Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are two fantastically experienced Hollywood actors who have played in genuinely powerful films over the years. Some of the highest rated movies of all time come with one of these two greats on the credits, yet more recently their success has also led them both down the road of occasional mediocrity.
Between them they've played God, Satan, presidents, psychos, wise old men and wanton womanisers, but in The Bucket List, they're just a couple of old guys dying of cancer. Based on that alone, I was already prepared for this to be a gigantic cheese-fest, laden with sentiment and dripping with tears. I didn't expect to be reaching for the tissues myself, moved to dab away a little at my moistened peepers, more I thought the snivelling would be on screen with the audience only cringing.
It just goes to show what I know, I suppose.
The Bucket List turned out to be an entirely watchable affair. Nicholson's role as billionaire suits him eminently and Morgan's down to earth mechanic fit him like an old glove. The two of them went through the buddy movie motions, as an unlikely couple (I can't bring myself to say 'Odd Couple' here - it wasn't that good) brought together by circumstances to discover a friendship they wouldn't have suspected. They write a list of things they want to do before they die and luckily money's no object, so they go around ticking them off. Even cancer doesn't seem that bad if you can still climb pyramids, so don't expect an unutterably horrific, gut wrenchingly painful, realistic portrayal of the effects of the disease. This is a movie about watching the guys doing fun stuff together and discovering a little bit about themselves along the way.
Where it lacks depth it manages warmth and where it lacks invention the leads supply charisma. By the end I wasn't moved, but I was entertained and that in itself was more than I had bargained for.
Worth a look.
The Bucket List
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