Jeannie

And, in the cold light of day, I don't think her behaviour is beyond understanding.

Yes, we're watching Schmidt's story, and we feel for him when he tries to do right by his daughter while she seems to be constantly harping on him. It doesn't hurt that he's played by Nicholson, who is "likable" to put it mildly.

But even if we set aside any issues related to her upbringing, her distant relationship with her miserly father, what she does and says in each of her "harping" scenes feels completely organic. More than that, it often feels appropriate, and I think a lot of viewers are missing certain elements.

Let's take the casket. It was a cheap casket. I'm sure most of the people did notice and wondered why a guy with money, like Warren, couldn't be bothered to spend a bit more.

Hey, I've told my son to throw my carcass onto a barge headed for garbage island, so it's not like I agree with extravagant funereal trappings, but for Jeannie, this is her father's last chance to honour his wife, who "waited on him hand-and-foot". I'm sure she at least tried to hold her tongue, since even the coldest of daughters probably wouldn't relish ambushing their recently widowed fathers, but ultimately she felt compelled to speak up for her mother -- a woman who probably didn't speak up for herself often enough in the context of what Jeannie would've regarded as an imbalanced relationship.

And notice that this confrontation occurs immediately on the heels of his selfish pleading that she take more time off work to "take care" of him. For most people working a 9-to-5 job, getting more than a couple of days off ain't easy. Warren's not an invalid -- heck he's only 67, and he's retired; he wants people to clean up after him and make him sandwiches.

Or how about Warren's "surprise" phone call about being en route to see Jeannie a couple of weeks early?

For those of you who aren't closely related to a person like Warren, you have to understand that this is the last thing a high-strung working woman needs on the eve of her wedding. He says he's going to "help", but one wonders exactly what that would look like (I doubt even Warren has any idea what that means).

This is also a classic case of using the "surprise" in order to avert a "no" answer, and a guy like Warren lacks the self-awareness to see that his own presence might be a burden -- the opposite of helping.

So it might be difficult for Jeannie, "totally swamped" at work, to calmly discourage her father, or to keep the panic out of her voice at the thought of Warren parking his Winnebago outside of his future in-laws home for a few weeks, or better yet, sleeping on her couch.

But Warren feels entitled to make this visit, and moreover be welcomed, because he "keeps sending those checks". For many posters, I'm sure that's the end of the discussion, but (a) we don't know the amount (if that matters), (b) Warren's reference to them is basically emotional blackmail, (c) we haven't been privy to other conversations about this money, and so have no idea what was said on either side -- maybe effusive gratitude from Jeannie and some "no strings attached" comments from Warren?

Like I say, we don't know, and not knowing, based on Schmidt's behaviour through the film, I'm going to give Jeannie the benefit of the doubt, comparatively unlikable though she is.

Then, once he's arrived, she gets an earful of paranoiac dream imagery in lieu of a sensible argument that she not marry Randall. I don't think I would've taken such a scene as well as she does, certainly not on the eve of my wedding.

Finally, wouldn't you be a bit sceptical upon finding that same man incapacitated in bed the next morning and unable to "help" in the small ways he might've been able to?

I'm sure imminent brides have behaved a lot worse.