Too bad audiences likely feel the same way about the film’s plot.Ĭutesey clichés made this film perfect for its Christmas 2007 release, but it might be tiresome any other time of the year. Even if you think you'd have nothing in common with the two main characters of 'The Bucket List,' you just might be surprised at how much you come to care for them by the end of their journey.“Cutesey,” says Edward (Jack Nicholson) when he finds Carter’s (Morgan Freeman) crumpled ‘bucket list.’ “Not to be judgemental, but this is extremely weak.”
But here's a movie that touches upon topics you just don't see in mainstream Hollywood films, and it's strongly acted by both Nicholson and Freeman. I found many moments affecting, some far too mawkish and comic, and perhaps in the end, the sum is still not as great as its parts. I suspect 'The Bucket List' proved to be such a hit with mature audiences because it is anything but a downer - by dealing squarely and honestly with death, the movie proves itself to be life-affirming.Īs fond as I was of 'The Bucket List,' it remains an imperfect movie. There is no cop-out, feel-good ending, and it is to the great credit of Zackham and Reiner ('Bucket List' is undoubtedly the best film he's made in eons) that they see Carter and Cole all the way through to their logical destination.
It is no surprise what is going to happen to these characters, and 'The Bucket List' earns any tears it wrings from us by not pulling any punches. The uneven tone eventually leads to the film's denounement, which is preordained from the opening prologue. The film does continually right itself by always striking back with moments of poignancy, mining little truths about mortality along the way, it's just that it forces you to swallow a bit too much slapstick along the way.
'The Bucket List' is less successful, ironically, in its moments of levity, as Carter and Cole mug their way through a series of self-contained montages (skydiving, getting a tattoo etc.), the effect is a bit too cute and jokey for my taste. On paper, the concept may sound cheesy, but the execution is surprisingly potent. Some moments are downright agonizing (Nicholson in particular is amazingly game in allowing himself to look terrible), so by the time the pair concoct their bucket list, we are fully able to empathize with their plight. The film does not play coy with the darker aspects of battling cancer, nor treat it as a cheap excuse for sentimentality. Written by Justin Zackham and directed by Rob Reiner, the smartest thing that 'The Bucket List' does is take its time in introducing us to Carter and Cole. With the help of Cole's uppity assistant (Sean Hayes), the pair break out of the cancer ward and set out to complete their lists, learning a series of final, painful truths about the life and death along the way.
Cole, sensing Carter's hidden lust for life, convinces him to embark on a "bucket list" - a list of all things they want to do before they die. He's also placed in the hospital next to another terminal patient, the irascible Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson). That will immediately change, however, when Carter is diagnosed with cancer and given one year to live. He's a devoted family man and father who has lived a pleasant, if unspectacular, life. If 'The Bucket List' is nevertheless not a great film, it's mere existence is still cause for celebration.įreeman stars as our narrator Carter Chambers. 'The Bucket List' tackles adult subject matter rarely seen on the big screen, much less with A-list stars like Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Though I'm not even middle-aged, I cheer when Hollywood realizes that there are potential senior audiences out there that actually want to go see movies made for and about themselves. The box office success of a movie like 'The Bucket List' makes me happy.