About Schmidt: Film #19 of Film 365

Wednesday 6th April 2011

Director: Alexander Payne
Year: 2002
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney

I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this or not. In some films, I love Jack Nicholson (The Shining). In other films, I'm not so keen (The Bucket List). I'd read good reviews for this movie, but I've seen Jack Nicholson movies before with good reviews and not enjoyed them.

Here, Nicholson plays Warren Schmidt, a man who has just retired and is floundering a little, not really knowing what to do with his life.

I spent a lot of this movie waiting for Nicholson to snap. That's what he does, right? I guess you could argue he does snap, but perhaps not in the way you might expect. And that's one reason I really enjoyed this movie. It's totally straight, and feels really true to life. There's not really any Hollywood gloss here, just a normal guy (even if he is played by Jack Nicholson) trying to deal with a significant time when everything in his life changes.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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