About Schmidt

About Schmidt

Every once in a while, one will find another whom has no resources, no intellectual curiosity, and really has nothing to do in their lives other than work and live in a world of monotony and melancholy. Warren Schmidt, the lead character in Alexander Payne's 2002 film, About Schmidt, is such a man. Schmidt, played by the exuberant Jack Nicholson, learns throughout the film that his "wonderful" life is actually rather empty of any actual substance. Although this film is billed as a comedy, it is an exquisite experience containing several life lessons that all ages will connect with.

About Schmidt begins as Warren Schmidt suffers through his retirement party, then returns home only to start questioning everything about his life. After 42 years of marriage, he finally asks himself, "Who is this old woman who is in my house?" Then after her death, he finds letters from his best friend to her and the morning turns to a fit of rage, in which he discards all of her belongings. He is subsequently left with nowhere else to turn and out of desperation takes off in his Winnebago Adventurer on a journey to find not himself, but a life period. He finally ends up in Denver to attend his beloved daughter's, played by Hope Davis, wedding, to a man, played by Dermot Mulrony, whom Schmidt despises and believes is useless. Throughout this film, the only real confidant Schmidt has is a 6-year-old Tanzanian boy named Ndugu, whom he "adopted" through a world childrens' charity. He, being encouraged to write the child, fills the long letters to this child with all of his confessions, for there is not another person in America that he feels the could confide in.

His lack of confidants is one of the first life lessons shown in this film. He was always so concerned with his "extremely significant" position as an actuary for the Woodman of the World Insurance Company, that he seems to have forgotten that after retirement, friends would be pleasant to have. In the film, it looks as if Schmidt's only friend was the man that appears to be in love with Schmidt's late wife, his rage about the discovered letters, seemingly ends this relationship. This example shows the audience that one must not take their career too seriously, there are other things in life other than a decent job and the paycheck that follows. One must be able to exist

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