2008 Woodie Awards
'Bucket' holds big heart
by Sean Flanders
Issue date: 1/17/08
Section: Movies
"The Bucket List" is the story of two very different men (Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) who are diagnosed with terminal cancer and decide to live out their "bucket list": a list of things they want to accomplish in their lives before "kicking the bucket." It's a premise that's been done plenty of times before, but still a good one as the inherent drama of slowly dying from a disease gets mingled with all the amusing antics people can get up to when trying to fit a whole lifetime's worth of big events and accomplishments into a few months. The makers of this movie handled the mixture of drama and comedy well, and the result is something that's funny (though not in a "bust a gut laughing" sort of way) and genuinely touching without lapsing into sappiness.
Most of the movie consists of the two lead characters interacting, and almost all the comedy comes from their dialogue with each other. They're not terribly original characters: Freeman plays a wise, spiritual, yet down-to-earth man, while Nicholson plays a snarky, eccentric guy with a hidden sensitive side. Neither actor has to play a character type they haven't done dozens of times before (heck, Freeman's character even narrates from time to time), but the match up of the two is a refreshing combination and they play well off each other. Whether they're lying in hospital beds, racing sports cars or debating the existence of the afterlife, there's some good chemistry going on, with each character bringing out a side in the other that they seem to keep hidden from everyone else.
Think of the "The Bucket List" as the older, more mature cousin of buddy movies like "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle." The humor's a bit more low-key, the plot's more serious, and it can be a bit somber at times, but the classic principle of pairing two conflicting characters together and watching what happens is still there.
THE GRADE: B
Light and witty, Nicholson and Freeman play post-Matthau-Lemmon "Odd Couple."
Sean Flanders is a Reporter staff writer
Most of the movie consists of the two lead characters interacting, and almost all the comedy comes from their dialogue with each other. They're not terribly original characters: Freeman plays a wise, spiritual, yet down-to-earth man, while Nicholson plays a snarky, eccentric guy with a hidden sensitive side. Neither actor has to play a character type they haven't done dozens of times before (heck, Freeman's character even narrates from time to time), but the match up of the two is a refreshing combination and they play well off each other. Whether they're lying in hospital beds, racing sports cars or debating the existence of the afterlife, there's some good chemistry going on, with each character bringing out a side in the other that they seem to keep hidden from everyone else.
Think of the "The Bucket List" as the older, more mature cousin of buddy movies like "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle." The humor's a bit more low-key, the plot's more serious, and it can be a bit somber at times, but the classic principle of pairing two conflicting characters together and watching what happens is still there.
THE GRADE: B
Light and witty, Nicholson and Freeman play post-Matthau-Lemmon "Odd Couple."
Sean Flanders is a Reporter staff writer
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