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Critics Consensus: In this funny, touching character study, Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career.
Critic Consensus: In this funny, touching character study, Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career.
All Critics (203) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (173) | Rotten (30) | DVD (16)
A character study that has the emotional richness of the great Italian and Eastern European films of the 1960s, in which humor and pathos rode up and down on the seesaw together.
These filmmakers have a feeling for the isolation of blasted lives, but they also can't resist putting them down.
A poignant marker in the career of a major artist.
A thought-provoking and often-funny drama about isolation.
A cuttingly funny, moving portrayal of a man searching for meaning in his unremarkable, unmemorable life.
Each deft stroke of Payne's pen is matched by a Nicholson flourish, transforming the film into a moving, bittersweet ballet.
[It] toys with convention, leading us down that happy ending path and then hopping off of it again. It's refreshing, if not humorously frustrating.
Sharply observed, Alexander Payne's poignant comedy is a character study of an ordinary American, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and in the process becomes humanized and extraordinary.
Heartfelt Nicholson, not for kids at all.
About Schmidt is a touching, human story about a man who comes to the realisation that his life is nothing more than a failure.
"About Schmidt" is a hostility-provoking film for the same reason that American citizens have lost their civil rights. The picture endorses, nay lionizes, complacency, inaction and the privilege of the greedy to steal whatever they covet simply because th
A simple, silent, static shot of Nicholson's face is one of the most beautiful, powerful, indelible images of the 2002 movie year.
Alexander Payne and Jack Nicholson together? Awesome! But seriously though, this is a great movie. It's a moving story, if a bit depressing, but it's told so well, and the performances are absolutely brilliant. Much was made about Kathy Bates' nude scene, but it's handled well, kinda fun (in a good way), and not a big deal. I'm not saying I liked seeing her naked, but c'mon, it actually could have been worse. Thankfully it's not cruel or exploitative. I don't want to watch Payne's films too often, even if they are absolutely fantastic. His mastery of dark humor and uncomfortableness is both good and bad. He does it so well, and makes it all work and watchable, but the problem is, it can be a bit too real, thus difficult to watch very often. That's definitely the case here. It's a little easier to handle Sideways, though. I like this movie a lot. It's funny, finely observed, and just really honest.
Super Reviewer
Another genuine, intelligent gem in Alexander Payne's short but ingenious filmography. Jack Nicholson turns in one of the best performances of his career in this profoundly realistic film from the master of the tragicomedy.
Schmidt is such a peculiar fellow, brilliantly played by Nicholson. His simplistic reserve and insulation have made him content in his routine of the past 42 years. This movie follows him as that routine is just absolutely shattered, nearly all at once, and we watch him struggle. Absurd characters, or caricatures really, abound to provide comic relief against the reality of Schmidt's situation -- maybe they are presented as Schmidt's impressions. I feel like this is only half the story. I really want to know what becomes of our "sad, sad, lonely man." But it ends in a touching way, so like Ndugu, I'll hope for the best.
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates, June Squibb, Howard Hesseman, Len Cariou, Cheryl Hamada, Christine Belford, Harry Groener, Connie Ray, Mark Venhuizen Director: Alexander Payne Summary: When insurance actuary Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) retires and his wife dies, he looks for life's meaning on a road trip to his daughter's (Hope Davis) upcoming wedding to a waterbed salesman (Dermot Mulroney). But Schmidt can't seem to get anything right. En route to the wedding, he shares his life through letters with a Tanzanian boy he's sponsoring for 73 cents a day -- and soon, Schmidt discovers renewed purpose. My Thoughts: "Love Jack Nicholson but didn't love this movie. It was just OK for me. I guess maybe I was expecting to much from this movie considering it has Jack and Kathy Bates in it. The acting from them both was good as always, and they carried the movie. It was sad, depressing, and dark. It has some comedic moments. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea as people say. Maybe I will watch it a second time around and change my mind. Not likely though."
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