Rating: 
Summary: All work and no play presages a bleak retirement
Review: The first scene in ABOUT SCHMIDT was, for me, the most powerful. Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson), on his very last day of a lifetime pushing paper for the Woodman Insurance Co., sits in his painfully barren office in an Omaha high rise watching the second hand of the wall clock tick down to 5:00 PM, at which time it will be quitting time - forever. Warren is retiring. As he walks out of his space for the final time, he looks back through the open door, hesitates, and then clicks off the light. His sense of loss and bewilderment is almost palpable.In a culture where who you are is generally the answer to the question "What do you do?", Schmidt is suddenly nobody. He has no hobbies, pets, or outside interests. Only a wife of 42 years, Helen (June Squibb), with whom he feels only a fading connection, and one good male pal, with whom he has an apocalyptic falling out. An example of Warren's biggest thrill of an empty day is a sundae at the local Dairy Queen. Sure, he's recently purchased, at Helen's urging, a 35-foot Winnebago in which they'll tour the country. She's enthused; he's not. But it shortly becomes a mute point as Helen abruptly dies soon into the film. At the funeral, Warren is joined by his semi-estranged daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) and her fiance Randall Hertzel (Dermot Mulroney), both over from Denver for the burial. Once they've returned to Colorado, Schmidt's appearance and lifestyle deteriorates. Then he decides to set out in the Winnebago for Denver, ostensibly to attend his daughter's nuptials, but also with the hope of talking her out of marrying the "numbskull". Jack Nicholson turns in perhaps one of his best roles playing a man desperately seeking meaning and stimulation in a barren existence, certainly at 180 degree from the actor's own life. And he stumbles across more stimulation than he wants with Roberta Hertzel (Kathy Bates), the divorced and unabashedly irrepressible mother of Randall, in a hot tub scene that is tribute to the healthy self-image and self-assurance of Ms. Bates. Davis and Mulroney are both good as Hope and Randall respectively, the former who has Warren as a perpetual source of exasperation, and the latter who would cause clinical depression in any prospective father-in-law. And, lo and behold, there's Howard Hesseman as Larry, Randall's natural father. Remember him as Johnny "Fever" in the TV sitcom WKRP IN CINCINNATI? Despite a depressing undertone, especially for one like myself onIy 12 years from retirement, I very much enjoyed ABOUT SCHMIDT except for the ending, which I thought too contrived, too pat, and not likely to buoy Warren up over the long haul. It is, however, good PR for those organizations that solicit one's sponsorship of a Third World child. Was there an agenda here?
Rating: 
Summary: Best Movie I Have Seen
Review: Never before has a movie made me laugh so hard yet at the same time make me cry. It was so moving and would recommend it to anyone that wants to see a GREAT movie.
Rating:
Summary: Jack, Jack, Jack!
Review: Will this be an Oscar No. 4 for Mr. Nicholson? He surely deserves it. One of his finest performances to date. For those who expect him to be Jack as in most of his films, this is not one of them. But it definitely showcases his talents and versatility as an actor. This movie is about the transitions during second half of life: regrets, loneliness, uncertainty. Looking back and wondering what if. It revolves around Jack's character. Overall, a great movie. All through the laughter and sadness filmmakers stayed true to the subject. And throughout the emotional rollercoster you still manage to pick up on hints of hope and meaning at the end. Definitely worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Jack is GREAT!!
Review: I went to see this movie because of Jack Nicholson and I certainly wasn't disappointed..as always, he is superb, however, the 1st half of the movie was very slow moving..the story is about a man,his family and his retirement,which he finds dreadfully boring. After tragedy strikes his life,an awareness of life begins for him emotionally.He travels, meeting a variety of folks and having new experiences. This is where Kathy Bates comes in with her "hippie" outlook on life!! She is PERFECT in her role!! When Schmidt starts his correspondence with a boy in a third world country, the movie soars up, up and away!
