Dan and Nancy: Now Playing
The Broomfield Enterprise

In “About Schmidt,” Jack Nicholson stars as a man who wonders if his life is what he thought it could be. He lives a comfortable life but his wife of 42 years annoys him badly and his only daughter is marrying a loser. The story follows him as he first deals with tragedy and then drives to Denver to stop the wedding. Also starring Kathy Bates. Rated R for some language and brief nudity. Time wondering if the people behind us talk in their sleep too: 124 minutes.

Nancy’s take: Tears, laughter, and shock are the words that describe “About Schmidt.” This movie was nothing what I expected. I had no desire to see it but Jack Nicholson just won best actor for it in the Golden Globes so of course we had to go check it out.
I absolutely loved this film. It seemed to hit close to home. With the loss of my grandpa and planning my wedding, “About Schmidt” was talking “About Nancy” in one way or another.
Jack Nicholson deserves any award he gets. He showed every emotion realistically and kept up the pace throughout the film. His tears and laughter were perfect and his hairdo at times were a laugh by itself.
Kathy Bates on the other hand kept shocking me scene after scene. Without giving the movie away there was just more of her than I ever wanted to see. And boy do I mean ever. After recovering from my nightmares, I realized they picked a good person for this role because for some reason she can get away with different stunts.
Was this movie worth the price of admission? Oh yes. I think we will be hearing a lot about it in the upcoming months. Would I see it again? Yes, if I want a good cry or a good laugh. I also probably missed a few scenes, since I was so irritated by all the background noise behind us. Maybe if people can’t sit still or keep their mouths shut, the movie theater isn’t the palace to be.

Dan’s take: In “About Schmidt,” Jack Nicholson called somebody a nincompoop and it struck me as funny because that’s a word you just don’t hear very often. But as it turns out, I had two nincompoops sitting right behind me the whole time in the theater. These ladies blabbed through the entire movie and insisted on sharing every random thought that entered their heads.
Anyway, as hard as they tried to ruin this movie for me, I still managed to enjoy it a lot. The movie itself was kind of quirky and slow-paced but it was an emotional roller coaster. The swings from happiness to sadness were as quick as they were dramatic and they never dwelled on anything too long.
The best part was Jack Nicholson himself. Everyone already knows he’s great but in “About Schmidt” he managed to show his entire range of acting in one flick. It was great.
Another cool thing about this flick was that part of it was filmed in Denver. It was fun seeing landmarks and streets from around the area.
Is “About Schmidt” worth the price of admission? Yes, and if you like Jack Nicholson at all, you have to go. Would I see it again? I’d love to, minus the nincompoops of course.


Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi
Broomfield, CO
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