Director – Rob Reiner.
Cast – Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd and Rob Morrow.
The Bucket List is the story of two terminally ill men that befriend each other in a hospital ward. The obscenely rich hospital-corporation head Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and quiz loving mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) decide to list all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket and so begins a road movie with a twist.
Both actors are now 70 years of age and you can’t help but smile watching the two elderly men sky dive and race classic cars. The contributions to the list by each character are typical and for every one of Edward’s “kiss the most beautiful girl in the world” there is a “witness something truly majestic” from Carter. The two men, being so different, learn quickly about themselves and each other as they tick down through the list as the most important friendship of their lives is born.
The film is tenderly directed by the assured and experienced Rob Reiner. He skilfully combines slapstick and sentiment in a way that harks back to his earlier films The Princess Bride and Stand By Me. He avoids corniness, keeps an even pace and manages to give both of the heavyweight actor’s their respective space.
With an in-form Rob Reiner at the reigns The Bucket List was always destined to be watchable but the casting of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman elevates it to something different entirely. To watch the two old masters spar with each other is very special. From the very first second of the film it is obvious that something magical is happening onscreen. Every nuance of their performance is so absolutely perfect and natural it quickly becomes impossible to look upon them as Edward and Carter, mere characters in a film. It seems effortless to the extent that you begin to wonder whether it really is just Jack being Jack and Morgan being Morgan. Jack plays Edward as a hybrid of the mischievous McMurphy from Cuckoo’s Nest and the curmudgeonly Melvin from As Good As It Gets. Morgan lends Carter the same calmness and serenity of Red in The Shawshank Redemption.
Sean Hayes of Will And Grace shines as Edward’s personal assistant while the rest of the supporting cast are solid.
To roll out the old cliché and say that The Bucket List is an early candidate for film of the year would be doing it a disservice. This is pure escapism, a timeless classic that will live on and on.
Cast – Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd and Rob Morrow.
The Bucket List is the story of two terminally ill men that befriend each other in a hospital ward. The obscenely rich hospital-corporation head Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and quiz loving mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) decide to list all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket and so begins a road movie with a twist.
Both actors are now 70 years of age and you can’t help but smile watching the two elderly men sky dive and race classic cars. The contributions to the list by each character are typical and for every one of Edward’s “kiss the most beautiful girl in the world” there is a “witness something truly majestic” from Carter. The two men, being so different, learn quickly about themselves and each other as they tick down through the list as the most important friendship of their lives is born.
The film is tenderly directed by the assured and experienced Rob Reiner. He skilfully combines slapstick and sentiment in a way that harks back to his earlier films The Princess Bride and Stand By Me. He avoids corniness, keeps an even pace and manages to give both of the heavyweight actor’s their respective space.
With an in-form Rob Reiner at the reigns The Bucket List was always destined to be watchable but the casting of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman elevates it to something different entirely. To watch the two old masters spar with each other is very special. From the very first second of the film it is obvious that something magical is happening onscreen. Every nuance of their performance is so absolutely perfect and natural it quickly becomes impossible to look upon them as Edward and Carter, mere characters in a film. It seems effortless to the extent that you begin to wonder whether it really is just Jack being Jack and Morgan being Morgan. Jack plays Edward as a hybrid of the mischievous McMurphy from Cuckoo’s Nest and the curmudgeonly Melvin from As Good As It Gets. Morgan lends Carter the same calmness and serenity of Red in The Shawshank Redemption.
Sean Hayes of Will And Grace shines as Edward’s personal assistant while the rest of the supporting cast are solid.
To roll out the old cliché and say that The Bucket List is an early candidate for film of the year would be doing it a disservice. This is pure escapism, a timeless classic that will live on and on.
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