Rating: 
Summary: Great film but not a comedy
Review: As the Amazon blurb predicted (or reacted?) opinions about this film are polarised. For me it gets the thumbs up although it was not what I had expected from the reviews on the cover: I had expected a comedy but it was anything but. This is a film about big events in a real, ordinary life: bereavement, children growing up and living their own lives, life after retirement. The key to why reactions are polarised is one word in the above: "ordinary". Some people are interested in real people and the real world; others seek distraction in various ways, and one way is through watching films. The seekers of distraction won't like this one. I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Schmidt happens, and we're left to clean it up.
Review: Fans of Jack Nicholson who were led by the trailers to believe that they were getting another hilarious dose of Melvin Udall (from "As Good as It Gets") will be sorely, sorely disappointed by the meandering mess that is "About Schmidt". Nicholson's brand of simmering anger is one of more appealing actor's trademarks in film today. The trailers would seem to give the idea that "About Schmidt" would tap into that reservoir and create another endearing character for Nicholson's resume. Unfortunately, this film fails miserably. There is not a single legitimate funny moment in this film. "About Schmidt" just runs the gamut from boring to depressing to downright cringe-inducing.
"About Schmidt" is the story of one Warren Schmidt, a man who toed the line and did everything exactly as he was supposed throughout his entire life, only to realize that it left him with a very empty life. At a retirement party to honor his decades of service to a non-descript insurance company, Warren reaches the pinnacle of his life. Despite everything, being honored by friends and co-workers makes it seem all worthwhile. Yet, when he shows up at the office the following week to help his replacement assume his old job, Warren realizes just how quickly the company for which he toiled for so many years needed less than 48 hours to erase all memory of his work there. The new guy tries to seem appreciative, but he doesn't really need Warren's help. Realizing he is no longer needed by those he worked with, Warren has to face retirement with a wife that he realizes that he can't stand, not to mention a non-existent relationship with his daughter. The only thing that even seems to give him the slightest bit of comfort is his 'sponsoring' of one of those third-world children through one of those programs that used to be promoted by Sally Struthers and Pernell Roberts.
Warren's already hopelessly boring life gets thrown into disarray when his wife suddenly dies one day. At the funeral, he must deal with his daughter once again, and his daughter's complete loser of a fiancé. Warren realizes that he's not very good at caring for himself and has lived a meaningless life to this point. So, not long after the funeral, he decides to head out in a Winnebago that his wife bought for the two of them on a quest to stop his daughter from marrying that joke a boyfriend. Before leaving, he discovers letters that reveal that his best friend had an affair with his wife many years earlier. After confronting that 'friend', Warren begins a long, strange journey across the country to meet his daughter and his future in-laws (and to stop the marriage).
While the plot is depressing, one would think that, given the people involved, "About Schmidt" could still be turned into an endearing tale of self-discovery and resolution. Alas, it doesn't even come close. The confrontation with his 'friend' over the indiscretion with his wife looked like it could have been darkly amusing from the trailers. In actuality, it just seems mean and pathetic. Warren's journey across the country has him encounter the staple of road-trip movies, the colorful characters. Warren just succeeds in making a fool of himself and seemingly learning nothing while also failing to give the audience anything for that wasted time. When he finally does reach his destination and sees his daughter and meets the in-laws, there is still nothing endearing about this film. About the only thing slightly amusing was an uninhibited performance by Kathy Bates as the mother of his future son-in-law. The rest of this gathering is uncomfortable and ponderous. Why Warren is there is seems questionable and there never is any resolution to any of the problems in his life. The only consistent thing he has is his regular letters he sends to the child he sponsors.
The trailers have led people to believe that "About Schmidt" would be a fascinating dark comedy. Instead, it's a pathetic tale about a pathetic man whose life is of no interest to any of us. It's really a shame that a talent like Jack Nicholson and a director like Alexander Payne (who directed the wonderful dark comedy "Election") couldn't make this a more watchable film.
