The Bucket List

Ah, bit morbid, no?

Well, not really. Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) is an aging playboy with loads of cash (easy to believe) but no family, whereas Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) has dedicated his life to his family. Seemingly polar opposites, these characters are united when they discover (separately) that they both have cancer, and the pair find themselves in the same room of a hospital that Cole owns. After a period of virtually no communication, they begin to bond, and eventually decide to embark upon an adventure, where they do all the things they wanted to do before they die - The Bucket List. The cast also includes Sean Hayes (who you might recognise as Jack from American sitcom, Will and Grace) as Edwards' ,thankfully very straight, assistant.

The only thing is, take away the big names, and you're left with a Sunday 'made for TV' movie. Its not really anything new, and the camerawork makes it feel cheap. For example, when the pair race each other in their dream cars at a racetrack, the scenes with them in the actual cars wouldn't look out of place in Cheers. Also, when they're in places of beauty, the background scenery is often blurred out in favour of highlighting the person talking, which started to give me a headache. It takes a while to get into the interesting bits as well. Hayes is suprisingly good though, and the film could have done with more of him in it.

This film is upbeat in places, sad in others, and very well acted, but its never anything more than just OK.

The Bucket List is out on general release now. You can see the trailer here - The Bucket List trailer

[Stew]

It's a film about two guys who are dying; Cole (Jack Nicholson) and Chambers (Freeman), but unfortunately the characters didn't die quickly enough to save this film from being the worst thing I'll see this year.

The film revolves around Chambers making a 'Bucket List': that is all the things you'd like to do before you kick the bucket. Cole is happy to spend money to allow these two old guys to polish off their lists before meeting the big guy upstairs. [Shall we ignore that it's the white guy's power and money that allows the black man to live up his last days alive?]

The film at this point turns into a 'Top-10 things to do before you die' from Nuts or Zoo magazine, with all the usual clichés. The self-centred gratifications of these two mortal characters reduce the joys of life to what can be bought with a credit card.

There is little to no chemistry between the two leads, and some parts of their characters will ensure you don't like them, including the casual way in which Chambers casually dumps his wife (played by Beverly Todd who arrives straight from the seventies). Try not to turn your nose up too much when Chambers announces that the way to measure the worth of your life is by: "Measuring yourself by the people who measure themselves by you," though. Although, if you think that makes sense you're a better man than I.

As the film nears it's end, Chambers says: "Cole lived more in his last few days on earth than most people manage to wring out in a lifetime." If flying about in a private jet and sleeping with prostitutes is living life more than others then I'm very much saddened. It's more like a desperate run to get away from yourself, how I wish I'd ran away to avoid this film.

[Bunnylingus]

Hah, Im so glad its not just me that thinks its tosh.

[PapaZeb]

I thought it was fine - if it had just sped up....being so very slow paced made me keep wanting to nod off continually through the film.