| Home | Movies A-M | Movies N-Z | News |
Poster (c) New Line Cinema
We meet Warren R. Schmidt as he’s sitting in his office, briefcase in hand, staring at the clock. When 5:00 finally comes, he leaves and shuts off his light. He is now officially a retired man. He’s not exactly the happiest man in the world: he and his wife aren’t exactly best of friends, he got taken over by someone forty years younger than he, and he’s not super-friendly with his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis). And he’s not happy about her choice of husband: Randall Hertzel (Dermot Mulroney), a mullet-wearing “dude” who works in a waterbed store.
Schmidt’s wife Helen (June Squibb) suddenly dies, and he realizes how much he took for granted. He wants to do something with his life, so he sponsors a child in Africa named Udugu and goes on a road trip in a Winnebago to ruin his daughter’s wedding.
Jack Nicholson, who plays Schmidt, is perfectly cast (against his earlier work). He’s somewhat of a cynic and his facial expressions (that don’t change, just like a certain Mr. Clint Eastwood) sometimes even seemed sinister, even though his character didn’t support that. However, Jack Nicholson can’t stop being Jack Nicholson. I expected him to come out and say, “And what do you expect me to do about it?” I’m not saying he wasn’t good. His performance was extremely good, and he showed emotion, though not physically. I could just tell that he was giving his all into the role.
However, I didn’t feel very emotionally attached to the main character. Sure, I felt with him (like all good movies should do), but I didn’t feel like I was going along for a ride with him. I could, however, tell that director Alexander Payne put a lot of symbolism, such as Schmidt liked driving his Winnebago because he was looking down on people, making him feel important. However, when the horses came, it made him feel caged up again.
The pace was slow but sure. New Line, who released the film, knew that the majority of people who they appeal to (they did the Austin Powers and Lord of the Rings series) would not like it, so they could do whatever they wanted in it. So they deliberately paced is slowly, but it didn’t drag down the proceedings. In some ways, this movie reminded me of Ghost World, because Schmidt is slowly seeing that his world he loved is falling to shambles. He went to visit his home where he lived before, but, to keep the secret and surprise, it wasn’t there. He couldn’t bear to, after his wife’s passing, see more of his life go away, so he has to keep his daughter.
About Schmidt was in two parts: one of him coping with the loss and the second of going to his daughter’s wedding. The music was gentle but brought out the mood. Sometimes the score was absent, improving the scene more. The opening camera angles were very impressive; I liked them a lot. It seemed like how the scenes were cut were sharp and quick, but worked well with the subject matter.
Possibly the best, and worst, part of the film is Kathy Bates. She’s Randall’s mother, and she is quite good. However, as you’ve probably heard by now, she has a nude scene. Brrr… Thankfully, it’s brief. She had outrageous costumes which added to her (barely developed) character.
The deeper meaning of About Schmidt is to do the best you can in life. Schmidt didn’t, and he felt unused and insignificant. The end had something happen that really made him think about himself. You can look at your life in two ways: either you didn’t do all you wanted to or you did everything you could. Schmidt did the former, but didn’t even think about the latter. The ending, by the way, is quite nice.
The movie is played as a drama, but it had its funny moments. Most were about Schmidt’s quirks, but a few were sight gags and slapstick. It was used, successfully, to lighten the mood. So, About Schmidt is a touching, if emotionally lacking, film about life.
Rated R for some language and brief nudity.
Review Date: January 5, 2003