| THE BUCKET LIST |
 2007 - USADirector: Rob Reiner
- Reviewed by Jennifer
As far as I can tell, The Bucket List was marketed as a sort of buddy comedy. Given the subject matter, you realize that the main characters are on their last legs, but movies like The End and Joe Vs. The Volcano have proven that this doesn't have to be a total downer. I fully expected the obligatory scenes where we learn that our protagonists are about to die, but I didn't think they would go on for so long. Indeed, the first third of the movie could easily be called "Hospital Time". Carter (Morgan Freeman), a hardworking auto mechanic and trivia buff, is admitted to the hospital after learning that he is gravely ill. A short time later, he is joined by Edward (Jack Nicholson), some sort of hospital magnate who coughed up a lung shortly after announcing that there would be no private rooms in his hospitals ever - no exceptions, end of story. He's not too thrilled with this policy when he's the one convalescing with a stranger, but how else are these unlikely traveling companions supposed to become friends? Realistically? They would check out of the hospital, then run into each other when they returned each day for treatment. Early in the movie, Edward's head is shaven so he can undergo brain surgery, and he and Carter remain cooped up in that hospital room so long that his hair actually has time to grow back. How long would that take? A month maybe? Now ask yourself how long most hospitals allow even the sickest patients to stay. Most are sent on their way while they're still woozy from anesthetic, so this prolonged camp-out is a little unbelievable. Worse yet, this isn't time spent singing "Getting To Know You" and establishing a friendship between Edward and Carter. For the most part this is hardcore sick time, which only establishes that it's no fun watching someone else throw up. Gosh, this isn't really what I signed up for. After what seems like an eternity, we finally come to the bucket list. Edward and Carter decide to hit the road and tackle all the things they want to do before they die. Edward has an endless supply of money and no family ties, and Carter isn't really enjoying his wife at the moment, so why not? What follows is basically a montage of the boys in exotic locales, shooting the breeze and exchanging one-liners. Oh, and then Carter starts bleeding all over himself at a fancy restaurant, just to remind us that traveling with terminally ill people is kind of a drag. By the end of the movie, both men are in a better place. Carter is able to appreciate his wife and family because he has attained personal happiness, and Edward is finally able to open up and allow others into his life. It's a growth experience and a journey for both men, but I'm not sure the audience gets quite so much out of the bargain. We accept that the men have grown as people because we're told to, not so much because we feel it. The film's crowning moment is its last line, delivered brilliantly by Morgan Freeman and packing more zing than the rest of the movie put together. It's somewhat fitting for a film about last hurrahs, but it doesn't quite make up for the other 96 minutes and 50 seconds you've invested. DVD NOTESExtra features include the music video for John Mayer's "Say" as well as DVD-ROM PC weblinks to online content. "Writing a Bucket List with Screenwriter Justin Zackham" delves into the writing of real life bucket lists and how this became a springboard for the movie. It seems that making a film with a major studio was smack at the top of Zackham's own list, but that's no reason to bump seeing his movie to the top of yours. |
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Making a bucket list (i.e. a list of stuff you want to do before you kick the bucket) is a great idea. Pairing Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson onscreen is also a great idea. That's why it's weird that a movie about Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson making a bucket list together is so ho-hum.
