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| Jack Nicholson under a cloud with tousled hair on this poster for Alexander Payne's About Schmidt |
We meet insurance vice president Schmidt just as he is retiring to an empty existence with his wife, who annoys him fiercely, in Omaha, Nebraska. But then she dies, and what is Schmidt to do then?
The taboo-ridden, unsexy material of About Schmidt is handled with usual sensibility and a keen eye for the grotesque and the really, really funny by Nebraskan master filmmaker, co-writer/director Alexander Payne (The Passion of Martin (1991)), one of the best contemporary, American filmmakers, and by Jack Nicholson (Easy Rider (1969)), who gives one of the finest performances of his legendary career. Schmidt stands out as a real, rounded character, who is portrayed with delicate humanity and real spirit by grand master Nicholson. From the character's hysterically funny letters to his African sponsor boy, Ndugu, to the almost unbearable family collisions, he suffers through, Nicholson commands his part with unequaled brilliance.
Other great performances in the movie come from Hope Davis (Mumford (1999)), Kathy Bates (Have Mercy (2006)) and Dermot Mulroney (Pure Genius (2016-17)), who has never looked worse, styled as Davis' betrothed to look a perfect boob here in a very funny part.
About Schmidt is a very moving and funny film for anyone mildly interested in anything in life. Payne co-wrote the script with Jim Taylor (Citizen Ruth (1996)), and the film is loosely based on Louis Begley's (Schmidt's Steps Back (2012)) same-titled 1996 novel.
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Top 10: Best dramedies reviewed by Film Excess to date
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2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Election (1999) - Payne's high school politics dramedy
Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 105.8 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 3.52 times its cost)
[About Schmidt premiered 22 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 124 minutes. The script was based on an original script Payne had written but did not find support for in 1991, which he later combined with elements from Begley's novel. Nicholson was paid 10 mil. $ for his performance, a third of the film's budget. Shooting took place in Iowa, Colorado, including Denver, and in Nebraska from March - May 2001. The film opened #24 to a 282k $ first weekend in 6 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #4, behind fellow holdover hits The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Catch Me If You Can and Two Weeks Notice, and spent another week in the top 5 (#5) and grossed 65 mil. $ (61.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 6.2 mil. $ (5.9 %) and Italy with 4.6 mil. $ (4.3 %). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Actor (Nicholson), lost to Adrien Brody in The Pianist, and Supporting Actress (Bates) to Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago. It won 2/5 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for a BAFTA, won an AFI award, and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Payne returned with Sideways (2004). Nicholson returned in Anger Management (2003). About Schmidt is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
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