Rating: 
Summary: Love it or hate it... no in between...
Review: This is a film that you're either going to love or hate. If anything, it commits the crime of being too realistic. If you believe that the purpose of films should be for pure joyous escapism, you probably won't like it very much. The meloncholic (sometimes manic) bitterness of Nicholson's charactor is so real its almost infectious... This isn't to say that some of the scenes aren't uncomfortably hillarious. I loved the guy who plays Schmidt's dumb schm*ck son-in-law, and Bates' in her spunky White Trash in-law from hell role. In fact, I think an entire family of people could watch this film and each have a different reaction based on the charactor they identify with the most. - - and as bleak and depressing as the film can be at times, I imagine many viewers who identify with Nicholson's charactor as he copes with the loss of his wife, his sense of lonliness and his uneasy relationship with his daughter will find the film cathartic, even inspiring. - - So what to say? Well... Personally speaking, I like to go to the movies to feel cheered up and pure escapism... which is why I felt uncomfortable with it. However, why shouldn't movies present the same wide range of emotions as life, and be poignant ? - - The call is yours. - - Incidentally, if you enjoy this film, check out a British TV series called "The Royle Family" which also in my book commits the crime (almost brilliantly) of trying to present the humor of working class life, but so realistically you don't know whether to laugh at and with the charactors or head straight to the kitchen and stick your head in the oven while listening to the local publically funded Classical Music radio station.
Rating: 
Summary: Very, very bad-not worth anyone's time
Review: This movie is extremely bad-a complete waste of time. I think Jack is great, but this movie is horrible and is not at all related to the book.
Rating:
Summary: Aging alone can be a struggle...
Review: Jack Nicholson gives one of his best performances in this remarkable film as Warren Schmidt who is going into retirement after several dedicated decades at an insurance company. As Warren faces his retirement he finds himself in a rather stressful situation where the two largest stressors are the passing of his wife and the unapproved marriage of his daughter. These events opens old doors and memories to Warren as he struggles with his daily life, and before he knows it everything begins to snowball. About Schmidt is an brilliant film with a cast that delivers the outstanding script with careful precision and with cinematography that will stun the audience. About Schmidt is a film that will be in the minds of many viewers long after they have seen it.
Rating:
Summary: ENFORCED RETIREMENT IS NOT A PRETTY THING
Review: There's a lot more to this movie than just the story of dull old Warren Schmidt's seeming inability to accept his retirement, the death of his wife, and the marriage of his daughter to a real loser.The opening scene sets the stage for a lot to come: We see an expressionless Schmidt (played by Jack Nicholson) sitting in a barren office, everything packed up in storage boxes, watching a clock as the second hand moves slowly to exactly 5:00 p.m. That's when Schmidt's retirement officially begins, and being the type of loyal employee that he is, he's not about to short his company by even one second. You can tell that he was a true company man, and that he feels that, with retirement, his life has ended. He goes home to his dull, boring wife of over 40 years, whom he thinks he hates and resents. Very shortly after his retirement, she dies suddenly while vacuuming up a few spots of dirt on the floor. Thus another ending for Warren. His daughter comes home with the wheeler dealer loser she's about to marry, and Warren suffers another sort of loss when he realizes he means nothing in her life other than as a source of financial assistance. I'm going to skip over his Winnebago trip from his home in Omaha to his arrival in Denver for his daughter's wedding. Additionally, I'm not discussing his letters to his "foster-child," which form the narrative backbone of _ABOUT SCHMIDT_. My skipping these important aspects of the film does not mean that I didn't enjoy them, but, in order to limit the length of my review, I am being a little selective. The future son-in-law is a waterbed salesman who pushes various pyramid schemes on the side, and Warren soon discovers that he is destined to sleep on a waterbed while in Denver. The waterbed provides him with the most uncomfortable night of his life. The future son-in-law's mother, played by Kathy Bates, is a really weird woman (an understatement). Because of Warren's aching back, she suggests he make use of the hot tub in the back yard. He does, and is starting to feel better until he is joined in the tub by a nude Kathy Bates character who attempts to "put the make" on him. For a man with a bad back, he gets out of the tub in one heck of a hurry. This is one of the funniest scenes in a movie that effectively mixes equal doses sadness and humor. I think that one would have to see the movie to really get a feel for Warren's toast at the wedding, or for the depression he feels on his way back to Omaha in his Winnebago, or for the final uplifting moment just before the credits roll. I suppose I can understand why a lot of (probably) younger reviewers might have thought this was a slow or "b-o-o-oring" movie. In my opinion that's probably because it was a rather introspective movie about feelings, and was light on the kind of action that makes up the bulk of many movies today. This movie, like a good book, requires the viewer to apply a dose of his own imagination and feelings in order to get its full impact. It gives nothing on a silver platter and is the better for these demands that it makes of the viewer.
