About Schmidt (DVD, 2003) ~

About Schmidt

In Alexander Payne's ABOUT SCHMIDT, Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is retiring from a long, dedicated tenure at Woodmen of the World Insurance Company. Though he is proud of this achievement, he finds some difficulty adjusting to life without work; and to make matters worse, his loving wife Helen (June Squibb) passes away, leaving him all alone. Schmidt turns to his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) for support, but she is busy planning her marriage to Randall (Dermot Mulroney), who Warren just can't stand. He decides to sponsor a Tanzanian child, Ndugu, through a program advertised on television, and sends elaborate letters to the 6-year-old boy along with his $22 monthly checks. Meanwhile, he sets off on a soul-searching voyage across the west in his new RV.
Nicholson's deadpan voice-over narration, especially in his letters to Ndugu, give ABOUT SCHMIDT a solid balance between comedy and drama. The crux of the film is the daughter's wedding in Denver, where Warren is the guest of Randall's outrageous, new-agey mom (Kathy Bates). Though the funny moments make light of Warren's state in life, the overall feel of the film is a bit sad, and its enigmatic ending will keep viewers guessing what will happen to this uniquely knowable character.

REGION 2 Europe, Japan, South Africa, and the Middle East, including Egypt.

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VERY GOOD

Tested - Plays well.

GRADING INFORMATION

MINT Not a word to be used lightly. All DVDs will be damaged to some extent when they are used, even when great care is taken putting the disc in or taking the disc out of the player. I will only use this word to describe a disc I have reason to believe has never been used, this will usually mean it will be described as new, but the word mint is there just in case I need it.

EXCELLENT A disc that looks like it has never been used even though I know it has. Perfect, scratch free condition.

VERY GOOD As previously stated, all DVDs will be damaged to some extent when they are used, this usually means that the DVD has rubbed against the tray in the player causing light surface scratches or rub marks. These rarely have any effect on play, in fact any DVD that does have these marks will have been fully tested before it is allowed into the VERY GOOD grade. The best way to describe it is, if you found the DVD in a second hand shop or on a market stall and you checked the disc before buying, you would see the marks but you wouldn't have any doubts about the discs ability to play. A plus or minus sign (+ or -) indicates how close the disc is to being in the higher or lower grade.

GOOD If you found the DVD in a second hand shop or on a market stall and you checked the disc before buying, you would hesitate before buying a DVD with a GOOD grade without first asking for assurances and checking what the returns policy was. It looks like it will play but you wouldn't like to be the one to guarantee it. Rest assured, all DVDs that I put in the GOOD grade will have been fully tested and be guaranteed to work perfectly (and the return policy ain't bad either). A plus or minus sign (+ or -) indicates how close the disc is to being in the higher or lower grade.

ACCEPTABLE Looks like it won't play but will have been fully tested and is guaranteed to work perfectly.

POOR Everything else. I'll probably throw it in the bin, but if there is a reason I think this might still be of interest to someone I'll explain the problems and the reasons for bothering with it in the listing.