The Bucket List Movie Review
Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: Justin Zackham
Major Cast
Jack Nicholson as Edward Cole
Morgan Freeman as Carter Chambers
And the others…
I thought that I would hate this movie from the moment I heard the premise. No pun intended, but the die was cast from the start. A plot deeply rooted in the nature of mortality, which is a topic I avoid at all cost? Check. Hospital scenes full of medical procedures and nauseating reactions that made me squirm in my seat? Check. Two respected, iconic actors at the twilight of their careers showing a rare and disturbingly vulnerable side? (Ala Clint Eastwood crying at the end of Million Dollar Baby. I never quite got over that one.) Big Check. Promos and trailers that all but branded this film as a chick flick on Geratol in dire need of adult undergarments? Check.
Everything I knew about this film suggested that I stay as far away from it as humanly possible. Everything I thought I knew fell into place and presented me with an apparent two-hour celluloid colonoscopy. So naturally, The Bucket List was suggested by my wife and I watched under protest. And though verily, all of my preconceptions came to pass in vivid detail, I was surprisingly entertained, inspired, and emotionally moved by this film.
The Bucket List chronicles two men’s battle with cancer. Edward Cole, a wealthy hospital owner, meets Carter Chambers, an auto mechanic, for the first time when they are both admitted to the same hospital room be treated with chemo therapy. The two are idealistically opposed, and they clashed from the beginning. But sharing a room during the grueling chemo process allowed them to form a bond which later grew into a powerful friendship.
(Speaking of chemo therapy – and I’m not sure if anyone has ever lead a paragraph with those words before – an underrated aspect of this film was the montage of the duo’s reactions to chemo treatment. In one scene, one guy would be feeling well, but observing with muted concern while the other writhed in agony, then in the next scene, their situations would be reversed, and in the following scene, both men would be on the upswing, playing gin together. In those few cut-scenes, I could see their bond developing. That was an exceptional blend of acting, editing, and directing. This film does not “pop” without these scenes.)
Philosophies and demographics aside, Edward and Carter were two kindred spirits in that both men were living with diametrically opposed regrets. Carter was a family man who consistently placed his family’s needs over his own professional dream, while Edward was practically married to his lucrative profession, which helped him to ignore his own painful family situation.
After the duo discovered that their conditions were terminal and were each given less than a year to live, Edward discovered Carter’s list of things to do before he died, or his “Bucket List”, crumpled up, having been discarded after Carter was given the unfortunate news of his fate. Edward resurrects the list and ads a few more “ballsy” things to it, like skydiving and kissing the most beautiful girl in the world. Edward convinces Carter to embark with him on a trip around the world to do as many things on the list as possible before their time was up.
Before I continue, let me say that there is absolutely nothing lighthearted or funny about cancer. Not a single thing. I’ve lost family and friends to the disease, and there are few things more disheartening than watching helplessly as a loved one withers away. For those afflicted and suffering through the agony of chemo therapy, I don’t have the imagination to come up with the words to even attempt to describe the level of their pain. I doubt that anyone does, save for those who are actually enduring the pain.
And that’s the only criticism I’ve heard about this film that carries any weight with me because it comes from actual cancer victims. Some say that The Bucket List depicts cancer as one long, slightly uncomfortable slumber party with a cozy little high-five after the funerals. Though I agree, there is some license taken to lighten the tone of the subject matter, I also argue that if the writer and director tried to ground this film into the stark reality of terminal cancer, it would be an unwatchable masterpiece. I doubt that I would have had the intestinal fortitude to watch Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman puke their guts out and scream in agony, begging for merciful death, for 45 to 90 minutes. Perhaps it is a personal failing, but I just wouldn’t be strong enough to endure a more “realistic” movie about cancer.
Yes, artistic license was taken to gloss-over the topic. And yes, it was absolutely necessary because The Bucket List is not just about the tragic affliction of terminal cancer. It is also about living life, and to be more uncomfortably precise, leaving life with no regrets.
Now, with that said, the Bucket List is a magnificent film that attracted and repelled me simultaneously. The chemistry between Nicholson and Freeman was astounding. Predictably, the supporting cast faded into the background as the main duo tag-teamed and played off one another like Jordan and Pippen of the 90’s Chicago Bulls.
Jack was… well, he was Jack, though an understandably subdued version of himself. As usual, he has the best one-liners of the whole film, plus he’s a cool old cat with cool-looking eyebrows.
As for Morgan, he has the voice and presence that can make any script pop. I bet he could make Don Imus’ controversial transcript of Rutgers women’s basketball ring with regal dignity. Seriously, I’d love to see him pull a “reverse Shattner”. If William Shattner can turn the Elton John classic, “Rocketman” into unintentional comedy nirvana, Morgan Freeman can bring singular distinction and class to 2 Live Crew’s “Me So Horny”. I say we petition Mr. Freeman to make this happen.
The only real beef I have with this film (other than that whole mortality thing) is that it was so rich in possibilities and unexplored subject matter that too much was left on the table. I wanted to know more about Edward’s relationship with his assistant, Matthew. I wanted greater detail about the rift between Edward and his daughter over her abusive husband instead of hearing about how he “knew a guy who know a guy who takes care of things like that”. What? That was a total writing copout. I wanted to know how Carter managed to bear living with his 45 year sacrifice of his dream of becoming a history professor. It’s almost as if this movie should have been a novel first, though admittedly, had it been, I’d have been the last person on earth to read it (As I said, I’m not a huge fan of medical dramas, nor of being reminded of my own mortality. It’s probably another personality flaw, but I don’t care.)
What I take away from The Bucket List is that life is meant to be lived to the fullest with equal parts of indulgence and generosity of spirit. Each man was missing one or the other, and each man exited life’s stage having found what they were missing. And they became better men thanks to their chance encounter in of all places, a hospital room.
Story: B
Acting: A
Visuals: C
Originality/Innovation: A
Enjoyability Grade: B
Date Material: B
Contemporary Element (Will it be watchable two decades from now?): C+
Overall Grade: B-
***
Blind Eye Turning: Poems, Prose, and other Scribbles, by Barry Dawson
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