Rating:
Summary: Great Nicholson, great Bates. Everything else is just OK.
Review: Jack Nicholson once again proves that he's one of the greats in Alexander Payne's "About Schmidt," certainly, but the film itself isn't as strong as Nicholson's performance. Playing Warren Schmidt, Nicholson is subdued, the most subtle and calm we'll likely ever see him, and his portrayal of a sad man who retires only to find that his humdrum life means nothing is so dead-on it reminds you of your simple, just-plain-nice uncle who pinches pennies and did decently well at an office job. Warren Schmidt's life as a boring, retired widower is so sad, though we laugh at how he tries to redefine himself in old age by jumping in his Winnebago, nudges himself into his daughter's life and "adopts" a Ugandan refugee boy named Ndugu. As he "rebels," the audience isn't really given a hero to root for, though. Payne has fashioned "About Schmidt" as a cautionary tale, urging audience members to make more out of their lives than Warren has. At this point in his life, though he has his moments, Warren is largely useless and remains as such throughout the film. Though Kathy Bates' performance as the hippie divorcee Roberta is remarkable, much of the cast seems to come onto the film's landscape for only a moment and then disappear. Though her early scenes with Nicholson are good, Hope Davis' best moment in the film is when she serves as a sight gag, in the world's worst wedding dress, rather than by showing depth as Warren's daughter. Because the life she's chosen is a big, elaborate joke on class, as well, it's hard to place sympathies with her. And Dermot Mulroney suffers the same fate. Compared to the superior "Election," "About Schmidt" is too much of a downer, despite excellence from Nicholson and occasional zingers in the screenplay. It's more of a drama than a comedy when it comes down to it, for Warren's life makes me laugh more than cry.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good Movie, But Kinda Sad
Review: About Schmidt delivers some good messages about life, and is often very funny. Jack Nicholson is a very good actor. He can go from liberator of mental patients in "One Flew Over the Cuccoo's Nest" to homicidal maniac attempting to murder his family with an axe in "The Shining" to clean freak in "As Good as It Gets" to an old retired man who is searching for meaning in life in this movie. Kathy Bates also does a good job in her somewhat minor role and is quite funny (she still scares me a little when I think of her role in "Misery"). Those are some of the pros. Some cons are that the movie doesn't really flow, story-wise. It doesn't have a real storyline. Jack Nicholson's character kinda goes around aimlessly in a search for the meaning of life, and doesn't quite find it. And, I think something about this movie may have left me feeling a little depressed. Still, it is all in all a good film that I recommend to fans of Jack Nicholson.
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: I went to this movie, like a lot of people I think, expecting a sardonic laugh fest. I had previously seen Payne's feature Election, which is one of my favorite dark comedies of all time and the previews made this look like a followup. But what the movie ended up being was more thought provoking and less self-consciously hip than I was expecting and it was a welcome change. Payne's movie, loosely based on a book of the same name, examines the life of a newly retired and widowed insurance salesman from Omaha, who goes on a roadtrip to his daughter's wedding in Denver with vague plans of stopping it. On his way he bares his soul in a series of letters to an orphaned African child he sponsors through a relief organization. The movie tackles major themes, the ambivalence of grief, the search for purpose in an otherwise drab existence, and the baggage that families carry on from generation to generation. Yet it handles all of this with a light touch. The "message" of the movie is never overbearing. It is suggested rather than stated, aiming for nuance rather than typical Hollywood preaching. And as such, the message is much more potent. The final scene takes it all to a whole new level, redefining what true meaning in life actually is. The script does have some bumps. It takes a long time for things to get going...and the early parts of the road trip meander just a bit. The movie could have been better with some judicious editing. But on the whole it is quite well done. The performance from Jack Nicholson is superb. All of the familiar Nicholson cliches are in place (the smirk, the shifty eyes, the mumbling sneery voice) and yet they add up to more than the sum of their parts. Nicholson's Schmidt is a creature of contradictions, externally controlled and yet inwardly sad and lonely...even before his wife dies he has this hole in him. And there is a core of anger that never quite bubbles to the surface. These conflicting layers are held in tension and keep Nicholson's portrayal from sinking into caricature. You feel the humanity of the character, and, unlike Election, you feel a warmth and compassion for him. Supporting roles are also quite good. Kathy Bates stands out as an aging 60's earth mother with baggage of her own. I am particularly amazed at the actress' lack of self-consciousness in appearing briefly nude in the role. Dermot Mulroney manages to be both dimwitted and oddly appealing as Schmidt's future son-in-law. Hope Davis is extremely good as Schmidt's daughter. She manages to play the hysterical bride-to-be without lapsing into stereotype. All in all, this is a movie well worth seeing, albeit with a few flaws. But in a season that has given us National Security and Kangaroo Jack, this is a movie that treats the audience with respect and intelligence, and there's lots to be said for that.
