Line #7 Recap/AboutSchmidt


1	The movie opens with 66-year old Warren R. Schmidt, a high-ranking insurance actuary and Assistant Vice President at Woodmen of the World in Omaha, Nebraska. Schmidt has been working there for 32 years and now he is mandated to retire so as to open the doors for a new wave of younger actuarial analysts. Schmidt is honored with a glamorous retirement party by Woodmen but he doesn’t want to leave, he was required to leave with full pension from the company so as to make room for younger people even if he's accumulated millions of dollars by now from Woodmen. Schmidt dislikes having to lose his job, as he never planned out his retirement and so loses a sense of usefulness and productivity. He goes to mourn in private and have a drink after Ray Nichols, his best-friend for 40 years, has given an energetic speech about how Schmidt's contributed to the field of actuarial science. When he returns home, he gets a call from his daughter Jeannie that she will be getting married soon, but he secretly but strongly dislikes her fiancee Randall and avoids talking to him. Helen tries to convince him that Randall is a very special person, much to his dismay. Schmidt while watching television decides to start sending money to a Tanzanian orphanage, and his designated foster child will be Ndugu, to whom he begins writing letters.
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3	Schmidt admits that he regrets not starting his own insurance company when he was younger. He has grown tired of his wife, but ostensibly cherishes his daughter, who is now in her 30s and living in Denver. Schmidt and Helen purchase an RV so they can spend his retirement years traveling around the country. Schmidt resents Helen for standing in the way of his independence. He simultaneously thinks of Jeannie as a young girl, kind, polite, and obedient, as he is unwilling to confront the reality of her independence. Schmidt visits his old office, hoping to impart wisdom to his successor, but he is politely told that his assistance is not needed. Upon finding that all his actuarial research papers in the garbage, Schmidt angrily writes to Ndugu that he highly resents his replacement. After going out to buy Dairy Queen ice cream and mail the letter and check to Ndugu, Schmidt finds that Helen has died suddenly from a blood clot in her brain. After Helen’s funeral, Schmidt becomes lonely and mourns that having an annoying, elderly wife was better than having no wife at all.
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5	Because of Helen’s unexpected death, Jeannie arrives in Omaha with her fiancé Randall, a slovenly, smarmy, numbskull of a water bed salesman. Schmidt tries to have Jeannie fill in Helen’s shoes and be his new caretaker, tasking her to bring him a ham and cheese sandwich with chips and milk. Jeannie refuses to become Schmidt’s new caretaker, reminding him that she has a job and has to plan her upcoming wedding. Jeannie then berates Warren for disrespecting Helen by buying her a cheap casket, and for requiring Helen give up her own money to buy the deluxe Winnebago RV that she always wanted, rather than a cheaper model. Jeannie and Randall depart, but not before Randall begs Schmidt to participate in a so-called "investment opportunity,” one that Randall insists is “not a pyramid scheme,” that can triple his money in one year. Schmidt, who carries an actuarial knowledge of risk and investment, refuses, being rightfully skeptical about the prospect.
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7	Schmidt decides to live his life in a hedonistic manner by switching to a junk-food diet entirely consisting of Red Baron frozen pizzas which Helen never let him eat. Schmidt then finds letters in Helen’s closet that were written by Ray Nichols, his long-time best friend who was seen at both his retirement party and lamented Helen's death very deeply. Angered by the extramarital affair, Schmidt inflicts mild punches upon Ray who desperately begs for his forgiveness, but Schmidt storms off in his Winnebago back home. Schmidt decides to go to his daughter Jeannie, sabotage the wedding, and convince her to move back home so as to fill the void left by Helen’s death. Schmidt drives all the way in his RV to Denver, Colorado where Jeannie and Randall are set to marry. Schmidt stops in his old home town to visit his childhood house, only to find that a tire shop now stands on the ground where the house once was. He then stops at his alma mater, the University of Kansas, to pontificate to his fraternity's new generation about how to be successful in life, all while internally feeling like a failure. He stops at a campfire and meets a friendly married couple (John and Vicki Rusk) who make him dinner. Schmidt, struck with loneliness from Helen’s death, is comforted by her who goes as far as to let him lean on top of her as she cuddles him. Delighted by this moment, he forcefully kisses Vicki. Vicki is outraged and kicks him out fighting off his pleas to let him stay, making him flee.
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9	Schmidt arrives at Denver, Colorado and meets Randall’s oddball family of socially awkward people who are every bit as moronic and braindead as Randall is. Schmidt takes a stronger disliking to Randall because of this. Schmidt is then told by Randall’s relatives that the "investment opportunity" he himself was invited to was actually a pyramid scheme that cost them $800 each and their dignity, and they are aggravated just by Schmidt mentioning it. Schmidt orders Jeannie to refrain from marrying Randall and come home with him, protesting in a desperate fashion that the Hertzels are not an ideal family to spend the rest of her life with. Jeannie refuses, and orders Schmidt to either A). Stay and be supportive of her wedding or B). Drive back to Omaha whenever he feels like it. Schmidt tries to go to sleep inside the Hertzels’ house, but finds that his bed is a water bed supplied by Randall.
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11	The next morning, Schmidt wakes up in critical condition because the bed threw out his back. To Schmidt’s surprise, Jeannie explodes in anger at Randall for refusing to help out Schmidt. Schmidt is nursed back to health by Randall’s mother Roberta. Despite Roberta’s kind and caring behavior, Schmidt is put off by her obesity and the fact she’s even older and wrinklier than he is. A nude hot tub with Roberta sends Schmidt running back to his RV refusing to spend time with such an unattractive old woman.
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13	Jeannie and Randall finally marry, and Schmidt reluctantly gives a feigned blessing for them to live happily together which he doubts will ever mean that Jeannie will have a successful life like he did. Schmidt is infuriated that Jeannie has married a failure incapable of breadwinning by choosing to sell water beds and pyramid schemes. Schmidt is also heartbroken and jealous that even though he became rich and successful through his career as an insurance actuary, Jeannie refuses to stay with him. Schmidt worries for Jeannie’s future and in despair, returns to Omaha after saying his goodbyes to her.
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15	Schmidt goes to grieve some more and stay in the house by himself now that his wife is dead and his daughter has left him for a buffoon who has no hope in making any money to support her. Schmidt then finds a letter from Ndugu’s nanny stating that Ndugu has lost eyesight because of malnutrition and he can’t read letters anymore, but before he went blind he drew a sketch of him holding hands with Schmidt. Schmidt is either feeling sad, very touched and moved by this or even a mix of both and starts crying. His crying stops and he gives an ambiguous smile.
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17	The End.

Context Recap / AboutSchmidt