Film
About Schmidt
Jack Nicholson plays a newly retired actuary who discovers that decades of steady work leave no clear idea of who he actually is. Alexander Payne's film is a deadpan, melancholy comedy about the space after a career ends — funny in a wincing way, sad in a way that sneaks up on you. Good for anyone who likes their comedy laced with real dread.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like quietly funny films about ordinary people stumbling through the wreckage of a life they never quite examined, where the laughs come from embarrassment and the sadness stays unspoken.
Skip it if you want a story that moves briskly or resolves neatly; it lingers on small humiliations and long silences, and its humour is dry enough that some viewers will find it bleak rather than funny.
What it asks of you: Settle in for a little over two hours of mostly unhurried scenes, with patience for a protagonist who is hard to warm to and a tone that shifts without warning between wry and wounded.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Nebraska2013
Same director, same deadpan Midwestern melancholy, another old man on a pointless-seeming journey that turns out to matter more than anyone expects. Payne's tenderness for stubborn old men is fully formed here.
But Black and white and even slower-paced than Schmidt — patience is required and rewarded, not immediate.
Sideways2004
Payne again, this time on failed men in their forties rather than sixties, with the same gift for finding comedy in disappointment without ever mocking the disappointed.
But Wine snobbery and infidelity plots may grate if you found Schmidt's midlife wallowing a lot already.
The Straight Story1999
David Lynch's gentlest film: an elderly man drives a lawnmower across states to see his estranged brother. Plain, patient, quietly devastating in the same register as Schmidt's road trip.
But Almost nothing happens by design — if you want jokes or momentum, this will feel glacial.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from About Schmidt
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Umberto D.1952
Same central question as Schmidt — who are you once your job and usefulness disappear — but stripped of Nicholson's irony and Payne's cushioning wit, so the loneliness lands raw.
Italian neorealism at its most quietly heartbreaking: an old pensioner and his dog, alone against a city that has no more use for him. No jokes to hide behind, just unbearable honesty.
But There is almost no comic relief and the ending offers no comfort — this is Schmidt's question asked without mercy.
More like this (8)
Up in the Air2009
George Clooney as a man who has built his whole identity around a job, forced to confront what's underneath it. Sharper and glossier than Schmidt but asking the same question.
But Slicker and more commercial — the corporate satire dates it, and the ending ties things up more neatly.
The Savages2007
Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman as siblings dealing with an aging, difficult parent — prickly, funny, and unsentimental about family obligation in exactly Schmidt's key.
But Focuses on caregiving rather than retirement, so the specific ache is different even if the tone matches.
A Man Called Ove2015
A cantankerous Swedish retiree who's given up on life gets pulled back into it by nosy neighbours. Warmer and more openly sentimental than Schmidt but built from the same bones.
But Leans harder into heartwarming uplift — if you liked Schmidt's refusal to resolve neatly, this may feel too soft.
Grumpy Old Men1993
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau bickering their way through retirement in Minnesota — broader comedy, but the same target: men who don't know what to do with themselves now.
But Much lighter and sitcom-ish; there's no real darkness here, just cranky charm.
The Bucket List2007
Nicholson again, this time paired with Morgan Freeman, both facing mortality with jokes. Interesting to watch back to back with Schmidt to see two very different late-career Nicholsons.
But Considerably more sentimental and Hollywood-polished — the edges Payne left rough are sanded smooth here.
Harry and Tonto1974
Art Carney won an Oscar as an old man and his cat crossing America after being evicted from his apartment — gentle, funny, and unexpectedly moving in a very similar register to Schmidt.
But Very much a product of its era pacing-wise; some may find it too meandering by modern standards.
Up2009
Structurally it's the same film — a retired man, a dead or distant spouse, an unlikely journey to feel useful again — just told through balloons instead of Winnebagos.
A widowed retiree feeling invisible ties balloons to his house and goes looking for one last adventure. Pixar smuggles genuine grief and purposelessness into a kids' film with startling grace.
But It's an animated family movie, so if you want Schmidt's adult dryness rather than warmth, this will feel like a detour.
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa2013
Same skeleton — a disreputable old man forces his way into a young relative's life via an unwanted road trip — but played for gross-out laughs instead of quiet devastation, proving the story survives almost any register.
Johnny Knoxville's foul-mouthed elderly con man drags his grandson cross-country in a filthy, gleefully tasteless prank comedy — the trashiest possible cousin of Schmidt's dignified unraveling.
But It's crude, juvenile, and proud of it — there's zero of the introspection or craft that makes Schmidt worth watching.
People
Cast
Jack NicholsonWarren Schmidt
Kathy BatesRoberta Hertzel
Hope DavisJeannie Schmidt
Dermot MulroneyRandall Hertzel
June SquibbHelen Schmidt
Howard HessemanLarry Hertzel
Harry GroenerJohn Rusk
Connie RayVicki Rusk
Len CariouRay Nichols- Mark VenhuizenDuncan Hertzel
Cheryl HamadaSaundra
Phil ReevesMinister in Denver
Directing
- Alexander PayneDirector
- Rebecca RobertsonScript Supervisor
Writing
- Louis BegleyAuthor
- Alexander PayneScreenplay
- Jim TaylorScreenplay
Production
- Bill BadalatoExecutive Producer
- Rachael HorovitzExecutive Producer
- Harry GittesProducer
- Michael BesmanProducer
Recommended by
Ikiru, The Straight Story, A Man Called Ove, Gran Torino, Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine, Nebraska, Broken Flowers, Wild Strawberries, Election, A Man Called Otto, Click, Harry and Tonto, Make Way for Tomorrow, The Descendants, The Leisure Seeker, The Bucket List, Marvin's Room, Wonder Boys, Grumpy Old Men, Krapp's Last Tape, Flowers for Algernon, Nobody's Fool, Trouble with the Curve, My Life, Everybody's Fine, The Guilt Trip, Hope Springs, Gloria, Schultze Gets the Blues, The Accidental Tourist, Moonlight Mile, Enlightenment Guaranteed, The Barbarian Invasions, Life as a House, Fading Gigolo, Tuesdays with Morrie, Spanglish, I'll See You in My Dreams, The Holdovers, A Woman's Tale, Cocoon: The Return, A Hologram for the King, The Long Way Home, Daddy Nostalgia, Shaukeen, Anand, Bagdad Cafe, Kotch, The New Age, The Sacred Spirit, Two Weeks, What a Wonderful Family!, A Place Called Home, Living, Our Souls at Night, Nothing in Common, The End of the Tour, Year of the Dog, Being Mortal, Election Day, The Harimaya Bridge, Waiting for the end of the World, Goodbye Solo, Hawks, Ride the Eagle, That's Life!, Ethel & Ernest, Spring Forward, Pushpak Vimaan