"The film truly is what its title suggests. About Schmidt is about one man—his outlook on and station in life, his place in the world, his greatest fears. In a way, he represents the rest of us, but still the film remains incredibly specific to his character and situation. That it finds humor in its sad, lonely hero is surprising to a degree but, then again, not so much so. Desperation is one of those human qualities we all possess and are able to find humor in. And that’s also why the film works so well as a comedy; for the most part, it is a human one. Where the film really manages to strike an emotional chord, though, is in its examination of an ordinary man’s search for meaning in his life as he nears his eventual demise. He searches everywhere for it and along the way discovers just how meaningless his life and life’s work seem to himself and others. It’s humorous and, at the same time, incredibly sad because we see a bit—or maybe even a lot—of him in ourselves."

Mark's Full Review