THE BUCKET LIST
(2007)With Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, Robb Morrow
Directed by Rob Reiner
Reviewed by JB
Rob Reiner seems to only make the movies he wants to make, when he
wants to make them. His track record is solid, with parodies
and
fantasies (THIS IS SPINAL TAP, THE PRINCESS PRIDE),
courtroom dramas (A FEW GOOD MEN), political tales (AN AMERICAN
PRESIDENT), romantic comedies (THE SURE THING, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY,
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE) and two of the finest Stephen King
interpretations ever in STAND BY ME and MISERY. So, in the
age of
TRANSFORMERS, Jessica Alba and Harry Potter, leave it
to Reiner to
come up with a movie about two 70-year-old men dying of
cancer.
It is a film almost guaranteed to do low box-office, but also
to
pick up at least one Oscar nomination if not two.
We're talking Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson here, two grand old men of Hollywood who have given enough memorable performances in their careers to retire on. They've both been so busy in the past few years, especially Freeman, it is almost a surprise to learn that this is the first time they have worked together. (My theory that Morgan Freeman has been in, or at least narrated, every movie in the past five years is now shattered). It was worth the wait, even if the movie itself does not live up to the standards of the two lead performances. THE BUCKET LIST, a sort-of genetic fusing of Kurosawa's IKIRU with buddy pictures and road flicks, is another solid film by Reiner, but it rarely if ever rises above the level of a superior TV movie. Two strangers, both given six months to live, decide to create a "bucket list" (what they want to accomplish before kicking the bucket) and then act on it. Nicholson plays Edward, a CEO who presumably has millions, which comes in handy when the items on the list require much world travel to fulfill. Freeman plays Carter, a man who had big dreams as a young man but settled for 45 years as an automechanic to support his family.
But like some Reiner films, especially THE SURE THING and WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, you don't watch THE BUCKET LIST for the story, but for the dialogue, characters and performances of the pair of lead actors. Neither Freeman nor Nicholson do anything out of their ordinary routine, but by them just being them makes the film better than it should be. Jack is Jack, and by now, we all know what that means: Slow, hoarse, over-delivered lines from the back of the throat, accompanied by a grab-bag of appropriate facial gesticulations. Yes, like Al Pacino, Nicholson has become a self-parody, but in the right parts, that self-parody works wonders. As a man who is trying project self-confidence in the face of slipping away from a world he once owned, Nicholson and his schtick are perfect.
Morgan Freeman has his own schtick too, though it is much subtler. Don't believe me? Try to think of Freeman as a psycho killer or an action hero these days. It doesn't work. He usually plays one part and one part only, described by me elsewhere on this site as "a wise old black character who always seems to know just what to say in a voice like warm graham crackers." It is his face, those eyes, that smile and especially that voice that makes Freeman the most trusted star in Hollywood. When Morgan Freeman says something, it stays said.
You'll know where THE BUCKET LIST is headed every step of the way - Nicholson makes a joke, Freeman says something wise, both men are reminded of their disease at inopportune moments during their world tour, and both men realize that reconciliation with their families is a must-do before they die. It rides along nicely, if somewhat contrivedly, on the turns of the two stars. There are no fireworks between the two, just a nice, easy chemistry between actors who are polar opposites in style. Of the talented supporting cast, Sean Hayes makes the best impression as Nicholson's put-upon assistant, who gives as good as he gets when dealing with his Steinbrenneresque boss.
You'll laugh, you'll cry,
you'll enjoy.
Not a great film, but a good film with great actors, and in
this
case, that's enough. 
½ - JB
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Copyright © 2008 John V. Brennan, John Larrabee