Terminal Cancer: Funny? | Not in the hands of The Bucket List’s Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, it isn’t.
THE BUCKET LIST
Directed by Rob Reiner. Starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman. Opens Fri, Jan 10.
1 Star
I never thought I’d actively dissuade moviegoers from watching a movie with both Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in it. I feel dirty even as I write this. I mean, it’s Ja-a-a-a-a-ack. And Nurse Betty notwithstanding, I’ve never disliked a Morgan Freeman movie. But The Bucket List is a complete waste of time and talent.
Edward Cole is a bombastic, confident, obscenely wealthy man who drinks the world’s most expensive coffee made from cat poo. Carter Chambers is a trivia-nut mechanic who gave up his dream to be a history professor back in the day when he had to provide for his growing family.
Guess which veteran actor plays which character?
When the two share a hospital room, they discover that there’s more in life they want to do before they kick the bucket. Carter makes a list, which Ed quickly swipes, insisting they tick the items off together (with some amendments).
So off they go, much to the chagrin of Carter’s confused wife, to climb the pyramids in Egypt, dine in the south of France, race fancy cars, go on an African safari, climb Mount Everest. Gee, it’s handy that one of them is a gajillionaire, huh?
It is refreshing to see Nicholson in a vulnerable role. He’s not vulnerable as a tycoon, but as a cancer patient. We see Nicholson more often as a smirking, power-hungry manipulator, or a middle-aged Lothario at the most. It’s not often we see a bloated Nicholson puking his guts out in a hospital gown. In some ways, this is some of Nicholson’s most fearless work. Ed is proud, manipulative, and hates having his frailty handed to him on an IV pole. And he’s humbled by Carter’s shameless sincerity and full family life, both things he lacks.
Freeman takes fewer chances in this movie, but he’s always watchable. Ultimately, he teaches Ed that money can’t buy happiness, and it definitely can’t buy peace of mind when your life is on the line.
If it sounds sappy, that’s because it is. But it rings false. Director Rob Reiner has shown himself adept at handling sincere emotion in the past (The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, Stand By Me). This is just sloppy.
My greatest fear is that a lot of moviegoers might plunk down their moola for The Bucket List based on the film’s misleading marketing, which makes it look like a comedy. That’s not to say that there isn’t humour in places. But it’s not funny. Death isn’t funny. Unless you’re Smoochy.
The Bucket List is supposed to be a gentle lesson in human frailty and the importance of living life to its fullest. But ultimately, when you spend the first half-hour of a movie watching someone going through chemo, it doesn’t put you in a good mood for the rest of their wacky adventures. If you’ve ever been close to someone with a terminal illness, the truthfulness of much of the movie will make you uncomfortable.
But watching The Bucket List is like diving into an unmarked pool—you hope it’s going to be deeper, until you bash your head in the shallow end.
