The Bucket List Review
Like Six Degrees of Separation and Catch-22 before it, The Bucket List grabbed a place in the zeitgeist by identifying and naming a phenomenon that resonated with numerous people. Even when they hadn't seen the film, the term "bucket list" became a popular way for people to describe the exotic things they wanted to experience before dying. If only Rob_Reiner's movie actually deserved that kind of widespread awareness. It starts out well enough, as screenwriter Justin_Zackham takes his time establishing the characters of Carter (Morgan_Freeman), a jovial mechanic with a brain full of trivia, and Edward (Jack_Nicholson), a surly billionaire with a love of good coffee, who meet in neighboring hospital beds while fighting terminal cancer. Reiner and Zackham stay in this setting for over 30 minutes, developing these men into three-dimensional characters and mutual confidants. It's when they get to the actual bucket-listing that the film starts to rush, alternating between broad comedy and maudlin sentiment. Carter and Edward's jet-setting is thrown together haphazardly, serving only as an arbitrary background for their touchy-feely conversations and physical pratfalls. (And it's quite a flimsy background -- Freeman and Nicholson are clearly acting against green screens, rather than real settings.) This all leads up to a third-act reversal that manipulates the way the narrative was originally being told, intended as some kind of plot twist. Shortcomings aside, it's a consistent treat to watch these two acting treasures working together. The usually saintly Freeman is permitted to show human weakness, and does so well; the always mischievous Nicholson gets to indulge in more of the same, tossing in a few tugged heartstrings for good measure. Though watching The Bucket List shouldn't be on any dying man's list of priorities, it's a harmless enough way for the healthy to pass their time. Derek Armstrong, Rovi
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