The Bucket List

STARRING: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 12/25/2007 DATE SCREENED: 12/10/2007 The Verdict OK - Wait for DVD

A-list actors Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman team up to bring us The Bucket List. Nicholson plays Edward Cole, a rich a-hole whose business model is “two people to a room, no exceptions”. When he himself is hospitalized with cancer, he ends up sharing a room with Carter Chambers (Freeman), an auto mechanic also suffering from cancer. Edward wants nothing to do with Carter at first, as he suffers through surgery and chemo alone while Carter is either watching Jeopardy or talking with his visiting wife. Carter remembers an old college assignment to create a Bucket List, which is a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket”.

Edward and Carter both receive the bad news that their cancer is terminal. They have only six months to a year to live. Carter balls up his bucket list and throws it away, but Edward retrieves it from the trash and begins to add things to the list. He convinces Carter that there is still time to complete the list, and he will foot the bill. Carter’s wife is very upset with this idea, as she wants to spend as much time as possible with her husband. But Carter can not resist Edward’s offer.

The film becomes a road trip movie, as Edward and Carter bond over their adventures, which include skydiving, auto racing, and visiting the pyramids. Things get serious when Carter adds a visit to Edward’s estranged daughter to the list. But that’s just a minor bump in the road as the two men enjoy their last year of life.

The movie is very predictable, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the striking writers are even worth what they get paid. Two people who seem like opposites meet… they don’t like each other… they discover a shared interest… they embark on some type of journey that bonds them… they have an argument… things get smoothed over in the end as they have learned some kind of life lesson. How many times have we seen that story? On the other hand, Nicholson and Freeman are worth every penny as actors. They have great chemistry together and keep you from getting bored despite the script. You just can’t help but get some enjoyment from watching them together on screen. But I didn’t enjoy them enough to be able to recommend that you spend your time & money seeing this in the theater. Wait for the DVD.