week of 1/22/03
 
 
 

Flicks
By Hunter Pope

About Schmidt
Written by Payne and Jim Taylor.
Based on the novel by Louis Begley
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney
Rating: R— language and brief nudity
Area Sightings: Carmike Cinemas


Oh, great, here comes Jack Nicholson again. While all the other actors burst face vessels trying to invent an Oscar worthy expression, the imp Jack does one twitch of his Cheshire eyebrows, and voila, he takes home another gold statue. His new movie, “About Schmidt,” should seal his twelfth nomination, and (unless there’s galactic interference, by say, bloodthirsty alien invaders), he should take home the little man bathed in bullion.

I’m not actually complaining. I know how incredible Nicholson can be and anything he does deserves consideration. But Nicholson’s presence is like the nerdy kid in class whose arm seemed plastered in the up position. No one else has a chance, and after seeing “About Schmidt,” I would probably call “shenanigans” if someone else wins.

Why? Because his turn as a middle-aged insurance salesman retiree is unlike anything Jack’s manhandled before. I’m used to a fiery Nicholson, a man who could penetrate and darken a soul with one glare. But with his character, Warren Schmidt, Jack took his molten personality and doused it with icy drabness.

Everything about Schmidt screams plainness. Emotionally, he’s absent; yet, before his retirement, he was committed to crunching numbers for Woodmen of the World Insurance Agency in Omaha, Neb. His wife, Helen (June Squibb), has a troll visage, but she remained dedicated to Warren through diligent cooking and cleaning. Warren returned the favor by bringing home the money day after day, and never, ever, taking a risk.

But, retirement has broken up the routine. Warren’s humble office has been taken over by a young go-getter (who doesn’t need Warren’s help), and now he must spend time with a woman (he confesses in a voice over) he doesn’t really know. Everything in the house was either purchased or decorated by Helen, from the dowdy colors of the sofa and curtains to the convenience store figurines she collects. Worse, Schmidt becomes irritated by anything she does; even down to the way she pulls her keys out of her purse.

The viewer learns of these loathings through a letter that Warren sends to his new correspondent, Ngutu, a 6-year-old in Tanzania who receives $22 a month from Warren through a global hunger aid society. It’s hard to determine if Ngutu can read or even understand the old man’s manifesto, but the letter writing gives an intense walk through Warren’s sad soul.

And the letters become more urgent as the movie progresses. First, Warren reveals that although he loves his daughter, Jeannie (Hope Davis), he detests her fiancé, Randall Hertzel (Dermot Mulroney). Randall sports a bonified mullet, which goes hand in hand with his get- rich-quick pyramid schemes (although he tells Warren that they are not). Randall and Jeannie are to marry in two weeks and Warren shrinks at the thought.

Second, Warren’s wife dies of a brain hemorrhage while vacuuming. This leaves Schmidt to tend for himself, which he’s never done before. Cooking seems as complex as logarithms written in Chinese, and hygiene becomes second fiddle to slothness. Warren begins to realize that his life revolved around work and having a woman to outline the rest of his existence.

Warren defines the silent Middle America — hardworking schleps who eke out their lives in suburban limbo. They work, they come home, they eat, and then they throttle their emotions through celluloid fixations. But, Warren’s been cattle-prodded by the death of his wife and retirement from his numbing job. He now has to actually think, and he finds these new options hellish.

So what does one do when in the pit of despair? Why take a road trip, of course. In stereotypical fashion, Warren purchased a Winnebago Adventurer before his retirement. Now he looks to the monstrosity to define who Warren Schmidt is. Before you can say, “Easy Rider on Geritol,” Warren whisks away in his 30-footer and takes a two-week road trip from Omaha to Denver (where his daughter is getting married).

Where “Easy Rider” depicted a road trip that transcended youth to maturity, “About Schmidt” shows a road trip that demonstrates the pitfalls of being overly mature. Warren searches for his eluded emotions (his interaction with another Winnebago couple is a scream) before he descends on the ill-fated marriage. I won’t say if Warren finds his inner gold, but his outlook definitely changes by the time he shows up in Denver.

The final third of the movie resides in Denver, and its scenes are perhaps the most eloquent and humorous of the film. Schmidt must stay with Roberta Hertzel (Kathy Bates), the mother of mullet man. Although Roberta’s main trait is hospitable, her temper can flare like a malfunctioned bear trap. She’s also readily available, much to Schmidt’s misfortune. It’s here that Schmidt learns the rules of (or lack thereof) of living life in a void.

“About Schmidt” has comedy stapled all over it, but there’s a tragic underbelly that would have made Hamlet shudder. Director Alex Payne (who is known for his bitter parodies in “Election” and “Citizen Ruth”) not only directs his sarcasm at the middle-aged, but anyone who forsakes life for inanimate wonders like a new TV. It’s not wrong to be hard working, but it’s wrong to abandon the interior child who bestows emotions and a sense of adventure.

Jack Nicholson is who Warren Schmidt would love to be, a 60-year-old kid relishing in devilish quotes and being benchside for his beloved Lakers. Perhaps, deep down inside Nicholson, there was a boring melancholy man who needed to get out ... someone like Warren Schmidt. Maybe Jack wasn’t acting at all; maybe, behind closed doors, he embodies the wooden personalities of the world. Whatever it is, Nicholson did the dullest job ever by an actor. For that, he deserves his fourth win. How (yawwwwwwwn) predictable.

(Hunter Pope can be reached at w.h.pope@worldnet.att.net)