The sheer boredom of the first 20 minutes made a trip to the bathroom seem more enjoyable. (Actually, it was.) But when I got back, the comedic side picked up a bit with Jack’s first letter to his sponsor. In fact, ABOUT SCHMIDT is a real roller coaster of emotions. Some will have you laughing, some crying. It eventually can be quite jarring, in that you’re pulled back and forth so much. But this is one of those “subtle” films, where everything comes across as just that. Yet watching how Jack reacts to people and the idiotic things they say is classic. Indeed, Nicholson’s performance is wonderful. He’s extremely laid back, which is something wild man Jack rarely does well, but he pulls it off.

      That said, ABOUT SCHMIDT is not for everyone. If it hadn’t been nominated for numerous awards, I doubt if anyone would have paid it any mind, including me. Usually half of the things critics and awards shows rave about bore us to tears. But in this case, it’s a decent alternative to that mind numbing suck fest that made 400 million in 5 hours last week.