About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado. According to the special features on the DVD, a number of non-professional local residents appeared in the film, portraying their real-life professions. The actual Woodmen of the World headquarters building in Omaha was used in the film, and Jack Nicholson was made an honorary member of the company during filming.

The main narrative of the film follows Schmidt as he retires from his pedestrian job, followed by the death of his wife for whom he has lost affection. He goes on a road trip in order to attend the wedding of his only daughter to a man and into a family he does not particularly like. Events compel him to reflect on his life with a sense of futility that lasts until the final moments of the film. The film was both a commercial and a critical success.

Plot[link]

Warren Schmidt is retiring from his position as an actuary with an insurance company in Omaha, Nebraska. Schmidt is given an impersonal retirement dinner. Schmidt finds it hard to adjust to his new life and feels useless. One evening, he sees a television advertisement about a foster program for African children, Plan USA, and decides to sponsor a child. He soon receives an information package with a photo of his foster child, a small Tanzanian boy named Ndugu Umbo, to whom he relates his life in a series of rambling letters.

He visits his young successor's (who to add insult to injury is only in his late 20's to early 30's) office to offer his help, but the offer is politely declined. As he leaves the building, Schmidt sees the contents and files of his office in the basement, set out for garbage collectors.

He describes to Ndugu his longtime alienation from his wife, who suddenly dies from a blood clot in her brain just after his retirement and their purchase of a Winnebago motor home. Friends arrive, along with his only daughter Jeannie and her fiancé Randall Hertzel from Denver. They console him at the funeral, but Jeannie later berates him for taking his wife for granted, buying her a cheap casket. He asks her to move back for a while to take care of him, but she refuses. Meanwhile, Randall tries to entice him into a pyramid scheme.

Schmidt feels that Randall, a waterbed salesman, is unsuited to his daughter. At the airport, Randall recommends the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner to Schmidt. After the couple leaves, Schmidt is alone.

He stops showering, is shown sleeping in front of the television, and going outside with a coat over pajamas to load up on frozen foods in the supermarket. In a closet he discovers some hidden love letters disclosing his wife's long-ago affair with a mutual friend. Schmidt angrily confronts him.

In order to find some control in his life, he decides to take a journey alone in his new Winnebago to see his daughter and convince her not to marry. He tells Jeannie he's headed out early to the wedding; she makes it clear she doesn't want him there until right before the ceremony.

Schmidt visits places from his past, including his hometown and college campus. His childhood home has been replaced by a tire shop. While at a trailer campground, he is a dinner guest of a friendly and sympathetic couple, but leaves in terror and embarrassment after he makes a pass at the wife. He later forgives and apologizes to his late wife.

Schmidt arrives in Denver and stays at the home of Randall's mother. He wakes after a night in a water bed with severe pain. He meets the fiancé's family and again tries unsuccessfully to dissuade Jeannie from the marriage. Schmidt flees after the mother makes a pass at him in a hot tub. Schmidt attends the wedding and delivers a kind speech at the dinner, hiding his disapproval, although the (angry) subtext of what he's saying isn't lost on Jeannie.

Upon returning home to Omaha, his narrative to the orphan Ndugu questions what he has accomplished in life. Schmidt laments that he will soon be dead, that his life has made no difference to anyone and that eventually it will be as if he has never existed at all.

A pile of mail is waiting for him inside the empty house. Schmidt opens a letter from Tanzania. It is from a nun, who writes that Ndugu is illiterate but appreciates Schmidt's letters and financial support very much. A painting drawn by Ndugu is enclosed, showing two smiling stick figures, one large and one small, holding hands on a sunny day. The film ends with Schmidt weeping happily as he looks at it.

Cast[link]

• Jack Nicholson as Warren R. Schmidt
• Kathy Bates as Roberta Hertzel
• Hope Davis as Jeannie Schmidt
• Dermot Mulroney as Randall Hertzel
• June Squibb as Helen Schmidt
• Howard Hesseman as Larry Hertzel
• Harry Groener as John Rusk
• Connie Ray as Vicki Rusk
• Len Cariou as Ray Nichols

Production[link]

Although About Schmidt is set across the states of Nebraska and Colorado, much of the movie was filmed in Omaha, mostly around Dundee, Millard, and the downtown area.

Locations used during production include:

• Woodmen of the World is an actual building in Omaha shown as Schmidt's previous workplace.
• Schmidt's house is located in the Dundee area of Omaha where Payne's previous films, Citizen Ruth and Election, were also filmed.
• The Dairy Queen restaurant is located at 5071 South 136th Street, in the Milliard suburb of Omaha.
• The camping scene was filmed at Louisville State Park approximately 12 miles south of Omaha, along the Platte River.
• The Tires Plus store that stands on the site of Schmidt's childhood home in Holdrege, Nebraska, was actually filmed in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln served as the campus for the University of Kansas.
• Great Platte River Road Archway Monument is an actual museum in Kearney, Nebraska. Like Schmidt does, one must wear headphones to tour the museum so they can listen to the voice-activated displays.

With the exception of the driving scenes, many of the locations used for Denver were actually filmed in Omaha. This includes Roberta's house, Messiah Lutheran Church where the wedding was filmed, and the Dance City Centre used for the wedding reception.

Awards[link]

Jack Nicholson was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2002 and Kathy Bates was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

The film won a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture, as well as the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama. (Nicholson stated: "I'm a little surprised. I thought we made a comedy.")

It was also part of the Official Competition Selection at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

Reception[link]

[edit] Critical response

About Schmidt has gained positive reviews from critics, who have singled out the two performances of Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates. The film has a rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and 90% from top critics with the consensus being that "In this funny, touching character study, Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career".^[2] Roger Ebert wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times that About Schmidt "is essentially a portrait of a man without qualities, baffled by the emotions and needs of others. That Jack Nicholson makes this man so watchable is a tribute not only to his craft, but to his legend: Jack is so unlike Schmidt that his performance generates a certain awe. Another actor might have made the character too tragic or passive or empty, but Nicholson somehow finds within Schmidt a slowing developing hunger, a desire to start living now that the time is almost gone."^[3] Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter said that "It's a commanding Jack Nicholson lead performance that puts it into a sublime league of its own." Paul Clinton writing for CNN.com said that "About Schmidt is undoubtedly one of the finest films of the year. If you're not deeply touched by this movie, check your pulse."^{[citation needed]}

Box office[link]

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (August 2010)

• Opening weekend U.S. gross: $8,533,162
• Total U.S. box office gross: $65,010,106
• Total Worldwide box office gross $105,834,556

[edit] Home media

About Schmidt was released on DVD format and VHS soon after its theatrical run. There has been no Blu-ray release.

See also[link]

• Fictional actuaries

References[link]

External links[link]

• About Schmidt at the Internet Movie Database
• About Schmidt at Rotten Tomatoes
• About Schmidt at Box Office Mojo