Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6242 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-08-11
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

DVD Description
Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson - As Good as it Gets, A Few Good Men) has arrived at several of life’s crossroads all at the same time. To begin with, he is retiring from a lifetime of service as an actuary for Woodmen of the World Insurance Company and he feels utterly adrift. Furthermore, his only daughter, Jeannie (Hope Davis - Arlington Road) is about to marry a no-hoper. And his wife, Helen (June Squibb - Meet Joe Black) dies suddenly after 42 years of marriage.

With no job, no wife and no family, Warren is desperate to find something meaningful in his thoroughly unimpressive life. He sets out on a journey of self-discovery, exploring his roots across Nebraska in the 35-foot motor home in which he had planned to drive around the country with his late wife. His ultimate destination is Denver, where he hopes to bridge the gulf between himself and his somewhat estranged daughter by arriving early to help with her wedding preparations. Unfortunately, he hates the groom-to-be, Randall (Dermot Mulrooney - My Best Friend’s Wedding), a profoundly mediocre, underachieving waterbed salesman. To make matters worse, Warren is appalled by the free-spirited nature and boorish behaviour of his soon-to-be in-laws (Kathy Bates - The Waterboy, Titanic and Howard Hesseman - Gridlock’d). Warren grows swiftly convinced that his new purpose in life is to stop his daughter’s marriage.

During this darkly comic and painful odyssey, Warren details his adventures and shares his observations with an unexpected new friend and confessor – Ndugu Umbo, a six-year-old Tanzanian orphan whom he sponsors for $22 a month through an organization that advertises on TV. From these long letters filled with a lifetime of things unsaid, Warren begins – perhaps for the first time – to glimpse himself and the live he has lived.

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
In Alexander Payne's ABOUT SCHMIDT, Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is retiring from a long, dedicated tenure at Woodmen of the World Insurance Company. Though he is proud of this achievement, he finds some difficulty adjusting to life without work; and to make matters worse, his loving wife Helen (June Squibb) passes away, leaving him all alone. Schmidt turns to his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) for support, but she is busy planning her marriage to Randall (Dermot Mulroney), who Warren just can't stand. He decides to sponsor a Tanzanian child, Ndugu, through a program advertised on television, and sends elaborate letters to the 6-year-old boy along with his $22 monthly checks. Meanwhile, he sets off on a soul-searching voyage across the west in his new RV.
Nicholson's deadpan voice-over narration, especially in his letters to Ndugu, give ABOUT SCHMIDT a solid balance between comedy and drama. The crux of the film is the daughter's wedding in Denver, where Warren is the guest of Randall's outrageous, new-agey mom (Kathy Bates). Though the funny moments make light of Warren's state in life, the overall feel of the film is a bit sad, and its enigmatic ending will keep viewers guessing what will happen to this uniquely knowable character.

Customer Reviews

SOOOO Boring
I believed the hype on the cover. 'terrific' and 'a very funny movie'. It was dullsville to the extreme. Admittedly I only watched until the funeral but by then all five of us had had enough. And not one single laugh or faint smile. Jack couldn't have been more miserable if he'd tried. Reading other reviews the overall opinion is that it is thoroughly sad. I don't want that from a film, I'm afraid. We need cheering up in the doom and gloom that is 2008 Britain!

Lonely life portrayed by excellent Nicholson
Jack Nicholson (Easy Rider) stars in an Oscar nominated role as Warren R. Schmidt, a man who feels alone as he retires. His wife controls his life and his daughter is getting married to a man he hates.

Nicholson has delivered numerous roles which have landed him with an Oscar nomination, and this nomination was extremely deserved with a beautiful portrayal of a man who has come to the end of his job and is in a state of loneliness and the way Nicholson portrays this concept is far from his usual evil and enthusiastic performances in The Shining and Chinatown. We are seeing a different side of the 3 time Oscar winner in Alexander Payne's comedy drama and you wouldn't even believe it was Nicholson come the end of the film, and in a personal opinion, I find this to be my favourite performance by the talented actor.

His performance leads the way in a sentimental journey about loneliness and self discovery. And the writing by Payne is great to convey the sense of loneliness, especially through the use of Ndugu, a child in the Childcare programme who Schmidt talks to through writing letters and donating money to, and the final scene of the film had me in tears, and not many modern films do that to me.

Extremely well directed with some great short scenes portraying realism and drama convey the genre. I didn't find it particularly hilarious, more putting a smile on your face and chucklesome, especially the waterbed scene.

Though it took a while to get into, I couldn't fault the drama on anything else, with sensational performances, writing, direction and scenery all executed brilliantly by everyone involved.

Nicholson gets great support from the brilliant Kathy Bates (Misery) who is very funny in her role as the quirky Roberta.

9.5/10

Miserable, yet enchanting
Admittedly the settings in this film are all very drab, but this is what enables us to get inside the Schmidt's head - he does feel that his life is drab, boring and unrewarding and that he's unappreciated and misunderstood by family and friends on just about every level.
After losing his wife, he is determined to get back some of his life before it's too late and we follow him on this cathartic journey.
With no-one to listen to him or pour out his thoughts to, Schmidt unloads everything in his letters to Ndugu - his 'adopted' son to whom he sends £22 per month sponsorship money.
Of course, with anyone other than Jack Nicholson (who seems to turn to gold anything he touches) it may not have worked so well, but that aside, most people will be able to relate to this film.
The ending is very thought-provoking and shows that people really can make a difference, whether they realise it or not.