IMDb RATING
7.2/10
130K
YOUR RATING
A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
130K
YOUR RATING
- Louis Begley(novel "About Schmidt")
- Alexander Payne(screenplay)
- Jim Taylor(screenplay)
- Stars
- Louis Begley(novel "About Schmidt")
- Alexander Payne(screenplay)
- Jim Taylor(screenplay)
- Stars
James M. Connor
- Randall's Best Man
- (as James Micheal Connor)
Marilyn Tipp
- Neighbor Lady
- (scenes deleted)
- Louis Begley(novel "About Schmidt")
- Alexander Payne(screenplay)
- Jim Taylor(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Jack Nicholson received the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama, he commented afterward, "I'm a little surprised. I thought we had made a comedy."
- GoofsThe 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: Relatively soon, I will die. Maybe in 20 years, maybe tomorrow, it doesn't matter. Once I am dead and everyone who knew me dies too, it will be as though I never existed. What difference has my life made to anyone. None that I can think of. None at all.
- Crazy creditsThe film title appears above the New Line Cinema Release credit as end credits are done.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: The Best Films of 2002 (2003)
- SoundtracksYou Sexy Thing
(1974)
Written by Errol Brown
Performed by Hot Chocolate
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
Review
Featured review
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!
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!
helpful•5315
- trgusa
- Apr 8, 2006
Details
Box office
- 2 hours 5 minutes
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