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Smooth direction and the powerful onscreen charisma generated by its two stars makes 2007's The Bucket List a better film than it deserves to be.
The film stars Oscar winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as Edward and Carter, respectively, two terminally ill men who meet in the hospital and actually leave the hospital in order to do all those things that are on Carter's bucket list, a list of everything that Carter wants to do before he dies.
The story then follows these two polar opposites as they decide to, among other things, jump out of an airplane, visit the pyramids, and drive high-powered race cars, but the story is so not the thing here...the thing here is the 1000-megawatt performances by Nicholson and Freeman which electrify the screen, under the skillful direction of Rob Reiner, who offers detailed direction where it is needed and allows these actors to do what they do best when it is not...command the screen and carrying a rather pedestrian story to a more entertaining level than Justin Zackham's screenplay offers. There are moments throughout, mostly involving Nicholson, that I suspect were not scripted and Reiner and Freeman just got out of the master's way.
Nicholson and Freeman are magical here, providing a perfect balance of laughter, tears, and pathos. There is one particularly moving scene near the film's climax where Edward and Carter share a big laugh and we see Carter cross "Laugh till I cry" off his list. I was deeply moved by the fact that this man had lived his entire life without laughing until he cried.
Mention should be made of an extremely effective supporting performance from Beverly Todd as Carter's devoted wife, who accuses Edward of stealing her husband and wants her husband to face his illness in a more realistic manner. Todd's character has a lot of unsympathetic moments in the film, but Todd invests completely in the character and makes the viewer understand her.
The film is beautifully photographed and Reiner's directorial hand is solid, but it is the spectacular teaming of these two acting legends that make this film solid entertainment.
Smooth direction and the powerful onscreen charisma generated by its two stars makes 2007's The Bucket List a better film than it deserves to be.
The film stars Oscar winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as Edward and Carter, respectively, two terminally ill men who meet in the hospital and actually leave the hospital in order to do all those things that are on Carter's bucket list, a list of everything that Carter wants to do before he dies.
The story then follows these two polar opposites as they decide to, among other things, jump out of an airplane, visit the pyramids, and drive high-powered race cars, but the story is so not the thing here...the thing here is the 1000-megawatt performances by Nicholson and Freeman which electrify the screen, under the skillful direction of Rob Reiner, who offers detailed direction where it is needed and allows these actors to do what they do best when it is not...command the screen and carrying a rather pedestrian story to a more entertaining level than Justin Zackham's screenplay offers. There are moments throughout, mostly involving Nicholson, that I suspect were not scripted and Reiner and Freeman just got out of the master's way.
Nicholson and Freeman are magical here, providing a perfect balance of laughter, tears, and pathos. There is one particularly moving scene near the film's climax where Edward and Carter share a big laugh and we see Carter cross "Laugh till I cry" off his list. I was deeply moved by the fact that this man had lived his entire life without laughing until he cried.
Mention should be made of an extremely effective supporting performance from Beverly Todd as Carter's devoted wife, who accuses Edward of stealing her husband and wants her husband to face his illness in a more realistic manner. Todd's character has a lot of unsympathetic moments in the film, but Todd invests completely in the character and makes the viewer understand her.
The film is beautifully photographed and Reiner's directorial hand is solid, but it is the spectacular teaming of these two acting legends that make this film solid entertainment.