Typically evoking comic pleasure, Jack Nicholson’s devilish attitude and appearance support product familiarity. But as the downtrodden central character in About Schmidt, the star strips all pretense to embody a forgotten everyday loser. From director Alexander Payne (Election, Citizen Ruth), who’s becoming the new king of the feel-bad comedy, even the film’s grey Midwest skyline seems to ensure that the characters remain prisoners of a drab existence. With the recent death of his wife -- who he regrettably thought he didn’t love -- Schmidt (Nicholson) grows lecherously attached to his adult daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) as she’s set to marry the goofy Randall (Dermot Mulroney, a man Schmidt despises. Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor steer through the material’s inherent trickiness by making it funny without reducing it to an insensitive freak show. Schmidt’s superior stance toward Randall isn’t cheaply handled. Sure, Randall’s unkempt and overly-earnest, but Schmidt’s existence is more pathetic. Now at retirement age, Schmidt’s come to realize that his life hasn’t amounted to anything. His misguided attempt to affect change leads to the film’s funniest structural conceit, as Schmidt continually writes letters to an African infomercial-sponsored orphan informing him of the endless difficulties in his own life. That kind of bravery is commonplace in this small but poignant character-study.