About Schmidt

Review - Jack Nicholson stars as Warren Schmidt.  A new retiree attempting to adjust to the quiet life after 40 years of dedication to work.  His adjustment is not an easy one and after a few intimely incidents Warren finds himself on a road trip of self-discovery.

That's the movie in a nutshell.  And to be frank the film is about as boring as the drive from Nebraska to Colorado.  It's at times very cute and oddly amusing.  Warren's letters to his adopted African native, Ndugu, are pretty funny and they're the means by which the film is best enjoyed.  Ahh...Dear Ndugu...

Jack Nicholson does a good job playing his age.  Kathy Bates is amusing and at one point surprising.  Dermot Mulrooney is a doofus and Howard Hesseman is just plain odd.  Hope Davis as Nicholson's daughter deserves a mention.

I can see why many critics have enjoyed this film as it's totally harmless and mildly endearing but it just moved at a snails pace and didn't serve the theme as well as I'd have liked.

Note - See Hugh Grant's 'About A Boy'.  It fulfills the same theme.  Is better cast and acted.  And is much more amusing and sure of it's points.

It's far superior to About Schmidt.

-m-