The Bucket List

There is something comforting about watching a movie that opens with Morgan Freeman's voice. It is a reassuring voice that says "Don't worry, you are in good hands." It is comforting like your favorite sweatshirt on a cold night, or a best friend's shoulder when you need to cry. He is a warm man with a deep soul; he is a man who wears the lines of life on his face with glory. It is true that he has become something of a "white man mentor" in his movies but he is always so good at it that you enjoy him in that role. Putting him a movie with Jack Nicholson seemed like an amazing idea, but was it?

Carter Chambers(Freeman) is a mechanic with a knack for knowing the most random facts and he happens to be dying from Cancer. Well, dying isn't exactly what he is doing when the movie opens, but soon into the movie he is dying. Edward Cole (Nicholson) is a very wealthy man, who made his millions in hospitals. He also has Cancer and also is dying. The two start the movie as strangers- two very different people in similar situations. They spend their days playing Gin, watching T.V and slowly learning about each other. When they get the news on the same day that they both have between 6 and 12 months to live, Chambers writes out a "bucket list." They are things he wanted to do before he died. Cole gets a hold of the list, adds to it and convinces Chambers they should do the things on the list. The list goes from the silly(skydiving), absurd(tattoos), and then goes to the things everyone should do- see the pyramids, visit Africa and so on. In their final months the two men live, learn, and laugh together. Chambers gets to experience things he figured passed him by and Cole learns the value of friendship for the first time.

In terms of appreciating life, this movie hits all of the marks, often with a light hearted humor that keeps the tears at bay until the big finish. Freeman and Nicholson are both living legends and getting to watch them on screen together for basically an entire movie is worth the price of admission. Nicholson gets most of the laughs with his trademark line delivery and that million dollar smile, but Freeman is never over shadowed as he gets some great moments as well. Their time in the hospital is great and it shows you the different approaches they take to acting, yet their different styles meld perfectly in this movie. Most of the laughs are chuckles or even quiet smiles and nodding approval, but this was not made to be gut bustingly hilarious. The further into the movie we get though, the drama picks up and for brief moments the comedy takes a back seat and it is in that moment where these two men really shine.

The movie goes exactly where you expect it to at every moment, but that isn't a problem. This is a movie that is here to remind us how precious life is and how important family is. Living life for ourselves is fun, but how much of it matters when we don't have anyone to partake in it with us. There is a scene that cuts back and forth between the two men eating dinner and the differences in their lives are right at the heart of this story. Yes, it seems a bit forced at times and sure it aims to squeeze tears out, but does that have to be a bad thing? Does it have to be a bad thing to see a movie perfectly content is giving a nice message about life? It could have been bad sure, but it is very hard to go wrong with Morgan Freeman as our narrator.

Final Grade: B