Rating:
Summary: accurately depicts midwestern life
Review: Kudos to Alexander Payne for really recreating what it's like watching your days go by working a job in the midwest. I just moved to Arizona from Kansas City after living there for 11 years and within the first few seconds of this film, I felt instantly transplanted back to a dull, gray, dead, miserable, boring, and uninspiring midwest landscape. It was an odd reaction and the movie just started! Not to knock the landscape, but in comparison to the mountainous desert range or ocean, the midwest is plagued with flat land and crops - all of which turns gray in the winter. This is what you see in the opening of this film and it's important to recognize. We see a simple life, that of a man who has worked his way up at the same company for a long time and is now retired and adjusting to a new life. Only now does Warren Schmidt feel like he can play an active role in the life of his daugther by trying to prevent her marriage. This simple life is very common to the midwestern of a generation who is approaching retirement today. Schmidt's only outlet is from one I shall not give away but it's a chance for him to truly express how he feels considering he completely takes his wife for granted after 42 years of marriage and has no good way of communicating how he feels. Do the attempts fail or does he succeed at preventing his daughter's wedding? I shall not tell but will say that the experiences he goes through in meeting their family are very funny and interesting in depicting a dysfunctional environment that the family considers very normal. If you're not from the midwest, this film might seem obscure to you...if you're retired, it might hit home....if neither (like me), just watch it to see some great acting and learn maybe it's good not to take life for granted.
Rating:
Summary: Best (American) Picture of the Year.
Review: *About Schmidt* is a What's-The-Meaning-Of-Life movie that attempts to find meaning in one mediocre old man's life. . . . The scary thing is, the incredibly brave thing is, director Alexander Payne dares to suggest that there might be no meaning at all to this man's life. The frightening message is: some men's lives are almost completely wasted. They waddle through their time on this earth, doing the "right things" (college, family, prestigious job as executive of an insurance company), only to find at the end that it's all been in vain. So why even watch *About Schmidt*? Reason #1 is that you shouldn't have to be coddled with a "positive message" every time you sit down to watch a movie. You're not a child; you can handle it. Reason #2 is that the movie is also a great comedy: the laughs succeed in mitigating the despair. Life, like this movie, is a tragedy . . . and it's also funny as hell. Much of the humor is derived from its star, Jack Nicholson. He's totally immersed in the role, and the famous "killer smile" is never once exhibited. His performance is another reminder of why he's a legend in the business, and his willingness to work this hard to nail a character at this late date in his career should shame some of the Oscar-possessing dilettantes 2 or 3 or 4 decades his junior. Nicholson certainly has nothing to prove; his legacy is assured . . . which is all the more reason to marvel at his effort here. Among the movie's other many virtues is that Payne's depiction of Nebraska and other assorted fly-over states is mercilessly accurate. Any Heartland sentimentality is immediately relegated to kitsch. (During Schmidt's travels, we encounter tacky RV parks and Wagons West museums.) The photography is unsparing (check the opening scene featuring downtown Omaha in all its banal ugliness). It's a shabby environment perfectly suited to a shabby man. Perhaps the last word on the film is that it's like a darkly funny *King Lear* without that reconciliation bit at the end. But there's a ray of hope: during the course of the film, Schmidt, out of some vague, groping desire to do something genuine, strikes up a one-way correspondence with a poor six-year-old from Tanzania named -- pricelessly -- Ndugu. He discovered Ndugu after applying to be a "foster father" to a Third World child. (He had been moved by a TV infomercial for one of those Children's Defense Fund-type organizations.) Throughout the course of the film, Schmidt keeps little Ndugu up-to-date on his post-retirement day-to-day life: his troubles with his wife; his wife's death; the troubles with his daughter; his dislike of his future son-in-law, etc. This is all very funny in and of itself . . . but it leads to a payoff at the very end of the film that packs a wallop of emotion. Of course, the ending can be interpreted as merely a continuance of Schmidt's self-delusion . . . but I like to think it was a breakthrough for our shabby hero. I mean, there's only so much negativity that even I can take.
