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Starring
Morgan Freeman and
Jack Nicholson
Directed by
Rob Reiner
Final Grade:
BRated PG-13 for language, including a sexual reference
a review by Heith Carnahan
The Rundown
Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) is a level-headed family man whose wife and family have never taken a back seat to his 46-year career as an auto mechanic. Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), a billionaire business owner, never met a healthy bottom line he didn't like. When the two are diagnosed with their own respective forms of cancer, they wind up sharing a hospital room, much to Edward's chagrin; even though he owns the place, he can't escape his own "two beds to a room, no exceptions" rule he put in place ages ago.
As time goes on and the two men endure their cancer treatments, they get to know each other and form a bond that can only take shape by enduring hard times together. When they are each given six months to a year to live, Carter begins writing his Bucket List, a list of all the things he wants to do before he... right.
Edward climbs aboard the Bucket List bandwagon, and the two new friends set off on a journey across the world, their adventures flying in the face of doctors' orders and all good sense. In the process, they find meaning in their lives and realize what is important to them most of all, something they would never have otherwise discovered.
Endearing, Inspiring
Does it really pay to waste virtual space on the "acting" portion of the review when it comes to actors like Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson? I didn't think so either, but the synergy present when these two get a scene rolling is priceless. So goes The Bucket List, a surprisingly warm twilight-of-life film with an equally surprising lack of melodrama. The requisite sentimentality is there, of course, but it's woven into a script that takes your eyes off the sap and puts them where they belong: the real adventure ahead.
Nothing is done irresponsibly, of course, Carter being the family man that he is, although there is a spot of conflict present as his wife vehemently objects to his spending any time abroad and away from the family. Fortunately for the audience, he isn't so easily persuaded, and he and Edward continue their continent-hopping with a feverishness only a cancer diagnosis can permit. Their travels to the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids of Egypt, and the plains of the Serengeti are just eye candy, however; the travelogue before us only serves to remind us, in the end, of the really important things in our lives.
The two new friends slowly realize this, and as their travels progress, their Bucket Lists begin to revolve around things much more abstract and much less materialistic. It's this gradual de-evolution of the perceived hedonism of the whole thing that really endears the audience to their respective plights and pulls us into a story we can all relate to on some level.
The Bottom Line
The easy camaraderie between Nicholson and Freeman on its own makes The Bucket List a worthwhile outing. Fortunately, you've also got a great story well-executed and an underlying message that will get to you without knocking you over.
-- Heith Carnahan, heith @ movie-popcorn.com