Rating:
Summary: Best dark comedy.
Review: I thought this movie was perfect from the writing to the acting. This dark comedy captured the feeling of loneliness and a life without meaning that you really feel sorry for the character at the last stage of his life. Its not completely dark, the movie has segments where he corresponds with an orphan in Africa which is quite humorous. I think the movie is quite similiar to Bill Murray's character in Lost in Translation. A person lost without direction... seeking understanding and the need to know that they have made a positive difference in someone's life.
Rating:
Summary: Regarding today's world, this movie is very telling.
Review: I will admit, some parts are slow. You cannot pop in this movie and expect action, speed and immediate results. If you are impatient and emotionally-absent, this movie is not for you. Personally, I felt this movie ROCKED in terms of how the situations and relationships were built, and really makes you examine your own life, if only for a moment, to ensure there is real meaning in your life. I do not want to be this Schmidt guy when I am 66. But I respect how he got there. The world is very constructed, and desires for its participants to be conformists. To confirm means to "succeed" ... and what that means to the world may be different than the meaning to you. Essentially, the movie cautions you to be conscious, deliberate and honest about your feelings regarding your decisions in your life. To get to the end of your life and find serious discontent is a difficult place to be.
Rating:
Summary: Nicholson made this one
Review: Most of the Nicholson performances I've seen have to do with wacky middle-aged men. I can't help but feel that the entire production crew from writers to directors expected this to be the same type of film. Its obvious from the trailers that they tried to extract from Nicholson this type-cast performance. I have no doubt most of the audience expects this too. Somebody got another idea along the way. I choose to think it was Nicholson himself. Wow, what a performance. I actually felt privileged to see it. This is an real actor at work, not some type-cast clown. The story is about recovery from retiree depression and old age problems. It is not a comedy about stupid things in the life of an old man. Nicholson nailed the difference. I say Nicholson because the director even left out a vital scene that would have supported Jack's interpretation (the visit to Pioneer Village). A must see for fans of superior acting. Everyone else will get the wrong idea.
Rating:
Summary: Just as well we didn't have a razorblade handy...
Review: What I can't get over is that this film was billed as a comedy. Remembering Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets, we decided to give it a try; after all, Nicholson is a fine actor with perfect timing and an ability to play character roles to perfection. We expected to love it. Instead, this film represents the waste of over two hours of our lives we will never get back. Worse, it was not only boring, it was deeply depressing. If the director wanted to tell us something about the dreary world that is post-retirement, he should have made a documentary. Or written a book. Not tried to make a film starring Jack Nicholson and billed as a comedy. I don't object to depressing films if there is at least some sort of purpose to them - but this film had no purpose at all. It went on and on and on, going nowhere. And then it ended. Abruptly. Out of the blue. And it went nowhere. That the Tanzanian boy wouldn't have understood a word of Warren's rants was a given - we didn't need the letter to tell us that. So... WHAT WAS THE POINT of this tedious, depressing, timewasting film? None whatsoever. Do yourself a favour and don't touch it with a bargepole.
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