THE BUCKET LIST
Director: Rob Reiner Stars: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow
Reviewed by GREG KING
In 1988, there was a small British film called Hawks, in which Timothy Dalton and Anthony Edwards played two terminally ill cancer patients who fled their hospital for one last chance to experience life. Twenty years later we have The Bucket List, a big budget buddy-bonding film in which Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two terminally ill cancer patients who leave the hospital and try to cram in as many exciting adventures before the inevitable.
Edward Cole (Nicholson) is a self-made billionaire and hedonist who runs a health care empire. When he is diagnosed with cancer he ends up sharing a room with Carter (Freeman), an auto mechanic with some regrets about how his life has turned out. Carter is a devoted family man who has spent 45 years raising his family. Cole is an oft-married playboy who enjoys the good life. However, this odd couple develop an unusual friendship, and end up compiling their own “bucket list”, a list of things to see and do before they die. They take up sky diving, race cars, fly to France, visit the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Hong Kong and the Himalayas, and go on safari. But it is the emotional bond they form and the way that they impact on each other’s life that forms the gist of the film, and gives it its heart.
Any film dealing with terminal cancer and death can be maudlin, grim and downbeat. However, director Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally, etc) handles the material in a sensitive fashion, and this becomes something of a life-affirming experience. Reiner though cannot resist resorting to the type of contrived schmaltz and sentiment that rings somewhat false and has been a trademark of many of his films. It’s a shame that the CGI effects in many key scenes seem so obvious.
The casting of two Oscar-winning actors with contrasting styles also helps, as they develop some real chemistry. Nicholson brings to his role all the mannerisms, gestures and intense leering expressions that have become an integral part of his screen persona. Freeman brings to his role his typical low key style, dignity and credibility that ground the film. And Sean Hayes (from Will And Grace, etc) brings a touch of humour to the film with his role as Cole’s long suffering executive assistant.
***
Reviewed by PETER MALONE
Most audiences would enjoy this film, even though it received very short shrift from older male critics who found it too sentimental - or where they just self-conscious about its subject? The subject is ageling, terminal illness and death.
We know this from the first moment as Morgan Freeman’s familiar voiceover tells us of the death of his friend Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson). But Edward was not always his friend. When we are introduced to Cole, we realise that he would not be our friend either. He is a cantankerous millionaire who begrudges any improvements or comforts in the chain of hospitals he owns, especially his rule, without exception, that there are to be two beds in each room. Yes…, he collapses and finds himself sharing a room with Carter Chambers (Freeman) who has been in hospital for experimental surgery and treatment some months after a collapse from cancer.
Of course, initially, it is a case of the odd couple, reinforcing our views of each character: Freeman fine, Nicholson nasty. (By the way both men, 70 at the time of filming, look their age, though Freeman looks far fitter than a now rather pudgy Nicholson.)
When Edward discovers Carter making a ‘bucket list’ (what to do before you kick the bucket), they decide (much to the upset of Carter’s nurse wife) to try out everything on the list. The first is skydiving and the second driving a very fast car on a racing track. Once we get those out of the way, the list becomes more serious. Fortunately Edward has the millions to finance this kind of trip – perhaps that is what irked the critics!
They travel the world – and have the luxury of travelling through an animal reserve in Africa. What is more important on the list are the answers to two questions Carter proposes: did you have joy in your life and, more importantly, did you bring joy to someone else? Of course, Carter has and we get a resume of his life, its career disappointments but its joy in wife and family. Edward, of course, has not, too rich and ambitious to treat his wives well and alienating his daughter. And, he has a long-suffering assistant whom he is continually mocking and firing, played by Sean Hayes in a rather straighter version of his Will And Grace character, Jack.
By the end, we realise that the introduction to the film has been a little misleading – and makes us sad (unless we are the unfeeling critics who, according to their expressed views about sentiment, should go home after the preview and hate their families instead of experiencing the joy the characters in the film feel!).
Nicholson and Freeman are actors at ease with themselves and their characters. Watching them together is experiencing something of a masterclass in acting.