The Bucket List
by Rob Reiner
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Actor: Beverly Todd, Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Rob Morrow, Sean HayesDirector: Rob Reiner
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Alan Greisman
Producer: Craig Zadan
Producer: Frank Capra III
Producer: Jeffrey Stott
Producer: Justin Zackham
Writer: Justin Zackham
Producer: Neil Meron
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-10
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Model: 113988
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- Color; Full Screen; Widescreen; NTSC
DVD Reviews of The Bucket List
DVD Review: Live Like You Were Dying
Summary: 4 Stars
Rob Reiner's "The Bucket List" functions with a strong sense of What If: What if you discovered you were terminally ill? What if you finally decided to live your remaining days to the fullest? What if you discovered more in those remaining days than you ever discovered before? Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) are faced with scores of What Ifs when both are diagnosed with cancer and given a finite number of days to live--with Cole's help, Chambers uses that precious time to see the world and experience things he had previously only dreamed of. This is obviously not a new idea for a story like this, and the reality is that most of the film is unrealistic and cliché. But it's also touching and meaningful, so I have to give credit where credit is due. Simply put, "The Bucket List" is an unabashed tearjerker, a film that's simultaneously witty and sentimental for maximum effect.
The film opens with one of Freeman's voiceover narrations, and that in and of itself is a cliché: consider "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Million Dollar Baby" and "War of the Worlds" and "March of the Penguins" and "Feast of Love" and "The Hunting of the President" and ... I think you get the idea. Anyway, his character's narration acts as a framing device, one that will be filled with the events of the main story. The first character to be established is Chambers, who has worked as a mechanic for the past forty-five years. He's knowledgeable about many things, which is why he's able to watch "Jeopardy!" and answer virtually every question. We first see him in his auto shop, answering trivia questions with his co-worker; at that point, he receives a devastating phone call from his wife, one that forces him to drop his cigarette and walk away in a daze. Apparently, the test results from his latest medical exam paint a grim picture for his future.
Soon after, Cole is introduced. A multimillionaire, Cole is savvy and inflexible, with a dry and completely off-putting sense of humor. He also has an affinity for Kopi Luwak coffee, the world's most expensive (and most disgusting--if you really must know why, look it up on your own). He owns a hospital in Los Angeles, and he has a strict policy when it comes to patient lodging: Two beds to a room, no exceptions. Private rooms aren't allowed because, as he puts it, "I run hospitals, not health spas." Upon his cancer diagnosis, he's taken in for emergency surgery, after which he's wheeled into the same hospital room occupied by Chambers; at that point, Cole pleads to be given his own room, and never mind the bad PR.
Before long, Cole and Chambers form a companionship of sorts. It would be too much to say that they become fast friends--Cole's personality would make that virtually impossible, especially so soon after they meet. But they definitely tolerate each other, which is probably why Cole is willing to indulge Chambers in his last days. You see, Chambers begins writing what his old history professor called a Bucket List, which is a list of things one wants to do before dying (also known as kicking the bucket); Cole gets a hold of it and convinces Chambers to not only follow the list, but also to add a few exciting things, like skydiving and racecar driving and seeing sights all over the world. Cole would tag along, but merely as a financier and a motivator, not as a confidant. Not at first, anyway.
All this comes as a surprise to Chambers' wife, Virginia (Beverly Todd), who feels that Cole is stealing her husband away during his final days. Chambers would like nothing more than for his wife to understand where he's coming from: he devoted years of his life to her and their children, and now that he's dying, he feels he's earned a little time for himself. Much to Virginia's chagrin, Chambers and Cole set off on their journey, and as you've probably guessed, this journey will be profound, revealing many things about both characters. For one thing, we learn that Chambers had once hoped to be a history professor. We also learn that Cole has endured four failed marriages, one of which introduced his daughter into the world. For reasons I won't reveal, the two haven't spoken in years--this is a golden opportunity for Chambers, who tries to use his knowledge and philosophical wisdoms to urge Cole towards reconciling.
If these themes of self-discovery, friendship, and family seem routine, that's because they are. "The Bucket List" doesn't really give us anything new, especially when it comes to the obligatory epiphanies; in stories like this, a character's impending death always makes him or her appreciate life, usually for the first time. But I have to be honest--it's still an effective movie, if not for the story, then for reaffirming our emotions. This applies to both ends of the scale: parts of the film are incredibly funny while other parts are incredibly sad. One of the funnier moments occurs when Cole and Chambers visit the Taj Mahal in India: Cole can't decide on his funeral arrangements. An ordinary burial makes him feel claustrophobic. Cremation is risky because the person may not be completely dead when it happens.
The sadder moments are mostly reserved for the end, and while I won't say what happens, I think you have a pretty good idea. "The Bucket List" is not a perfect film, but it's still poignant and endearing, and its sense of humor is generally well placed. There's also a decent performance by Sean Hayes as Thomas, Cole's personal assistant (his real name is Matthew, but Cole found that too Biblical). I'm recommending this film mostly for its well-established but important message of living life to the fullest. Why? Let me answer that with another question: What if?
Description of The Bucket List
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."You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you," says the quietly wise Carter Chambers, played with gravitas and grace by a Morgan Freeman. In Rob Reiner's moving, often hilarious film The Bucket List, all sorts of people measure themselves against the two heroes, Chambers and his hospital suitemate, Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson). But as Cole finds, having spent his entire life building a Fortune 500 company, none of that much matters when cancer, the great equalizer, pays a visit. The film traces the adventures of the two unlikely friends, who meet in a hospital cancer ward, each given six months to live. The "bucket list" of the title refers to a lifelong list of goals that a teacher of Chambers once advised him to compile--and achieve--"before you kick the bucket." Soon the two are off on what may be the last grand adventure of their life, vowing to tick off as many goals (skydiving, race-car driving, seeing the wonders of the world) as they can in the time they have left. What starts as a medical melodrama becomes a road trip, yet the men's mortality realities are never far from thought. The two leads give impressive performances, and remind the viewer of just how few American films focus on the lives and loves of senior citizens. Nicholson even manages to lose his persona in his character, much as he did in About Schmidt. There's a lovely John Mayer tune, "Say (What You Need to Say)," that's perfectly matched to the film's clear-eyed view of life: What does one person leave behind as his true legacy? --A.T. Hurley
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