Review of About Schmidt (2002) by Ken C — 15 Jan 2012

Jack gives a performance like no other he's given before in About Schmidt. It's a touching, funny, and sad tale of your average senior citizen trying to find meaning in life.

Going into this, I thought Jack was gonna give a sort of "As Good As It Gets" type performance, but I was surprised to find that he plays the role as a regular sincere old man who keeps his thoughts to himself and usually makes the wrong decisions even when he thinks he's right. And he plays it well. So well in fact, that you actually start to forget that it's him and actually find it hard to believe how well he pulls it off. You feel sorry for him at the same time that your laughing at all the shenanigans that he gets himself into. It's so different from his previous work that it almost comes off as uncanny, a magnificent performance to say the least.

All the characters are just so funny. The parts between Jack and Kathy Bates made me smile, and the scene at the dinner table was just hilarious. Every one of the characters is written so realistically and sensible, you get reminded of how crazy and fun your family is, and are just like the one in the movie.

Well written, wonderfully acted, and funny. A great film that shouldn't be missed.