About Schmidt
Some similarities in this movie happen to reflect on the true life
surroundings of my own family life. Jack Nicholson's character is recently
retired and
both he and his wife celebrated an anniversary spanning 42 years. Same
goes for
my dad who recently retired after 25 years, and my parents just celebrated
their 41st anniversary.
But that is where the line draws to an end, and the story of About Schmidt
begins.
About Schmidt will be appreciated and attract a crowd of movie enthusiasts
who understand, or at least know of somebody in their life who is going on
with
a new life's beginning. Not everyone will have the story as Schmidt has
succumbed to, but to have the open mindedness and courage to go
forward and
continue the search for happiness is ageless.
About Schmidt is a story of a man whose life is anything but understood or
even at times happy. Life events will surface and only then will he be
able to
find his true self and the happiness which can come from it.
Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is recently retired (apprehensibly) from his
position as vice president of an insurance company. He now has all this free
time which he does not know what to do with. His wife Helen (Judy Squibb) has
plans for them to venture the world in their new super deluxe Winnabago.
But before any of that is to happen, Schmidt must with many reservations
swimming in his head (and those voiced even more loudly), take part in the
marriage
of his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) to Randall (Dermot Mulroney), who Schmidt
honestly feels is not the right man for his daughter to marry. Schmidt's
opinion means squat and the marriage will proceed as planned!
One night while flipping through the TV channels Schmidt takes notice of an
infomercial that shows how you can become a foster parent by sponsoring a
child
in need for only $22.00 a month. Schmidt is interested, and soon receives
confirmation on his new family member named Ndugh, a 6 year old boy.
First on Schmidt's list is to write a letter to Ndugh which will give a
little personal background on who Ndugh's new foster dad is. Well, the ink runs
fast and Schmidt is expressing without scruples, how his personal state of
mind
and the thoughts digging inside his brain are effecting him. It's very
humorous, taking into consideration that Schmidt is so
full of
built up aggression and pain that he's unaware of the fact he's writing to a
little boy about his problems at that given time. The positiveness of
that action
is how Schmidt for the first time in a long time is able to express his
emotions and let them be heard.
Schmidt and Helen soon look ahead to venturing into the wide undiscovered
world after their daughter's wedding, but the unexpected happens when Helen
without warning passes away.
Jeannie and her fiancé Randall come home for the funeral. It hits Jeannie
hard for she always had a good relationship with her mom, unlike the
strain that
is a constant pull with her dad. Oddly though, Schmidt is not taking any real
hardship from his wife's passing. In a way he's become freer, more open to
the
possibilities of different emotions and the outlook of his life. Schmidt
misses his wife, for she has always been the backbone and the strength of the
family, but their marriage was always missing something.
Schmidt decides to take the big house on wheels and visit his old childhood
haunts. With his daughter's wedding soon approaching Schmidt takes shelter at
the home of Randall's mother's house where Randall's mom Roberta (Kathy
Bates)
makes it perfectly clear her intentions on how the family is going to be
after
the wedding, and also shares her open-minded thoughts on any potential offers
that Schmidt could take her up on.
Schmidt's life is becoming clearer and more profound, while his search for meaning
in his life is shown with more emotion and proudness than he had ever imagined it would... So much so that it has awakened his soul!
Jack Nicholson is one of the finest and most capable actors of his
generation. His performances live within him and he directs all that
talent so naturally
and with perfection, as only Jack can do. He's a classic and his unique
ability of bringing such emotion and depth to his character is immensely
entertaining and a gift to the audience.
Kathy Bates is an extremely brilliant actress who puts so much talent and
passion in her work. (OK, the hype and the buzz over the hot tub scene was
nothing to obsess over, and have freaky twitches about) Kathy Bates did
what any
true performer would do in giving the character the life and believability
to the
role which only made it more heartfelt and typical of the character's
personality. Kathy Bates is a lady who graces the screen with
astonishingly beautiful
talent!
The supporting cast brought so much strength and emotion to each of their
roles with honesty and insight. Lessons of life each had to learn by, accept, or
choose to dismiss, gave them the creditability and substance they needed to
make
this movie start and finish strong, without leaving gaps in the middle.
About Schmidt weighs heavy dramatically, although there are moments where
corners open up and give light and humor and alleve the pressure of
sadness and
regrets.
About Schmidt is about life; not always pretty, not always happy, but it's
what you do with it and how it makes you feel doing it, that is important,
special, and yours to treasure.
Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean
Reviewers Rating: 8
Reader's Rating: 6.50
Reader's Votes: 12
Added: 10-Jun-2003
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