This entry was posted on Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 7:03 pm and is filed under B, Dramedy, Movie Reviews, NEW ON VIDEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd
You would think that Rob Reiner’s motion picture about the unlikely friendship of two dying men from completely different lives would be morose, and that some dialog would be lost to the sounds of sniffling behind you, but you would be wrong. There are some emotional moments in the film, but Reiner keeps the pace brisk and moves quickly past these scenes. He uses bright daytime settings which further reduces the morose impact of the film’s sadder moments, which are quickly followed by more upbeat scenes. So while The Bucket List is not as sad as you would think it would be, it is also funnier than you would expect as well. Justin Zackham’s screenplay is sprinkled with some pretty good dialog, that is given flawless delivery and perfect timing by master performers, Freeman and Nicholson. The story is good, but at only 90 minutes, I felt that it could have been developed some more.
Jack Nicholson is Edward Cole, a sarcastic and mannerless billionaire, who collects hospitals like they are hotels in Monopoly, but feels differently when health issues land him in one of his own hospital beds. Thanks to his own policy of two patients per room, no exceptions, Mr. Cole has a roommate. Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) is an affable family man, and a working man with an uncanny trivia talent, who quietly feels that circumstances have robbed him of opportunity in life. The two men form an unlikely bond due to their circumstances, and when both find that they have less than a year to live, they take Carter’s list of things to do before he dies, and run with it. Soon the two men are on a whirlwind, global adventure, over the objections of Carter’s wife, Virginia (Beverly Todd).
Both Freeman and Nicholson are great here and there are some laughs as well. Worth seeing for drama fans and those who just love to watch Jack in action. Imagine a white, geriatric version of Thelma and Louise or Last Holiday, and you will have some idea of what to expect.
