Plot summary

The movie opens with shots of a large building in Omaha, NE, called the Woodmen Building. Actuary Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is sitting in his dull, gray office watching the clock until it hits five. There are packed boxes all around him, implying that this is his last day at work.The clock hits five and Warren solemnly grabs his coat, turns out the lights and leaves.In the next scene, Warren is driving at night in the rain with his wife Helen to a steakhouse where his retirement party is being held. The affair is rather quiet and solemn, with the new guy replacing Warren offering a tribute and telling Warren to feel free to come down to the office any time, mentioning that he may need some help with Warren's old accounts. Warren's best friend and co-worker Ray, who is obviously inebriated, delivers an impassioned speech for his friend. Warren appears touched at the sentiment and excuses himself. He retreats to the other side of the restaurant where the bar is and orders a drink. It's obvious he is not happy to retire.When Warren and Helen return home, their daughter Jeannie calls to wish Warren well. They discuss her upcoming wedding. Before bed, Helen remarks to Warren that she wishes he would try to be more friendly to Jeannie's fiancé.In the days following Warren's retirement, he is not sure what to do with himself. Helen surprises him with breakfast in their newly purchased Winnebago, saying how much fun they are going to have traveling the country. Warren doesn't appear enthused, but puts on a smile for his wife. A visit back to the office to visit his replacement doesn't go well; the new guy brushes him off, and Warren is taken aback by it. As he leaves the building, he passes a dumpster and discovers all of his old files have been thrown away. When he gets home, however, he tells Helen that the visit went well and that the new guy needed his help.Days pass and Warren spends his time sitting in front of the TV feeling sorry for himself. As he's flipping channels he comes across a commercial for a Third World relief fund where people can "adopt" a young African child (trivia: that's Angela Lansbury's voice in the commercial). Warren makes the call.After some more days of loafing and moping around, Warren receives his packet in the mail. He has "adopted" a young Tanzanian boy named Ndugu. He is advised in the letter to write to the young boy, so he does. In the letter (done in voiceover, which is very funny), he tells Ndugu about his life, how he's been married for 42 years... and soon the letter spirals into a rant about how he was cast aside by Woodmen, how his wife is starting to annoy him, and how his daughter is about to marry a loser waterbed salesman named Randall. He goes off to mail the letter, and his wife tells him not to dilly-dally.Next we see Warren heading into a Dairy Queen, where he gets some ice cream. He comes home to find Helen unconscious on the floor. She has died.Jeannie and Randall fly in for the funeral; Warren is very happy to see her but is rather stiff toward Randall, who is just emotional over the death. After the funeral Warren's friend Ray is sobbing violently (somewhat important later).Jeannie and Randall stay for a while at Warren's house. Warren asks Jeannie to stay longer, implying that he'd like for her to take care of him, but Jeannie is adamant about getting back to Denver to plan the wedding. Warren is upset that Jeannie still wants to go through with it; he thinks she should postpone because of Helen's death, but Jeannie insists her mother would want her to get married. Jeannie then rails on Warren for buying a cheap casket, saying that Helen deserved more. Eventually Jeannie and Randall leave for Denver, telling Warren they'll see him in a few weeks.Warren writes another letter to Ndugu about Helen's death, taking back all the bad things he said about her previously. This is done in a voiceover as Warren goes through her makeup, putting on her cold cream, and going through her closets. He then opens a shoebox and finds several to letters to "My darling Helen" which were not