Description
In
Alexander Payne's ABOUT SCHMIDT, Warren Schmidt (
Jack Nicholson) is retiring from a long, dedicated tenure at Woodmen of the World Insurance Company. Though he is proud of this achievement, he finds some difficulty adjusting to life without work. To make matters worse, his loving wife Helen (June Squibb) passes away, leaving him all alone. He turns to his daughter, Jeannie (
Hope Davis), for support, but she is busy planning her marriage to Randall (
Dermot Mulroney), who Warren just can't stand. He decides to sponsor a Tanzanian child, Ndugu, through a program advertised on television, and sends elaborate letters to the 6-year-old boy along with his $22 monthly checks. Meanwhile, he sets off on a soul-searching voyage across the west in his new RV.
Nicholson's deadpan voice-over narration, especially in his letters to Ndugu, give ABOUT SCHMIDT a solid balance between comedy and drama. The crux of the film is the daughter's wedding in Denver, where Warren is the guest of Randall's outrageous, new-agey mom (
Kathy Bates). Though the funny moments make light of Warren's state in life, the overall feel of the film is a bit sad, and its enigmatic ending will keep viewers guessing what will happen to this uniquely knowable character.
Details
Released: Tue 14 Nov 2006
Catalogue Number: 6319
Rating: 

- Director: Alexander Payne
- Distributor: Warner Home Video
- Producers: Michael Besman, Harry Gittes
- Screenwriters: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
- Feature:
- Deleted Scenes (9)
- Woodmen Sequences
- Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
- Audio Commentary - 2. I AM SAM
- Audio Commentary - 3. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
- Web Links - 1. Childreach.org
- Audio:
- English Dolby Digital 5.1
- DTS Surround 5.1 - English
- Stereo Surround - English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Discs: 1
- Format: NTSC
- Layers: 1
- Release Year: 2002
- Running Time: 125 minutes
Availability
This is an import product, and as such may take longer to source stock, we estimate that despatch will take 14-20 days after ordering,
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