Bucket List, The

42

Warner Bros. Pictures (97 minutes)
and Rob Reiner
Jack Nicholson , Morgan Freeman , Sean Hayes , and Rob Morrow

Rating: PG-13 for language, including a sexual reference

Summary: Carter Chambers, an auto mechanic, and corporate billionaire Edward Cole find themselves sharing a hospital room with plenty of time to think about what might happen next--and about how much of that is in their hands. For all their apparent differences, they soon discover they have two very important things in common: an unrealized need to come to terms with who they are and the choices they've made, and a pressing desire to spend the time they have left doing everything they ever wanted to do. So, against doctor's orders and all good sense, these two virtual strangers check themselves out of the hospital and hit the road together for the adventure of a lifetime--from the Taj Mahal to the Serengeti, from the finest restaurants to the seediest tattoo parlors, and from the cockpit of vintage racecars to the open door of a prop plane--with just a list and their passion for life to guide them. Adding and crossing items off their list while taking in the grandeur and beauty of the world, they will grapple with the difficult questions and the even more difficult answers that plague all of us. And, without even realizing it, they'll become true friends. Sometimes you just need a deadline to get your life in gear. (Warner Bros.)

Kyle Smith
New York Post:
(88) Actors tell us that dying is easy, comedy is hard. But comedies about dying are hardest of all.

James Berardinelli
ReelViews:
(75) The movie's sincerity helps it get over some of the most difficult hurdles and the feeling after leaving theater is one of having experienced something worthwhile albeit unremarkable.

Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer:
(75) The leads, who were born six weeks apart in 1937, have remarkable hare-and-tortoise chemistry.

Noel Murray
The Onion (A.V. Club):
(67) There are certainly worse ways to spend the holiday season than in the company of two charming old actors, being reminded that human companionship makes life worth living, even as it makes dying a little tougher.

Jack Mathews
New York Daily News:
(63) Despite some emotional dips and a see-it-to-believe-it load of schmaltz at the end, The Bucket List is mostly a joy ride with good company, and the actors obviously were having a high time on their traveling boondoggle.

Angie Errigo
Empire:
(60) The script is weak and obvious and the direction disappointingly unimaginative. But stars are stars, and the old boys are terrific - enough to make this a funny and sometimes moving buddy picture.

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