10 Movie Weddings That Were More Like The Real Deal

7. About Schmidt

About Schmidt is the second entry to this list featuring Dermot Mulroney getting married, and is also a film which features Jack Nicholson's last great performance. One of the most interesting aspects of the character is his volatile relationship to the impending marriage of his only daughter, which can mainly be attributed to writer/director Alexander Payne and to Nicholson's amazing acting. This characteristic indicates a broad, common feature of weddings. Quite often, these events become constructs in which to view the anxieties of those in attendance. In the case of Warren Schmidt (played by Nicholson), his daughter's wedding represents the final movement towards his complete irrelevance, which helps explain some of his childish behavior. And yet, like all real weddings, the ceremony and celebration at the heart of About Schmidt offers a complex web of emotions and dynamics. Due to the efficacy of Payne's writing, Schmidt's actions are always grounded in the recognizable. We can understand his fear, his anger, and, at certain moments his love.