Why Jeannie wasn't happy with her dad's speech? - About Schmidt (2003) Discussion

[–] Jamo57 12 years ago

She probably knew it was a speech that wasn't from the heart but one he did from a place of duty. She was the only one in the room who knew him well enough to know that. Having said that I feel he 'rose to the occasion' and rather than say what he really wanted to, he didn't make the event about him. He did his best to honor the bride and groom.

Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man.

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[–] Zero_Wolf 12 years ago

It sounded nice....right up until the end.

Basically all he said, after you cut away the fat, was "I really want to say....I'm pleased"

First of all, it's not about him and how he feels. Secondly, "pleased"?, his daughter's wedding and the best he can do is say he's "pleased"?

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[–] MaeLeeMae 12 years ago

It seemed to me that she was.afraid of what he would say during his speech, knowing he didn't approve. At the end of his speech, which I thought was a nice one, given his true feelings, I saw relief register on her face.

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[–] ronnoco28 12 years ago

I agree that Schmidt rose to the occasion and gave a decent and supportive speech. He wasn't an especially demonstrative person, so the speech was in keeping with his character. It was the same type of speech that he'd probably given at his job for the past 40 or so years.

Jeannie probably had mixed emotions. She was relieved that her Dad hadn't said anything negative, and was probably disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm for her wedding. She knew that the speech didn't really reflect his true feelings, it was just done for show.

I personally feel that Schmidt should have done a bit more to support her wedding, even though he didn't really like it. She's his only child, and she went through with her wedding. It was what she wanted to do. Like it or not, he should have put on a happier face about it. Maybe it would have been hypocritical, but it would have been a nice thing to do.

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[–] bsharporflat 12 years ago

It wasn't the worst speech. The high point was when he remembered that Randall had helped him shovel snow.

Then it took a nose dive. Warren was "pleased". Everyone in the room knew what that really meant, which is why there was dead silence for a moment.

The problem was that the things Warren would have approved on in Randall, like him having a good job and coming from a good family and a nice house, just weren't there. He couldn't say he was happy that Randall sold waterbeds and fell for pyramid schemes and lived in a junky house in a trashy neighborhood with a weird family.

And the good things about Randall, about how he was perfect for Jeannie emotionally, those were things Warren couldn't recognize or talk about either. So he was simply "pleased". The end. But maybe Jeannie could have given him more credit. He did try.

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 12 years ago

It wasn't the worst speech. The high point was when he remembered that Randall had helped him shovel snow.

The bottom line is Jeannie wouldn't have been happy with anything her father did, so that's a moot point. He made the most of a bad situation - what he really wanted to say was how disgusted he was with Randall and his future in-laws, but once again (as was the case for all his life), Schmidt had to swallow his pride, hold his tongue, and force himself to make silk purse out of a sow's ear. Anybody with any sense could tell that he didn't really say what he wanted to at any point of the speech, hat's the whole point.

About the only good thing one could say about Randall is that he shoveled snow. I suppose Schmidt could have also highlighted Randall's awards for "participation" and his attendance at a 2 week long electronics school.

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[–] nutsberryfarm 11 years ago

the best part was the pause at the start. i swear when i saw this movie in the cinema it was much longer...and more awkward as you're just waiting for warren to 'tell it like it is'.

The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.

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[–] HarryRidgway 11 years ago

Yeah, I didn't think that Jeannie looked angry. Just sad, since she knew the truth about her fathers feelings towards Randall and his family and the decision she's making in marrying him.

And I've seen everyone in this thread saying that the line 'I'm pleased' was what made everyone mad in the crowd, but I think it was one of those things where a really strict parent says to the partner of their child 'You're OK' It's one of those things where he says something simple but a lot more is implied.

Obviously, Warren wasn't implying anything more, but the crowd probably thought he did. And that's why I think everyone was OK with his speech.

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Last seen films:

About Schmidt. 9.5/10
High Noon. 7/10
Seven Psychopaths. 8.5/10

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] HarryRidgway 11 years ago

That statement can be taken either way I guess, but you have a point.

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Last seen films:

October Sky: 10/10
Ordinary People. 10/10
Awakenings: 10/10

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[–] Quicksilver1900 11 years ago

I think anyone could have recognised, beneath the sweet tone of Warren's voice, that he was being the opposite of sincere; he was being patronising and condescending. Much like praising handicapped people for their agility or skill.

To Jeannie, who knew Warren, it was as if he was holding up a mirror of her new husband and family for her. To her, his contempt was evident.

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[–] drruth82 10 years ago

As my mother would have put it, "damning with faint praise."

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[–] Planet-38 9 years ago

@drruth82

Exactly.

And imo Jeannie was apprehensive - then relieved.

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Getting You Satisfied
(One way or another)

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[–] blades_of_chaos77 11 years ago

He was insulting every one of those idiots in a very clever way,only his daughter was smart enough to catch it.
fat pink mast!

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] fwsauerteig 10 years ago

I am not sure about that. You could hear a pindrop at the end. It might just be intuitive rather explicit, but I think the whole room sensed something was not quite right.

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[–] BatBanks 10 years ago

Jeannie was just a selfish daughter, that all.

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[–] chas437 9 years ago

She has an irreparably bad relationship with dad.

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[–] ecarle (14979) 4 years ago

...there is also the issue that his "happy" wedding comes right on the heels of the death of Jeannie's mother -- Warren's wife -- and without the "buffer" of the mother there to put the right public face on the wedding, we're left with the father and the daughter and their hard feelings towards one another and the father having to "do the right thing" at this wedding.

This being an Alexander Payne film, we end up seeing the flaws in both Warren AND Jeannie. And indeed, Jeannie must be a pretty wounded soul to have signed up for marriage with Randall and his distinctly weird and depressing family.

The other "Alexander Payne" touch, to me, is the presence of both the totally doofus-looking brother of the groom(drugs? mental problems? He could speak well enough) and the toast from a best man who pretty much reveals the bad and the good about Randall -- he was a womanizer who finally found a woman "he'd want to go out with again" after sex.

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