"Dead-Alive"

There are many people out there who will be disappointed with "About Schmidt". They may see it thinking that it is something along the lines of “As Good as it Gets” or other movies of that sort of ilk. It is definitely not. There are no great revelations, no emotional heartbreaks, and no personal triumphs. "About Schmidt"'s focus is on reality. The dialogue is no funnier than actual life, and its characters, while they may teeter on the extremes of reality, are still very tangible and un-movie like. It's as though Alexander Payne (the film's director) is poking fun at society and his characters are people that we have all met at one point or another, and may have had a good laugh or two at behind their backs. He is almost mean-spirited about it at times, as the audience (at least those in the audience that are enjoying themselves) openly laughs at the characters and their ambitions, and not with t

I am reminded of other Alexander Payne movies as I write this, and different scenes which stood out to me as being particularly adept at poking fun at stereotypical people. There was the principal in "Election" who, during assembly, tried to keep the high school kids quiet during candidate speeches. "Citizen Ruth" had its pro-lifers and pro-choicers in perfect stereotypical juxtaposition. And this film, with its society of people full of pyramid schemes, and lowered expectations. Payne is so adept at portraying what is perhaps his target audience, that many will either find his work insulting, or just won't understand the humor at all. Personally, I do find it funny, and I appreciate that Payne's work is like no others working in mainstream cinema. I can't imagine Payne making a better film than this, however, as "Sideways" strayed a little too far into movie world, and there is a tendency for directors to follow in the trends that bring them the most success.

As for Jack Nicholson, "About Schmidt" marks another great role in an already great career. That it is one so opposite of the charismatic roles of his past, makes it all the more remarkable.