Title: The Bucket List Rated: M Genre: Comedy Director: Rob Reiner Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow, Beverly Todd
I’m confident any movie associated with Jack Nicholson is going to have a fair chance of success. He’s earned the art form’s chairman of the board status – a position Frank Sinatra achieved in the music field. Add another veteran in Morgan Freeman and you are assured of success as much as you can ever be in this fickle industry. The Bucket List is a superbly written comedy/drama yarn and the perfect vehicle for these two greats. Written by Justin Zackham, The Bucket List centres on two opposites. Firstly Charter Chambers played by Freeman – who ended up as a motor mechanic for 46 years while dreaming of being a history professor. On the other hand Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) is a ruthless, money-making entrepreneur who is bleeding the health services industry. The two characters find themselves in hospital facing the prospect of terminal illnesses with a similar prognosis regarding their life expectancy. Together they draw up a list of things they want to do before they die and embark on a world-wide ‘road trip’ via Cole’s personal jet and wealth. While beautifully shot, superbly acted, and tightly edited, it is Zackham’s story that is this work’s piece de resistance. You’ll laugh and cry for one hour and 37 minutes – just as Zackham intended.
