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About Schmidt

  • 20022002
  • RR
  • 2h 5m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
130K
YOUR RATING
Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt (2002)
Theatrical Trailer from New Line Cinema
Play trailer2:36
1 Video
99+ Photos
Drama
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
    • Alexander Payne
    • Louis Begley(novel "About Schmidt")
    • Alexander Payne(screenplay)
    • Jim Taylor(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jack Nicholson
    • Hope Davis
    • Dermot Mulroney
    • Alexander Payne
    • Louis Begley(novel "About Schmidt")
    • Alexander Payne(screenplay)
    • Jim Taylor(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jack Nicholson
    • Hope Davis
    • Dermot Mulroney
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 658User reviews
    • 201Critic reviews
    • 85Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars

    Videos1

    About Schmidt
    Trailer 2:36
    Watch About Schmidt

    Photos196

    Dermot Mulroney in About Schmidt (2002)
    Jack Nicholson and Alexander Payne in About Schmidt (2002)
    Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt (2002)
    Jack Nicholson, Dermot Mulroney, and Hope Davis in About Schmidt (2002)
    Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt (2002)
    Hope Davis in About Schmidt (2002)
    Kathy Bates in About Schmidt (2002)
    Alexander Payne in About Schmidt (2002)
    Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt (2002)
    Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Cheryl Hamada, Howard Hesseman, and Mark Venhuizen in About Schmidt (2002)
    Kathy Bates in About Schmidt (2002)
    Jack Nicholson, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates, and Hope Davis in About Schmidt (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jack Nicholson
    Jack Nicholson
    • Warren Schmidt
    Hope Davis
    Hope Davis
    • Jeannie Schmidt
    Dermot Mulroney
    Dermot Mulroney
    • Randall Hertzel
    Kathy Bates
    Kathy Bates
    • Roberta Hertzel
    June Squibb
    June Squibb
    • Helen Schmidt
    Howard Hesseman
    Howard Hesseman
    • Larry Hertzel
    Harry Groener
    Harry Groener
    • John Rusk
    Connie Ray
    Connie Ray
    • Vicki Rusk
    Len Cariou
    Len Cariou
    • Ray Nichols
    Mark Venhuizen
    • Duncan Hertzel
    Cheryl Hamada
    • Saundra
    Phil Reeves
    Phil Reeves
    • Minister in Denver
    Matt Winston
    Matt Winston
    • Gary Nordin - Warren's Replacement
    James M. Connor
    James M. Connor
    • Randall's Best Man
    • (as James Micheal Connor)
    Jill Anderson
    • Bridesmaid Reading St. Paul
    Vaughan Wenzel
    • Man Mourning Helen
    Judith Kathryn Hart
    • Woman Mourning Helen
    Marilyn Tipp
    Marilyn Tipp
    • Neighbor Lady
    • (scenes deleted)
      • Alexander Payne
      • Louis Begley(novel "About Schmidt")
      • Alexander Payne(screenplay)
      • Jim Taylor(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When 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."
    • Goofs
      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: 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 credits
      The film title appears above the New Line Cinema Release credit as end credits are done.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Best Films of 2002 (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      You Sexy Thing
      (1974)

      Written by Errol Brown

      Performed by Hot Chocolate

      Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.

      Under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

    User reviews658

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    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!
    helpful•53
    15
    • trgusa
    • Apr 8, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 3, 2003 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Pioneer Village - 138 E. Highway 6, Minden, Nebraska, USA
    • Production companies
      • New Line Cinema
      • Avery Pix
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 5 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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