A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.
Acting
Nicholson's subtlest, most heartbreaking work.
Writing
Payne and Taylor's razor-sharp Midwestern melancholy.
Cinematography
Bleak American landscapes as emotional state.
Director
Alexander Payne
Jack Nicholson
Warren Schmidt
Kathy Bates
Roberta Hertzel
Hope Davis
Jeannie Schmidt
Dermot Mulroney
Randall Hertzel
June Squibb
Helen Schmidt
Howard Hesseman
Larry Hertzel
Harry Groener
John Rusk
Connie Ray
Vicki Rusk
Len Cariou
Ray Nichols
Cheryl Hamada
Saundra
Phil Reeves
Minister in Denver
Matt Winston
Gary Nordin - Warren's Replacement
James M. Connor
Randall's Best Man
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Ndugu Foundation is fictional — Payne invented it to give Schmidt someone who couldn't judge back.
Nicholson insisted on gaining 30 pounds and wearing a fat suit — the paunch is performance, not prosthetic. He wanted audiences to forget they'd ever seen Jack Torrance.
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