Rating:
Summary: Dear Ndugu
Review: Warren Schmidt has been married to the same woman for 42 years, and has worked at Woodmen Insurance Company, in the Actuarial department, for nearly as long. The movie opens at the end of Schmidt's last day at work, before entering into the oblivion of retirement. We can tell by his body language and the look on his face that Warren is not a happy man. "About Schmidt" takes us on the quirky, sad, and funny journey of this man's new-found life, and manages to bring to the forefront a cast of unique, individual characters. The movie feels 'real', in a way that I haven't come across in cinema for a very long time. Jack Nicholson stars as Warren Schmidt, a man who, now that he has retired, has nothing to do. He isn't a terribly deep individual, and so there isn't a lot for him to take an interest in. He appears to have no hobbies, no passions. But he is not an empty man. One day, Schmidt sees a commercial which beckons him to become a sponsor for a poor, mal-nourished African child. He answers the commercial's call, and soon starts sending monthly checks to his sponsor child, Ndugu. We get to see a picture of sweet, little Ndugu, and Schmidt decides to start sending the youth regular letters, discussing the events currently going on in his life. This allows for a nice, connective narration for the film, and it is used to good effect. Schmidt's wife had bought an Adventurer for the two of them to travel the country in during their retiring years. Unfortunately, Mrs. Schmidt passes away, and Warren is left to his own devices. We see the stages of grief pass through the widower, and Nicholson excels with his portrayal of the troubled, lonely man. Eventually, Schmidt decides to take the Adventurer out by himself, and then the film becomes somewhat of a road movie. He meets some very interesting people along his journey, and visits some very real locales across the American midwest. The big event looming in Schmidt's life is the wedding of his daughter to a man that he can't stand, but seems unable to convince his daughter not to marry. The groom's family is a hoot. You'll have to see them to believe them. Everything comes together in this movie. Nicholson implodes exquisitely as Schmidt, and is both humorous and sympathetic to watch. June Squibb, as Schmidt's wife, is so very sweet. Though she isn't in the film much, her character leaves a lasting memory. I loved Dermut Mulroney as Schmidt's future son-in-law, Randall . He made that character his own. Randall's a sweet guy, but would be terrifying to any woman's father that he met. And we can't forget Kathy Bates. She is not in the movie much, either, but also leaves a marked imprint upon the film. Be prepared to see her dis-robed, however. It is quite... memorable. "About Schmidt" is a near-perfect film. Understand that it is drama *and* a comedy. There are very rarely guffaw-inducing moments, but there are quite a few instances that will keep you chuckling to no end. This is one of the hardest kind of movies to do. To balance humor and solemnity is not an easy task, and all involved pull it off wonderfully. Alexander Payne deserves recognition for his screenplay, and also for his direction of the film. All of the actors make their characters seem quite real. We feel for them, and laugh along with them. And don't forget little Ndugu. We know that he, just like us, will always care about Schmidt.
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