About
Schmidt
is for the silver haired generation what American Beauty
was for middle aged suburban Americans; without the dark
undertone. This movie hits home because it is about ordinary
people dealing with very ordinary situations in a believable
way. Some have gone through what Schmidt is experiencing, while
others will be able to empathize with him.
About
Schmidt
asks, “What difference have I made?” This question begins to get
tossed around in Warren Schmidt’s (Nicholson) head after his
friend Ray (Len Cariou) makes a speech at his retirement party
saying that the gifts and people at his party don’t mean
anything. According to Ray, what does matter is the fact that
Schmidt has worked for the same company for 32 years. Upon
retirement Schmidt finds that he doesn’t really have anything to
do outside of his former job. He has become a relic, who has
nothing better to do than watch television, that is until
perhaps the most genius part of the plot, when Schmidt decides
to sponsor Ndugu Umbo for 22 dollars a month. "Send a letter
with some personal information" he is instructed. This begins
an amazing relationship as Schmidt pours out his heart to
somebody he has never met, revealing more than he would to even
his wife, Helen (June Squibb). His wife dies very unexpectedly
leaving Schmidt jobless, and without family, except for his
daughter Jeannie (Davis) who is about to marry Randall (Dermot
Mulroney). Randall is a lovable loser, but nonetheless a loser.
In a journey to find himself Schmidt hits the road in his RV. On
the way to his daughter’s wedding he stops at places of
significance in his life and reflects. All the while, he keeps
Ndugu updated.
Jack
Nicholson gives a performance of perfection as Schmidt. He gives
Schmidt just enough of his craziness while pulling off a
child-like curiosity. Kathy Bates is wonderful as Roberta
Hertzel. Ms. Bates has the wonderful ability to make her roles
seem as though they were tailor made for her and does so again
here. Hope Davis is solid as Jeannie. Dermot Mulroney seems
genuinely perplexed by his surroundings as Randall, and is so
believably white-trashy that it makes you wonder about his own
background.
The
filmmakers employed some interesting shots in order to relay
some of Schmidt’s feelings to us. As Schmidt begins to question
his life accomplishments and his place in the whole scheme of
things, we see wide, open expanses. Schmidt is often small in
the foreground with the huge open sky behind him, or an endless
deserted road before him. We can feel his awe at how big life
is. As the movie progresses and Schmidt begins to understand his
life, the shots grow more compact At the point of Schmidt’s
wife’s death we hear the droning noise of a running vacuum
cleaner, and the camera is in effect sucked into the vacuum
hose; the vacuum imitates the very worth and meaning of
Schmidt’s life being sucked away as everything that he once held
dear is taken away. Schmidt’s questions of life so consume him
that at his wife’s funeral he simply hears everything in a muted
tone as he looks around aimlessly as if wondering how he wound
up there.
This movie
will inevitably draw comparisons to American Beauty as I
have done. It is only on the surface however, that these movies
are similar. American Beauty is about a man who is on the
brink of a breakdown and is fed up with life and in the end
gives up. About Schmidt is about a man who is just
beginning to accept and embrace his life. It is about a man who
finally understands his place and realizes that he has made a
difference. This is a wonderful message to start a New Year
with. We should realize that we are all special, and that we
have a purpose here no matter how great or small it may be.
