Product Information
On his retirement Warren Schmidt is uncertain about his future but when he loses his wife he has to come to terms with a son-in-law he dislikes and the waste he has made of his life...Product Identifiers
ProducerHarry Gittes, Michael Besman
EAN5017239191541
eBay Product ID (ePID)3959365
Product Key Features
ActorLen Cariou, June Squibb, Howard Hesseman, Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates
Film/TV TitleAbout Schmidt
DirectorAlexander Payne
Release Year2003
GenreDrama, General
Run Time120 Mins
Additional Product Features
Certificate15
Number of Discs1
ComposerRolfe Kent
Additional InformationIn Alexander Payne's ABOUT SCHMIDT, Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is retiring from a long, dedicated tenure at Woodmen of the World Insurance Company. Though he is proud of this achievement, he finds some difficulty adjusting to life without work; and to make matters worse, his loving wife Helen (June Squibb) passes away, leaving him all alone. Schmidt turns to his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) for support, but she is busy planning her marriage to Randall (Dermot Mulroney), who Warren just can't stand. He decides to sponsor a Tanzanian child, Ndugu, through a program advertised on television, and sends elaborate letters to the 6-year-old boy along with his $22 monthly checks. Meanwhile, he sets off on a soul-searching voyage across the west in his new RV.<BR>Nicholson's deadpan voice-over narration, especially in his letters to Ndugu, give ABOUT SCHMIDT a solid balance between comedy and drama. The crux of the film is the daughter's wedding in Denver, where Warren is the guest of Randall's outrageous, new-agey mom (Kathy Bates). Though the funny moments make light of Warren's state in life, the overall feel of the film is a bit sad, and its enigmatic ending will keep viewers guessing what will happen to this uniquely knowable character.
ReviewsUSA Today - ...[Nicholson's] restraint is superbly on the mark..., Sight and Sound - ...[Nicholson's] acting is at once edgy and restrained, holding his natural exuberance on a tight leash, festering with dormant energies..., Los Angeles Times - ...The film is a gutsy, truthful, deeply rooted vision of contemporary American life, scaled to the size of an ordinary man....Payne has become the most gifted comic social satirist to hit our movies since Preston Sturges..., New York Times - ...Instead of flash, what Mr. Nicholson brings to his role is a sorrowful awareness of human complexity whose emotional depth matches anything he has done in the movies before..., Entertainment Weekly - ...The power of this great movie -- part comedy, part tragedy, part satire, mostly masterpiece -- is in the details..., Rolling Stone - ...This may be Nicholson's boldest performance. It's certainly one of his best...
ScreenwriterAlexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Sound sourceDolby Digital 5.1
Movie/TV TitleAbout Schmidt
Director of PhotographyJames Glennon