The Bucket List
Saturday, 16 Feb 2008 13:12
Jack and Freeman travel the globe as they make their way through The Bucket List.
Directed by Rob Reiner, out date February 15th, starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, running time .
In a nutshell…
Get busy living - the OAP version.
What's it all about?
Billionaire Edward Cole (Nicholson) has sauntered through life annoying whoever he pleases, watching his money pile up and giving a damn about no-one other than himself. When he is diagnosed with cancer, it's not just his health that changes, as blue-collar mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman) ends up sharing the same hospital room, thanks to the inclusive "no single rooms" policy of Cole's medical trust.
When the pair realise their remaining time is shorter than they might have hoped and family man Carter notes the freedom that comes with Edward's bachelorhood, they set about doing all the things they always dreamed of - sky-diving, getting a tattoo and, oh yes, repairing their broken hearts before they die.
To watch the trailer on inthenews.co.uk, click here
Who's in it?
Three-time Oscar winner and legendary Los Angeles Lakers fan Jack Nicholson stars as billionaire hospital owner Edward Cole, humiliated through the indignities of cancer. One of only two actors to have been nominated for an Academy award in every decade since the 1960s (the other being Sir Michael Caine), Nicholson's versatility and irresistible charm is famed for his roles in The Shining, Batman, As Good As It Gets and most recently, The Departed.
Fellow septuagenarian Morgan Freeman co-stars as mechanic Carter Chambers. Oscar-nominated for his roles in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption, he won a best supporting actor Academy award for Million Dollar Baby while adding his voiceover talents to War of the Worlds and March of the Penguins.
Actor-turned-director Rob Reiner rose to fame in 70s sitcom All in the Family, before becoming a critically and commercially adored filmmaker with movies such as Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, This Is Spinal Tap and A Few Good Men.
As an example…
"What are you doing here?" - Thomas
"Oh, you know, fighting for my life." - Carter
"I love the smell of chemo in the morning." - Edward
"'Help a complete stranger for the good'… 'laugh until I cry'… not to be judgemental, but this is extremely weak." - Edward surveys Carter's list.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
As good a time as both actors are clearly having, neither performance comes close to their best work and it almost verges on the parodic, with Jack in his standard sardonic, crazy-eyed form and Freeman as the wise, wounded old soldier.
A few of the action sequences thrill briefly, but there's just nothing exceptional on show here, neither actors nor writers nor crew performing at their peak.
What the others say
"The overall sense is of a movie coasting on an obvious and somewhat flimsy premise, to which no one thought to bring much else besides Nicholson and Freeman." - John Anderson, Washington Post
"The Bucket List operates on the hope that two beloved stars rubbing their signature screen personas together can spark warm, fuzzy box office magic." - Stephen Holden, New York Times
So is it any good?
It's a film that tries to remain reflective and gentle, looking at the instant switch a life can take with just one pebble diverting the stream, and with Freeman using his typically timeless tones on voiceover duties, it almost manages that, though not without some cod philosophy soundbites - "When he closed his eyes, his heart was opened." Of course, with Freeman narrating and the movie opening on an expansive shot of a Himalayan vista, all one can think is: 'Wait, is this March of the Penguins?'
The inherent problem with a list movie is that it demands an episodic, ticking-off aspect, so there's an unavoidable sense of 'Well, that's the skydiving done - off to the pyramids!" It's helped by just how engaging the leads are, but when we're doing little more than watching two pensioners having a far better time than we as audience members are, there's something rotten in the list. Tearful reconciliations seem inevitable and it's never as engaging or touching as it clearly aspires to being.
Jack and Freeman spar in a mildly amusing fashion and it ambles along inoffensively, but of 'things to do before you die', seeing The Bucket List certainly isn't one.
5 /10
Lewis Bazley
Agree with this review? Have a different opinion? Let us know your thoughts (without being too abusive to our poor reviewers please) and we'll post the best ones on the site.
Write your comments below: