• Release Date: 2008-06-10
• Genre: Comedy Drama
• Artist Name: Verda Bridges, Rowena King, Dawnn Lewis, Jordan Lund, Karen Maruyama, Richard McGonagle, Rob Morrow, Beverly Todd, Alex Trebek, Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson
• Director: Rob Reiner
• AMG Rating:
• MPAA Rating: PG13
• Category: Feature Films
• Cautions: Adult Language
• Year: 2007
• Running Time: 97
• Movie Country of Origin: USA
• Available Language: English
• Subtitles: Eng/Fre/Spa
  

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star as two terminally ill cancer patients who decide to break out of the hospital and live their last days to the fullest in director Rob Reiner's seriocomic road movie. Edward Cole (Nicholson) is a corporate billionaire who is currently sharing a hospital room with blue-collar mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman). Though initially the pair seems to have nothing in common, conversation gradually reveals that both men have a long list of goals they wish to accomplish before they kick the bucket, and an unrealized desire to discover what kind of men they really are. But one can't accomplish such lofty objectives from the confines of a hospital bed, so now, in order to live their lives to the absolute fullest, Edward and Carter will have to make a break for it. With a checklist that includes playing the poker tables in Monte Carlo, consuming copious amounts of caviar, racing the fastest machines on four wheels, and much more, these two terminally ill men will do their best to fit a lifetime of experience into their last remaining days while forging an unlikely, but truly remarkable, friendship. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Comedy Drama

Battling Illness, Facing Death, Obsessive Quests

Sentimental, Autumnal, Humorous, Bittersweet, Poignant, Reflective

DVD Features

• Exclusive to hi-def:
• The Bucket List trivia track: Selectable fun and informative pop-up graphics running throughout the movie
• Rob Reiner interviews the stars: Rob & Jack, Rob & Morgan
• Writing a Bucket List with screenwriter Justin Zackham
• John Mayer Say music video
• The making of Say

Review

Like Six Degrees of Separation and Catch-22 before it, The Bucket List grabbed a place in the zeitgeist by identifying and naming a phenomenon that resonated with numerous people. Even when they hadn't seen the film, the term "bucket list" became a popular way for people to describe the exotic things they wanted to experience before dying. If only Rob Reiner's movie actually deserved that kind of widespread awareness. It starts out well enough, as screenwriter Justin Zackham takes his time establishing the characters of Carter (Morgan Freeman), a jovial mechanic with a brain full of trivia, and Edward (Jack Nicholson), a surly billionaire with a love of good coffee, who meet in neighboring hospital beds while fighting terminal cancer. Reiner and Zackham stay in this setting for over 30 minutes, developing these men into three-dimensional characters and mutual confidants. It's when they get to the actual bucket-listing that the film starts to rush, alternating between broad comedy and maudlin sentiment. Carter and Edward's jet-setting is thrown together haphazardly, serving only as an arbitrary background for their touchy-feely conversations and physical pratfalls. (And it's quite a flimsy background -- Freeman and Nicholson are clearly acting against green screens, rather than real settings.) This all leads up to a third-act reversal that manipulates the way the narrative was originally being told, intended as some kind of plot twist. Shortcomings aside, it's a consistent treat to watch these two acting treasures working together. The usually saintly Freeman is permitted to show human weakness, and does so well; the always mischievous Nicholson gets to indulge in more of the same, tossing in a few tugged heartstrings for good measure. Though watching The Bucket List shouldn't be on any dying man's list of priorities, it's a harmless enough way for the healthy to pass their time. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi