Thursday, January 02, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film: About Schmidt is proof that Nicholson refuses to coast

By Bob Grimm

A newly retired man faces some shocking life realizations in About Schmidt, further evidence that Jack Nicholson is getting better with age.

To be truthful, it's hard to forget you are looking at Nicholson when he occupies a role. Those arched eyebrows, the devilish smile, the distinctive hairline--he's Jack! He's one of the more recognizable celebrities in the world.

In About Schmidt, the nasty new comedy from writer-director Alexander Payne, Nicholson does an amazing job of immersing himself in the part. With this film, and other recent roles such as his confused policeman in The Pledge, he has been able to jettison most of those trademark personality traits that were sometimes distracting in his '80s and '90s work.

Walking around as if he's carrying a small schooner on his back, with bad comb-over hair and sullen expression, Nicholson manages to practically disappear into the role of Warren Schmidt. As a man disappointed in himself and his lack of impact on the world, he's completely believable as somebody decidedly non-Jack.

Shortly after retiring from his job selling insurance, Schmidt is dealt a tragic blow. He's forced to look back on his life's achievements, not happy with what he sees. Efforts to better his contributions to the world are small at first, including signing up for a foster child through one of those worldwide charitable organizations. Letters to the foster child, terribly frank correspondence that often results in rage and profanity, provide the film's hilarious voice-over.

When sending a few bucks to a child on the other side of the globe isn't enough, Albert decides to rescue his own offspring. He sets out in his Winnebago on a desperate mission to stop his daughter Jeannie (a frighteningly real Hope Davis) from marrying bona fide loser Randall (Dermot Mulroney, acting so well that you'll forget how much he's sucked in past films). This mission will teach Schmidt a few life lessons about meddling, accepting realities that don't sit well with him and learning to cope with a new family he considers far from ideal.

Heading up the crop of nightmarish in-laws is Kathy Bates as Roberta, Randall's mother. She's a free-spirited divorcee who has no problem dropping her robe for a nude hot tub encounter (Go Kathy!), an advance that sends houseguest Schmidt scrambling for his Winnebago. Also of interest is Howard Hessman as one of Roberta's ex-hubbies, always trying to help, putting a positive spin on everything and driving those in close proximity completely nuts.

As Randall, the mullet-sporting, waterbed-selling groom-to-be, Mulroney's spot-on performance should provide his waning career with a deserved jumpstart. Randall is a moron, pushing Amway-like pyramid schemes and prompting unwelcome group hugs. Surprisingly, Mulroney's goofball is far from caricature, with the actor finding something sweet and virtuous at Randall's core. When Jeannie becomes subject to rage attacks, and Randall must act as the pacifier, it becomes obvious who the real "loser" of the two might be.

As Schmidt becomes more irritated with his prospective in-laws, his letters to the foster child become more venomous. One can just picture the mortified charity worker reading these horrifying letters to a bemused Tanzanian boy wolfing down his bowl of Schmidt-sponsored rice. It's the sort of cruel humor that Payne previously accomplished in the high school satire Election. He's becoming a true auteur of scathingly honest, brutal comedy.

From his first pained expression at a retirement party to a final shot that qualifies as an all-time great Jack moment, Nicholson is at his best. He's an actor who refuses to coast, and About Schmidt will go down as one of his greatest works.