Movie Review: The Bucket List

Posted in movies on 27. Feb, 2008

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The Bucket ListEven though I appreciate Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as actors, this was one of those films that I could have waited to see on DVD, but when my friend wanted to go see it for her birthday, I acquiesced.

Jack Nicholson plays Edward Cole, a contemptible old man who, to quote one of my favorite all-time movies and characters, "has more money than God."  Edward becomes a patient in one of his own hospitals when he's diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Part of the reason that Edward has so much money is that he, "Runs hospitals not health spas.  Two beds to a room.  No exceptions."  Enter Morgan Freeman as Carter Chambers, the other bed in Edward's room.  Carter is dying of lung cancer.

Edward and Carter embark on the sort of friendship that can only be built upon a shared life-threatening experience.  The virtuous Carter starts a "Bucket List" – things to do before he kicks the bucket. Edward becomes privy to the idea and decides to add his own twist.  Carter wants to witness something miraculous.  Edward wants to kiss the most beautiful girl in the world and so on and so forth.

The film is full of glorious backdrops.  The Pyramids, the French Riviera, the Himalayas. There are some side-splitting hilarious moments.  One of my favorites was Carter revealing the true source of what is possibly Edward's favorite thing in the whole world.  It just so happened to fulfill a Bucket List item as well.

A word of warning to those of you who have witnessed or experienced cancer, especially the effects of chemotherapy, first hand: there are some very painful and real moments to watch as Edward's and Carter's bodies fight to survive the only thing that can kill the disease that threatens their life.

In the end, Edward and Carter were each able to fill a void in the other's life.  They taught each other things that neither of them could have learned on their own, and their polar circumstances helped each of them to appreciate what they had in life, which is what friendship's really all about.

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