spoiler here wouldn't do justice to 'About Schmidt' and its brilliance as a truly great film. You have to see the movie to believe (and understand) it. All the praise put over the head of this film is certainly supported by the script, the direction, and more importantly, the cast. The performances by just about all the actors were great (at least the leading roles) to the point of categorically perfect. So if you like Jack Nicholson, you'll love his performance just as much here as anywhere else; if not more. But again, this is a very cheerless drama, with some infrequent (but timely) comical sequences, that will not leave you with a smile on your face. Nevertheless, just remember: life isn't always a pleasant, smile-on-your-face type of occurrence. I highly recommend this movie.