Of course I knew what to expect. How much more predictable can The Bucket List be? First, there’s the Hallmark-style script of discovering that wealth cannot buy happiness or happiness cannot buy wealth or a mash up of the two. I don’t know. I always favored the motto: “You can never be too rich or too thin.” There’s some sort of statement in there. You can figure it out. Second, you know both guys are going to die and weepie master Rob Reiner uses every play in the “Make ‘em Cry” playbook. Try not to let it get to you. I admit that I shed a few tears, got a bit choked up– despite the distracting cell phone talker. With two great actors, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, it’s almost impossible at times. Despite the syrupy, flimsy script.
Blue-collar Carter [Morgan Freeman] is a mechanic and billionaire Edward [Jack Nicholson] runs hospitals. He owns a jet! They meet because they are both dying and end up in the same hospital room, due to Edward’s money-making principles. There are silly moments and clichés galore but The Bucket List is what it is: a sentimental reflection on aging. These two men would never have formed such a bond and have discovered the minutiae of contentment, without the money. They needed to go around the world in order to see that what was in their own backyard was enough. But really, if you had an opportunity to see the pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal and amazing wildlife on an African safari, wouldn’t you go?
In The Bucket List, everything gets neatly tied up: the father and daughter come to an understanding; the tired wife is finally heard; the husband becomes a husband again. In the hands of rom-com director Reiner, it’s a bro-mance. The Bucket List is nothing new but seeing Freeman and Nicholson play off each other is cool. Too bad it is with such throw-away material.
STEELE RECOMMENDATION: WAIT FOR YOUR NETFLIX QUEUE.
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