Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, June Squibb, Kathy Bates, Howard Hesseman, Len Cariou, Connie Ray, Harry Groener
Certificate: 15
Running time: 125 minutes

About Schmidt is the story of recently retired insurance-risk calculator Warren R. Schmidt. After his retirement, Schmidt is settling down for an uneventful journey to the grave……….he even buys a Winnebago. His daughter is about to get married to someone he does not approve of, and he begins to wonder who his wife actually is. After his wife dies suddenly, he decides that he must try to stop his only daughter from marrying a loser.

Jack Nicholson is superb as Warren Schmidt, which is not unexpected as Nicholson has such a great comic talent. He brings a certain charm to the character, and also you begin to feel pity for him too. He tells a fair amount of the story, particularly how he feels, by writing letters to an African child that he has sponsored. You can also feel his vulnerability as he has relied on his wife throughout his 42-year marriage, and with her death he faces new challenges.

Hope Davis plays Schmidt's soon-to-be-wed daughter, Jeannie, and is good in the role. You can feel a sense of dislike towards her father, as he expects her to take her mother's place and look after him, which she cannot do as she is working for an electronics firm several hundred miles away.

Dermot Mulroney is hilarious as Randall, the mattress-selling son-in-law in waiting. Nothing he does seems to impress Warren at all, but he seems so eager to get along with his future wife's father. He is very likeable.

Kathy Bates is fantastic as Randall's mother. In her limited screen time she gives a few comic moments, and it may have been better if she had made an appearance earlier.

Overall, the film is very enjoyable, with strong performances from all the lead characters. Nicholson is very much in his element, and much has been written about his performance. Whilst it is top-notch, it is not quite as good as his performance in As Good As It Gets, but then it would be very difficult to match that. The film is not as funny as the trailer (if you've seen it) makes it out to be, but it is still well worth watching nonetheless