There some familiar ingredients here. Another dark comedy-drama from Alexander Payne with a Nebraska setting.
Jack Nicholson being less Jack and daring to be more of the kind of character he played in The King of Marvin Gardens. Whereas in that film he played a depressed radio host telling stories to the listener, here we have Schmidt telling stories to a sponsored child in an orphanage in Africa.
Schmidt has newly retired from a lifetime of working in the insurance industry. His replacement a young hotshot has no time for him.
Schmidt is secretly irritated by his wife and she by him after we find out when she suddenly dies that she had an affair.
They planned to have a road trip after they retired and he is now on his own, travelling to his daughter's wedding. Her daughter resents him, her husband to be is a jerk, he is excellently portrayed by Dermot Mulroney.
The film is a character study, a man who failed to be interesting, worked to provide for his wife and family and realising that he will soon be forgotten.
Schmidt is empty, sad and even resentful inside when he realises his wife never understood him and he never really understood her.
His daughter cannot see that the husband although very nice is a bit of a jerk with get rich quick schemes.
The film starts slowly, gets absorbing but despite the emotional pay off at the end, I did find it less than enthralling.
I do find Payne's films rather heavy going and although well acted, the pacing makes it off kilter.
Jack Nicholson being less Jack and daring to be more of the kind of character he played in The King of Marvin Gardens. Whereas in that film he played a depressed radio host telling stories to the listener, here we have Schmidt telling stories to a sponsored child in an orphanage in Africa.
Schmidt has newly retired from a lifetime of working in the insurance industry. His replacement a young hotshot has no time for him.
Schmidt is secretly irritated by his wife and she by him after we find out when she suddenly dies that she had an affair.
They planned to have a road trip after they retired and he is now on his own, travelling to his daughter's wedding. Her daughter resents him, her husband to be is a jerk, he is excellently portrayed by Dermot Mulroney.
The film is a character study, a man who failed to be interesting, worked to provide for his wife and family and realising that he will soon be forgotten.
Schmidt is empty, sad and even resentful inside when he realises his wife never understood him and he never really understood her.
His daughter cannot see that the husband although very nice is a bit of a jerk with get rich quick schemes.
The film starts slowly, gets absorbing but despite the emotional pay off at the end, I did find it less than enthralling.
I do find Payne's films rather heavy going and although well acted, the pacing makes it off kilter.