About Schmidt
About Schmidt...
Warren Schmidt is a spiritual brother to the boy who once looked at his brother's porn, both innocent and tainted at the same time. Warren's life and progress are fairly predictable, but not in an unnatural way. He was used to going to work, and coming home, and feeling like he was needed.
This movie is a (half-way) straightforward stroll through the mind of a man tumbling down the other side of the hill. This movie is a (half-way) road picture about finding out that southern people are screwed in the head (oh, and that life is funny on tranqs).
Ok, my point is that this movie is bipolar. It shifts from poignant and downtrodden, to obsessively offbeat and funny. It goes from a character study, to a fish-out-of-water-movie, back to a character study. Confused? Yeah, it's a weird movie. No, not "adaptation" weird, but still a bit off.
Was it good? Yes. In a grander sense, it was a fine work of cinema. But, I say this with the caveat that the actors made it such. This movie would have been a snoozefest if not for Nicholson's imposing ability to emote, or Kathy Bates' sense of character pitch. Sure, almost everyone besides Nicholson was an extended stereotype, but an argument can be made that once your beliefs are set, the world looks becomes a series of reinforcements. Since this movie revolved around an aged man, it is alright to laugh at the crazy redneck or the waterbeds.
Yup, I'm in an analytical mood. I'll give the bad news now, though.
This movie starts to drag about halfway through. The initial setup is solid, and the ending is great, but the latter half of the second act is too slow. Ok, it provides a great contrast to the silliness that ensues, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have been better. Still, after the road movie begins, the move's pace works just dandy. So, survive until then, and the rest is smooth. (I would go further into "why", but spoilers would result) The last five minutes especially hit the right note. Perhaps a person could dismiss the conclusion as forced, but in my book the little ending was almost perfect, and adds perspective to the fairly egocentric story.
Overall... this isn't a date movie (unless you're this movie's target audience of 50-and-older), and this isn't a guy-flick. This is an "I'm in the mood for introspectivity" film akin to The Big Kahuna. Sure, it's not overly depressing, and it's not detached, but it deals mostly with things from an older perspective which I don't think many young people would relate to. As a well-worked glimpse into the mind of the people who should be wise, it stands strong.
This movie is full of old people. From Jack Nicholson to Kathy Bates, it oozes maturity (actor-wise), and that's partly what it examines.
Maturity and wisdom aren't always intertwined.
with a bipolar spirit:
3 out of 4 (since I'm under 30)
3.5 out of 4 (since I'm going to be 50 one day)
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