This film was recommended by a friend. Since I greatly admire Jack Nicholson, I watched it. This film is "great" in the sense that it does an excellent job in illuminating a life. Whether or not you think that life deserved to be illuminated will determine how you feel about this movie. I don't believe that every person's life deserves to be examined. This man, Schmidt, was interesting because Jack portrayed him. In real life, a man this disconnected from everything worthwhile in life would not be someone you would want to know. He was proud of having done a good job at the insurance company, where he was instantly replaceable. He had zero relationship with his wife, who apparently was a pleasant person, a good housekeeper, and something of a control freak. He did not know her, nor she him, though they lived together for over forty years. He had no close friends. He was a selfish person. He shared no part of himself with his daughter and was surprised when she treated his opinions with disdain. How could a person be this unaware? He didn't change one bit in the movie. He sent checks and whiny, self-obsessed letters to an orphan (who may or may not exist, judging from what I've heard about these organizations), and then felt he had done something "meaningful". At least he (dimly) realized that he hadn't been that great a companion for his wife, and made an effort to communicate that, albeit after her death. What a pathetic person, and what a pathetic life. Thank goodness for Kathy Bates or this movie would have been a wasteland. Jack Nicholson is an actor beyond categorization; I consider him something of a national resource, a legend. It's too bad his great talents were wasted here. The writer should go watch a real film, one that truly reflects the total spectrum of human potential, not just the negative, self-pitying, clueless part. How sad! Schmidt never experienced being truly alive.
Review of About Schmidt
