(buy poster)

About Schmidt Starring Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis Directed by Alexander Payne Rated R for some language and brief nudity *** out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: B

Running time: 124 minutes

by Kevin Lang

Jack Nicholson was superb in a film that will likely win the endearing praise of most critics, but more than likely won't move moviegoers to offer such accolades. This is not to say that "About Schmidt," in which Nicholson played the title role as a retired sixty-six-year-old insurance man named Warren Schmidt, was not a good film. It painted a stark and awkward reality, but because of these attempts at realism, it failed to let itself become more emotionally enjoyable. Therefore, we were shown a story that progressed somewhat appealingly, but this appeal never led to the significantly visible character changes and redemption that I wished had been there.

Warren Schmidt had just retired from his job at the Woodben Insurance Company, where one of his jobs was to predict a client's life expectancy. As he struggled to adjust to his new lifestyle at home, Warren began dealing with feelings of worthlessness, and he began to question the significance of his own life. Would his accomplishments really make a difference in the end he wondered, and what were his accomplishments? It was this part of the story that felt real, and it came across with uninhibited uncertainty. Only, when it came time to answer these questions, the resolutions felt distant. They could have been much more emotionally powerful and significant, but I imagine the director, Alexander Payne, didn't want to over-fictionalize these situations, thus making them too sentimental.

Soon after his retirement, Warren's wife, Helen (June Squibb), passed away suddenly. This seemed rather contrived for a story that was trying to be anything but. It freed the character of Warren to experience his soul-searching journey without the character of his wife as a distraction to the storyline. Then, just when the movie began to show a little heart, as Warren began to open up about how much he missed his wife, in his mourning he quickly stumbled upon old love letters revealing that Helen had cheated on him in the past with one of his good friends. These types of inclusions in the plot acted to distance me from the characters and from the story. What kept my attention undivided and entirely focused on the screen was a bravo performance by Jack Nicholson.

In "About Schmidt" Nicholson was not at all how I was used to seeing him. It was as if he had turned the vibrancy and smugness that he normally brings to the screen down a notch. He offered a calmer, more vulnerable side that I can't remember seeing in any of his characters before. There were no raised eyebrows, just a man dealing with the changes in his life in the best way that he knew how. And through his loneliness, sadness, and anger, which he superbly conveyed to us, he also managed to make us laugh a little as well. Without his performance, for which he will most likely be nominated to receive an Oscar, "About Schmidt" probably wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable. It was a kind of movie that provided the necessary support for a great onscreen performance to be delivered, while not worrying about garnering mass appeal for the story.

"About Schmidt" Review written January 2, 2002, CTF.