SummaryWarren Schmidt (Nicholson) has arrived at several of life's crossraods all at the same time. With no job, no wife, and no family, he 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 a 35-foot motor home. (New Line Productions)
Directed By:Alexander Payne
Written By:Louis Begley, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
About Schmidt
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
85
User score
Generally Favorable
7.8
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
85
85% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
15% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
As sad and poignant and potentially hopeful as it is amusing. The movie is our story as much as it is Schmidt's, no matter if it's viewed as a self-reflection or cautionary tale
100
What makes About Schmidt so extraordinary is how ordinary its tale is; it's a gray picture about gray people looking for some kind of meaning in their gray lives.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.8
80% Positive
98 Ratings
98 Ratings
17% Mixed
21 Ratings
21 Ratings
2% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Aug 27, 2021
10
Nicholson is excellent as Warren Schmidt, a recently retired and widowed man looking ahead to a lonely old age. His daughter, with whom he has never been close, is about to marry a jerk, and he sets off to meet his new relatives, who are a colorful crew. Hats off to the filmmakers, who find plenty of humor in Schmidt's situation (the phrase "Dear Ndugu" which is repeated throughout the film will stay with me) and also present a believable take on Middle America.
May 17, 2020
10
Have you ever thought about what you will do when you are 64 years old? Jack Nicholson is endearing as a old man in his own crossroad: jubilated, his daughter is getting married with a jerk, his wife passed away and exchange letters with a boy from Africa. For laugh and weep for 124 minutes. A must to see.
100
A quiet, heart-rending masterpiece, one with an actor's turn that people will remember, and rediscover, eons into the future.
90
Payne, the great satirist behind "Citizen Ruth" and "Election," loves to populate his films with throwaway details, which in About Schmidt accumulate into a portrait of Midwestern life that's almost chilling in its exactitude.
80
Stands as a poignant marker in the career of a major artist.
70
Much more deserving of plaudits is the secondary cast--Hope Davis as Schmidt's resentful daughter, Dermot Mulroney as the waterbed salesman she's engaged to, and, above all, Kathy Bates in a hilarious turn as the latter's New Age mother.
40
Had Payne the grace or generosity to present the vulgarity and naiveté and tackiness of these characters as something vital and endearing and delightful, the movie might have been explosively funny.
Jun 10, 2012
10
I just love this! Jack Nicholson is my all time favorite actor. He plays so well all of his roles in every movie he does, great movie, it is really sad
Jun 10, 2012
10
This is a great movie, i loved jack nicholson´s performance as i always do, it is very sentimental and good, one of my favorite movies from nicholson, i really recomend it
Aug 12, 2014
9
Of retirement, of loss, of soul-searching. Of life. Alexander Payne creates the most natural films films can produce. This, is what should have been Jack Nicholson's most deserving Oscar. He pulls himself away from his cocky, intimidating and sometimes arrogant charm that he has added to so many of his movies, and has given us a truly human role: a man with limits, faults, and weakness'. Kathy Bates makes you want to piss your pants, so to speak. The film is great. Jack Nicholson: so amazing it's surreal.
Jan 17, 2014
9
I loved seeing this at the theatres when it was released. At the time I hadn't seen anything by Alexander Payne, but made a mental note that I'd keep an eye on his work, and with good reason. Nicholson was excellent as I had come to expect, the writing was exemplary, Bates was hilarious and the ending was very poignant: I was quite surprised it didn't get any Oscars, though it achieved other merits.
