About Schmidt

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Jack Nicholson plays retiring insurance actuary Warren Schmidt in Alexander Payne's About Schmidt. Schmidt has settled into a dormant life. He has an unfulfilling marriage to Helen (June Squibb), and conspires to spend as much time away from her as possible. Schmidt's daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) is engaged to Randall Hertzel (Dermot Mulroney), a man Schmidt believes is entirely unworthy of his daughter. When Helen unexpectedly dies, Warren is adrift until he discovers old love letters sent to his wife from his best friend. This inspires Warren to make a valiant effort to stop his daughter's wedding. His plans start to go awry when he meets Randall's extroverted mother, Roberta (Kathy Bates). About Schmidt was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival where many were surprised that Nicholson did not take home the Best Actor award. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: Mult
• Features:
  • cc
  • 9 deleted scenes
  • Theatrical trailer
  • DVD-ROM content

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Actor - 2002 (Jack Nicholson)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 2002 (Kathy Bates)

• American Film Institute

•     Won Top Ten Movie of the Year - 2002

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - 2003 (Jack Nicholson)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2003
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 2003 (Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 2003 (Kathy Bates)
•     Nominated Best Actor - 2002 (Jack Nicholson)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2002
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 2002 (Kathy Bates)
•     Nominated Best Writer - 2002 (Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 2002 (Jack Nicholson)
•     Won Best Screenplay - 2002 (Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne)
•     Nominated Best Director - 2002 (Alexander Payne)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic - 2002 (Kathy Bates)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2002

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - 2002 (Jack Nicholson)
•     Won Best Picture - 2002
•     Won Best Screenplay - 2002 (Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress (Runner-up) - 2002 (Kathy Bates)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 2002 (Kathy Bates)

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Supporting Actress (Runner-up) - 2002 (Kathy Bates)

• Screen Actors Guild

•     Nominated Best Actor - 2002 (Jack Nicholson)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 2002 (Kathy Bates)

• Toronto Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - Runner-up - 2002 (Jack Nicholson)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress [Runner-up] - 2002 (Kathy Bates)

• Writers Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 2002 (Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Jack Nicholson - Warren Schmidt
       Hope Davis - Jeannie
       Dermot Mulroney - Randall Hertzel
       Kathy Bates - Roberta Hertzel
       Len Cariou - Ray
       Howard Hesseman - Larry
       June Squibb - Helen Schmidt
       Cheryl Hamada - Saundra

• Director:

  Alexander Payne

• Producer:

  Harry Gittes, Michael Besman

• Screenwriter:

  Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

• Book Author:

  Louis Begley

• Cinematographer:

  James Glennon

• Featured Music:

  Erik Satie

• Composer (Music Score):

  Rolfe Kent

• Editor:

  Kevin Tent

• Production Designer:

  Jane Ann Stewart

• Executive Producer:

  Bill Badalato, Rachel Horovitz

• Set Designer:

  Frank Gaeta

• Costume Designer:

  Wendy Chuck

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Art Rochester

• First Assistant Director:

  George Parra

• Casting:

  Lisa Beach, Sarah Katzman, John Jackson

REVIEW:

• About Schmidt is another pitch-black comedy from director Alexander Payne and co-screenwriter Jim Taylor, the team responsible for Citizen Ruth and Election. While About Schmidt features Jack Nicholson's most impressively controlled performance in many years, the film's mix of bleakness and cheap laughs has to be seen as a disappointment after the sharp satire and moral complexity of Election. The film starts well, with Nicholson bringing a bitter retiree into sharp focus. His contempt for his chipper wife, Helen (June Squibb), and his resentment at being pushed out of his job simmer under the surface until he begins writing to a Tanzanian orphan named Ndugu, whom he "sponsors" after seeing a grim charity infomercial. It's a conceit that seems too clever, but it works surprisingly well, allowing the audience to see, in Schmidt's straightforward ramblings ("Who is this old woman who lives in my house?"), another layer of mendacity in how he sees himself. We can see what an unreliable narrator he is, though Payne sometimes belabors the point, as when Schmidt is writing about using a road trip as an opportunity to enjoy the time he has left on earth, as a bird dropping splatters across his windshield. Every relationship in Schmidt's life is tinged with self-delusion. His idealized view of his daughter, Jeannie (a sharp turn by Hope Davis), threatens to destroy their shaky relationship when he decides to interfere with her plans to marry a dorky waterbed salesman, Randall (Dermot Mulroney). Randall and his clan are portrayed as buffoons, mostly, but Kathy Bates, in a bold performance, lends some dignity to Randall's crudely free-spirited mother. The film's condescending attitude toward these characters produces some easy laughs at their expense, but that doesn't alleviate the unrelenting grimness of Payne's mildly disappointing comedy. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi