About Schmidt (2002)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Alexander Payne

Writers (WGA):

Louis Begley (novel)
Alexander Payne (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Schmidt Happens

Plot:

Warren Schmidt is a man in his 60's. While trying to run his daughter's life, he realizes that he wasted his.

Plot Keywords:

Retirement | Marriage | Native American | Family Relationships | Toilet

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 29 nominations

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Warren Schmidt
Kathy Bates	...	Roberta Hertzel
Hope Davis	...	Jeannie Schmidt
Dermot Mulroney	...	Randall Hertzel
June Squibb	...	Helen Schmidt
Howard Hesseman	...	Larry Hertzel
Harry Groener	...	John Rusk
Connie Ray	...	Vicki Rusk
Len Cariou	...	Ray Nichols
Mark Venhuizen	...	Duncan Hertzel
Cheryl Hamada	...	Saundra
Phil Reeves	...	Minister in Denver
Matt Winston	...	Gary Nordin - Warren's Replacement
James M. Connor	...	Randall's Best Man (as James Micheal Connor)
Jill Anderson	...	Bridesmaid Reading St. Paul

Also Known As:

Monsieur Schmidt (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
A propósito de Schmidt (Spain) [es]
A proposito di Schmidt (Italy) [it]
About Schmidt (Finland) [fi]
About Schmidt (Germany) [de]
As Confissões de Schmidt (Brazil) [pt]
Las confesiones del Sr. Schmidt (Argentina) [es]
Mr Schmidt (France) [fr]
Odot Schmidt (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Rundt om Schmidt (Denmark) [da]
Schmidt (Poland) [pl]
Schmidt hakkinda (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Schmidti teekond (Estonia) [et]
Shetika me ton Schmidt (Greece) [el]
Sve o Smitu (Serbia) [sr]

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 (original rating) | Finland:K-3 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Norway:7 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38731)

Filming Locations:

Boulder, Colorado, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The word "Ndugu" means "brother" literally in Kiswahili (same as Swahili). It is also used as slang for "friend" as in the US.

Goofs:

Continuity: The seasons change back and forth, between winter and summer. Sometimes the trees are bare, but in the next scene, they're full again. At the beginning of the movie, the trees are bare and it's gray and cold. Yet, two weeks later he leaves on his trip and it's summer all of a sudden.

Quotes:

Warren Schmidt: You can't marry him. I mean... Look at these people!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You Sexy Thing

Classic Cinema Art - A "Must See" Film!

I spent a day watching "About Schmidt", with Jack Nicholson... and then the evening rambling through reviews, since my wife's perception of the ending differed somewhat from mine....

Conflict can often lead to enlightenment and discovery, but not so in the case of Warren Schmidt. In his case it leads to a life of complacency, denial, delusion, and passive-aggressive behaviors... and eventually, to a meaningless life of servitude devoid of passion or purpose.

Since my wife and I are around the same age as the character, and we ponder the same issues of our lives, the film had more significance to us. I found the work to be a cinema-graphic piece of art laced with symbolism and dark humor (at best). I likened it to previous movies like "Death of a Salesman", "The Apartment", "The Swimmer" (Burt Lancaster), or a short filmed called "The Bridge".

As a cautionary tale (or social comment) on the "American Way" of life, the messages it conveys are slightly exaggerated, but nevertheless there to be debated. We are talking about identity, achievement, interpersonal relationships, and the "average IQ".

In the end, I believe this film will become one that is studied in future classrooms, and it was brave of Nicholson to participate in such a character study and a work intended primarily for writers, actors, and directors. If laughter is "the sound we make when we are surprised (or shocked) by the truth", then the amount of humor you find in this film may be directly related to your own level of naivety or denial. After all, laughter can often be just another defense mechanism, right?

Some movies are straightforward, some are magical, some are mystical, and then, some are symbolic. This movie falls into the last category. The use of time, space, cognitive dissonance, and Irony abound in this work and challenge us to look, think, and feel.

Notes: we would have cut or altered the "Percodan scene" at the rehearsal (as overdone), also note- the cattle at the funeral who later appear on the freeway, inside jokes about Des Moines and Denver, Randall's "Certificate of Attendance", the look on Jeannie's face at the end of Warren's speech at the Wedding Reception, the use of "overstatement", details of wall decorations, and Warren's obvious attraction to the trite, idealistic, delusional, and superficial.

If you are a thinking, feeling, serious movie-lover, you should SEE this film once, and then STUDY it the 2nd time!