![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Let me say right up front that I have never been much of a Jack Nicholson fan. I was too young to have seen him in films like "Chinatown" or "One Flew Over the Cucko's Nest", so the Nicholson that I was aware of as I began watching films was an annoying pompous ass who chewed his way through the scenery in movies like "Batman" and "A Few Good Men". Something has happened to him at the turn of the millenium, though; he has decided to actually give well-rounded and rich performances. You know, act. I first discovered this in "The Pledge" two years ago, and the trend continues in "About Schmidt". Unfortunately, it appears he is returning to scenery chewing in the upcoming please-dear-god-don't-make-me-watch-this Adam Sandler flick. *Sigh*.
In "About Schmidt", Nicholson plays a man entereing retirement. His only child lives across the country, and she is about to get married to a complete loser. His wife of 42 years annoys him in every way, at least until she sudenly dies and leaves him all alone. This could have been a maudlin and depressing story, but it really shines as a character study of a man forced to re-evaluate his entire life. His journey across the country is at turns funny and touching, and arrives at an ending which manages to be warm without trying to tie up everything in a neat bow.
There is one notable moment that really must be discussed -- bravo to Kathy Bates for having the guts to do a nude scene. In an era of airbrushed, liposucted meta-humans that pass as women in Hollywood, it was great to see a woman brave enough to stand up and be seen for all her imperfections. Her performance as the ribald mother of the groom is the perfect foil for Schmidt's straight-laced middle-American ethos.
Overall this movie is not the Best Picture contendor that some are making it out to be - it is a bit slow in places, and the supporting characters are a bit too caricatured to work in a straightforward drama, but it is certainly an enjoyable film and well worth seeing.
In "About Schmidt", Nicholson plays a man entereing retirement. His only child lives across the country, and she is about to get married to a complete loser. His wife of 42 years annoys him in every way, at least until she sudenly dies and leaves him all alone. This could have been a maudlin and depressing story, but it really shines as a character study of a man forced to re-evaluate his entire life. His journey across the country is at turns funny and touching, and arrives at an ending which manages to be warm without trying to tie up everything in a neat bow.
There is one notable moment that really must be discussed -- bravo to Kathy Bates for having the guts to do a nude scene. In an era of airbrushed, liposucted meta-humans that pass as women in Hollywood, it was great to see a woman brave enough to stand up and be seen for all her imperfections. Her performance as the ribald mother of the groom is the perfect foil for Schmidt's straight-laced middle-American ethos.
Overall this movie is not the Best Picture contendor that some are making it out to be - it is a bit slow in places, and the supporting characters are a bit too caricatured to work in a straightforward drama, but it is certainly an enjoyable film and well worth seeing.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
Re: Adam Sandler
From:
Re: Adam Sandler
From:
Re: Adam Sandler
I hadn't seen any mention of it in your journal, though, and I wanted to make sure it hadn't escaped your notice. :)