‘Bucket List’ is a pale
effort by Rob Reiner

At the Movies
By Senitra Horbrook

The Bucket List seemed like it wanted to be a poignant depiction of two men living out their lifelong dreams before death comes knocking on their door.
That’s why it’s too bad that this latest film from Rob Reiner (a veteran director who will forever be known as Meathead to fans of All in the Family) didn’t leave any lasting impressions on me. It didn’t even motivate me to make my own "bucket list" — a list of things you want to do before kicking the bucket.
The script and setting of The Bucket List felt far too contrived to be believable, especially the endless funds available to the main characters to travel the world.
In the film, septuagenarians Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two cancer patients assigned to the same hospital room. Nicholson is Edward Cole, a filthy-rich bachelor (hmm . . . probably not much of a stretch for him to play) who owns the hospital he is sent to upon being diagnosed with cancer. After demanding a private room, he is reminded of all the years he insisted that no one gets a private room at his hospital and winds up rooming with auto mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman).
For a blue-collar guy, Chambers has a surprising amount of knowledge about the world . . . he can even provide the question to every answer while watching Jeopardy.
The first half of the film is relatively depressing. The audience is forced to watch Edward and Carter bond while suffering through the debilitating effects and treatments of cancer. Nicholson actually shaved his head for this role (you may recall that he decided to keep his shiny look for the 2007 Academy Awards).
When Edward spots Carter making a list of things he wants to do before he dies, Edward adds his own ideas and suggests they make that list come to life.
During a brief period of well-being, Edward and Carter go gallivanting across the world. Thanks to Edward’s bottomless wallet and willingness to share, the two men go skydiving, visit some of the world’s most exotic locales and take off in race cars. Carter’s wife, however, is not too happy with his decision, and she makes sure he knows it.
The movie starts to pump out some adrenaline once the duo venture out to tackle their bucket list. The skydiving scene is probably the best one in the film. Nicholson and Freeman also have a nice camaraderie and seem like they really could be buddies spending their last few months of life together.
Another bright spot in the movie is Sean Hayes (Jack from Will & Grace), who handles the small but funny role of Edward’s assistant Thomas. Edward treats Thomas pretty badly, so it’s obvious he’s only hanging around in hopes of a big payday when Edward does kick the bucket.
This film came out in limited release on Christmas Day (the antidote to the happy holiday film, I guess) and will be released nationwide on Friday. If someone drags you to the theater to see it, the good news is that the movie isn’t overly long (only 96 minutes), which often is a problem with films that like to think they have something really important to say.
Depending on how you look at it, the ending is more sappy than happy. If that was the only problem, it would be forgivable. Unfortunately, that’s the problem with the entire movie. ••
Movie Grade: B-