Official Synopsis:
You only live once, so why not go out in style? That's what two cancer-ward roommates, an irascible billionaire (Jack Nicholson) and a scholarly mechanic (Morgan Freeman), decide when they get the bad news. They compose a bucket list -- things to do before you kick the bucket -- and head off for the around-the-world adventure of their lives. Sky-dive? Check. Power a Shelby Mustang around a racetrack? Check. Gaze at the Great Pyramid of Khufu? Check. Discover the joy in their lives before it's too late? Check!  Under the nimble direction of Rob Reiner, the two great stars provide the heart and soul, wit and wiles of this inspired salute to life that proves that the best time of all is right now.
  
Our Take:
The Bucket List should be applauded for going against the Hollywood grain of youth-oriented fare and proving that a film about older men with a mature theme like facing death can be successful.  The only problem, of course, is that the film is not that good.  As in many of his films, Rob Reiner lays the sentimentality on pretty thick with a sprinkling of humor.  The film centers around two men of differing means and backgrounds, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, reacting to the news that they have but a few month left to live.  Surprisingly, though, Reiner keeps the film somewhat light throughout, yet never shies away from the realities of the characters’ situations.  There are some downright sad and uncomfortable moments as we watch cancer take its toll on their bodies.  It’s in these more realistic moments that the film succeeds.  Reiner shows us these men as they are and does not apply the layer of Hollywood gloss we have come to expect.  These are sick men and they look it. 

On that note, Jack Nicholson should be commended for allowing himself to be shot as he is in this film, as this is one of the few times Jack has not been the “epitome of cool” caricature that he has become.  In fact, this is Nicholson’s most original role in quite some time and while we still get a lot of “Jack being Jack” here, his underlying vulnerability is something that he hasn’t tapped into since the 1970’s.  Manic Jack this is not.  Morgan Freeman shares the screen well with Nicholson, but continues to play the same Morgan Freeman we have been watching since Unforgiven.  I get it; Morgan Freeman is a sage, dignified veteran of a man who has one of the most distinctive voices in American cinema as evidenced by yet another excellent narration job here by Mr. Freeman. 

The Bucket List, which inexplicably has been released on a widescreen/full screen (seriously, who wants to watch full screen versions of widescreen movies?) flipper disc, comes with following underwhelming special features on side one:

* Writing a Bucket List (5 minutes) – An interview with screenwriter Justin Zackham.

* Music Video (4 minutes) – “Say” by John Mayer.

The Bucket List is a film that demands respect based on its atypical subject matter that will hopefully spur Hollywood to produce and distribute more films as mature as this one.  While the film succeeds in its more somber moments, Rob Reiner’s heavy level of sentimentality and whimsical escapist sequences are a double-edged sword that adds needed levity to the film, but also takes the audience out of the film.  The Bucket List is an excellent rental, as the lack of special feature content does not warrant a purchase.

Overall Picture:
Movie: B
DVD: C

- Matthew Orlando
Staff Writer