About Schmidt (2002) – 3/5

Schmidt happens

„About Schmidt“ is an American live action movie that runs for over two hours and was released back in 2002, so this one is over 20 years old now and maybe over 25 or 30 even if you get here a little later to read this review of mine. The writer and director is Alexander Payne, not yet an Oscar winner back then, but now he has two wins for penning. No surprise he was joined by Jim Taylor for this work here as the two have collaborated on many occasions. For Louis Begley this is the only work that got turned into a movie. I am curious what he thought of the outcome here. Or thinks because he is still with us and over 90 in 2024. But even if Payne is a household name in Hollywood, the man that this film stands and falls (but really only stands) with is Jack Nicholson, who plays the title character of course. He had already won three Oscars by then and looks like this film here was his final nomination. He even had a decent shot at winning a fourth because he took home the Golden Globe for Drama, but in the end it was not meant to be. At the end, it was also not his major rival that night Daniel Day-Lewis who won, but young Adrien Brody instead in what is still considered one of the biggest surprises in the male lead category from the Academy Awards. What is also a bit surprising is that Payne was not nominated for writing here, but the second nomination for the film went to Kathy Bates. Well, that was not surprising because Bates is a really big name in Hollywood too and she got nominated at the SAG Awards and at the Golden Globes before. I like her, but I must say that I did not really think her performance here was super outstanding. There are many films and shows as well where I think she was better. I would not even blame her because she really does the most with how the character is written, but it is just not enough for an Oscar nomination from my perspective. The name Bates probably helped and also that we see her topless briefly in one scene, which is nothing actresses 50+ do too often. Or maybe I should say „did“ because back then it was even more of an exception. It probably came easy that she was never considered a sex symbol anyway and already had an Oscar, so why would she care. Nothing could ruin her career at that point.

There are more cast members I want to mention in the supporting roles: Hope Davis is pretty stunning here and looked younger than she was. Dermot Mulroney is an actor that probably not too many are familiar with, but I always appreciate him. I did not even recognize him here with the outfit and haircut. He plays in one of my favorite romance movies ever, which makes it easy for me to smile when I recognize him somewhere or at least read his name during the credits. And of course I have to mention June Squibb, who is almost 95 now and still kicking. Hopefully for years to come. She is only in it at the very beginning, but Payne worked with her on „Nebraska“ too a few years later, a movie I liked even more than this one here. A man goes on a lengthy trip there too. Squibb played the wife there too and was just a delight scoring a deserved Oscar nomination. Here her character does not warrant that, but she is still nice to see early on, even if she plays an unlikable character. It was really also a lot of back-and-forth there when it comes to her and how Schmidt sees her. Initially they seem to be a harmonic couple. Then we hear voiceovers that tell us the opposite, how Schmidt is completely annoyed by her, then when he finds her dead, he is of course really sad. And misses her a lot afterwards and does not really think about the aspects anymore that bothered him about her before that. Honestly, her last words directed at him before he leaves the house are also not too nice. But from the opposite perspective you could also say that if he had really returned home earlier like she asked him to instead of having this milkshake drink there, then perhaps he could have called an ambulance and saved her. We will never know. Just like we will never know how she really thought and felt about him. He asks the stars on one occasion and this is really the last time when she is included, or crucially included. The fact that he mentions her towards the end during the speech at the wedding ceremony shows that by then he had probably really forgiven her for cheating on him. Or who knows, we cannot really be sure. He also behaves peacefully there and we could not be sure if he might escalate because obviously he was still not happy at all with the choice his daughter made. We understand that by what he calls her husband towards the end.

However, Schmidt may be a man with some shenanigans to him and not the nicest fellow around, but on many occasions we see that at his very core, he is not a bad man. The mourning for his wife was real and of course there is the whole story with the money he sends to Africa to support a little boy and make sure he leads a better life. This was also then a bit of a happy ending when Schmidt gets this letter from the woman taking care of the boy there and she thanks him and sends him a picture drawn by the boy. Of course, Schmidt was really moved there and his tears were real again. All this came immediately after we hear him say something utterly depressing about his life and how meaningless it all seems. So there are some deep and really touching moments in here for sure, but this is always Payne’s approach you can say and still he manages to mix it nicely with some situational comedy. With Nicholson he also had the right man for the role to deliver the awkwardness. The awkward comedy. Take the moment when he pees all over the bathroom the way he really wants, which was maybe the funniest of the entire film how he decides to let go and let flow there with nobody stopping him. There were also multiple hilarious static camera shots showing us Schmidt’s face and he did not even have to do or say something there. Or take that funnily weird fella at the wedding. But there are other scenes that are funny and a bit sad at the same time. Take the alien dream moment he mentions towards his daughter. Or take the moment when he gets a little too close with a new acquaintance. But then again, she kinda deserved it. What a mean statement to make towards a man who had just lost his wife! Even if she was right with all she said, sometimes it is better to be quiet than to be right. And she could have been right without him telling so.

I must also mention the daughter: I was struggling a bit with her too like especially when the protagonist is driving towards her, probably because he was feeling a bit on the lonely side, but also just because he can, and her reaction was utterly disrespectful there on the phone how she made herself very clear that she did not want him to come. It’s his money she wants. Maybe this is why Mulroney’s character was so over-the-top caring and friendly towards Schmidt too early on. The comforting hug was funny. But it was sad there to see how there Schmidt begged his daughter to stay a little longer. Unsuccessfully. Or take the scene before the alien conversation. I mean what the protagonist said precisely was surely bizarre, but the daughter could not have known yet at that point and did not care at all that her father wanted to speak to her in private. The first delay was already not exactly nice, but when she almost drives off without having the conversation, it was just utterly mean. No daughter-of-the-year material by any means. By the way, early on I was wondering if perhaps she is not even his biological daughter, but the other guy’s, the one who wrote those letters to Squibb’s character, but the film did not elaborate on that any further. As for Mulroney’s character, it was not totally clear what was on his mind. I would say he was just a goofball and not evil in a way to get as much money out of his father-in-law as possible. Could very well be that he believed in this snowball system himself there he mentioned to him and asked him to invest in. If you pay attention, you find out that he never called Schmidt again afterwards about this topic. Of course, you can also speculate if his wife kept him from doing so because she knew it would not go well. Overall, the in-laws are quite the goofball family and mostly in it for the comedy. Each and every single one of them. Or at least the ones we find out about.

Overall, Payne and Nicholson created in Schmidt one of the most interesting and multi-layered movie characters from the year 2002. He definitely has his flaws, but more than just a few inclusions show you his heart is somewhat at the right place and there is nothing wrong with not appreciating the young guy who follows after you at the office after your retirement. That does not make him a bad guy. Neither of the two. Take the very short mention of Schmidt talking to a Native American. Politically correct language was gaining support back then. Schmidt had lots of respect for the man. Maybe because he was closer to his age too. I could elaborate on a few more scenes and depictions here, but I think this is pretty much it. The film also starts in a really nice manner with the clock ticking down on his last day. There is a parallel to how his face there is just 100% stoic, but in the final shot it is filled with tears of joy. This final shot is all about his private life then and not about work. It is also a nice reference towards being remembered somehow, even if it comes from a young kid at the other end of the planet. Touching inclusion long before people started including stuff like that for the sake of things. So yeah, I would say this is a good film and worth seeing, but not one of my favorites from Payne. One of the best lead performances though. Oh and pay attention to the „Sideways“ reference seen on the screen on one occasion and how Payne later on with „Nebraska“ continued elaborating on schemes that do not pursue honorable intentions.