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Directed By
Rob Reiner
Written By:
Justin Zackham
Cast:
Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, Rob Morrow, Alfonso Freeman, Serena Reeder, Nikki Novak, Lauren Cohn, Jordan Lund, Hugh B. Holub, Christopher Stapleton, Rowena King, Ian Anthony Dale, Jonathan Mangum, Jonathan Mangum, Richard McGonagle, Verda Bridges, Jennifer Defrancisco, MaShae Alderman, Taylor Ann Thompson, Angela Gardner, Andrea Johnson, Frank Maharajh, Ramon Roullard, Roy Vongtama
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The Bucket List (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
January 2nd, 2008
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I would say any movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson would be worth watching, and that is certainly true of 'The Bucket List', though I think actors of their caliber and a director like Rob Reiner could have produced something even better. It is a funny and occasionally touching movie about two men who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and decide to make a list of things to do before they die. One of them, Edward Cole (Nicholson) is a wealthy CEO who can finance their series of stunts and adventures, but doesn't have anyone to come and visit him, except for his assistant Thomas (Sean Hayes). Carter Chambers (Freeman), on the other hand, has a loving wife, Virginia (Beverly Todd), and three children, which draws attention to Edward's loneliness, a product perhaps of his life being focused solely on his career. He and Carter share a hospital room, and become friends, and their friendship deepens during their journeys together, through China, India, Egypt and elsewhere, and as Carter's condition grows steadily worse. I laughed but never cried, and there are times when the film seems more concerned with the latter response than the former, but it works well on its own terms, due primarily to the chemistry of Freeman and Nicholson, who have never worked together before, but neither did Bogart and Hepburn in The African Queen or De Niro and Pacino in Heat (though they both appeared in The Godfather, Part II), it is a testament to their tremendous abilities. They have a lot of fun, and so do we. Nicholson has won three Oscars, and Freeman got a long overdue statuette for Million Dollar Baby, but they could both be nominated for their performances here, which are excellent, but not out of the ordinary.
Freeman has played this kind of older, wiser, likable character many times before. Nicholson keeps it subdued and low-key, like in About Schmidt, but there are moments where he does channel aspects of that classic Nicholson persona, which are not always appropriate. It is curious that two sick, aged men can tirelessly travel across the globe, and engage in activities like skydiving and racing, but the plausibility of these scenarios is not all that important. The various locations are competently photographed, and solid writing by Justin Zackham provides for serious discussions about life, death, and religion, with interesting perspectives on each, but nothing really deep or revelatory. It does not hesitate to add layers of sentimentality, but there is also a degree of genuine sincerity, and it is never shamelessly manipulative, as many films like this would be, so desperate to milk the tear ducts.
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