The Bucket List (2007)

Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer:

Justin Zackham

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean P. Hayes

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Edward
Morgan Freeman	...	Carter
Sean P. Hayes	...	Thomas (as Sean Hayes)
Beverly Todd	...	Virginia
Rob Morrow	...	Dr. Hollins
Alfonso Freeman	...	Roger
Rowena King	...	Angelica
Annton Berry Jr.	...	Kai
Verda Bridges	...	Chandra
Destiny Brownridge	...	Maya
Brian Copeland	...	Lee
Ian Anthony Dale	...	Instructor
Jennifer Defrancisco	...	Emily (as Jennifer DeFrancisco)
Angela Gardner	...	Female Administrator
Noel Gugliemi	...	Mechanic (as Noel Guglielmi)

Storyline

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find joy in life.

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Plot Keywords:

List | Hospital | Friend | Billionaire | Dying | 

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Taglines:

When he closed his eyes, his heart was opened

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, including a sexual reference

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [fr] Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Antes de partir

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£602,248 (UK) (15 February 2008)

Gross:

$93,452,056 (USA) (30 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Zadan / Meron Productions, Two Ton Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both director Rob Reiner and actor Morgan Freeman independently thought of Jack Nicholson to play the role of Edward Cole.

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Goofs

While both men are sitting on the top of the Great Pyramid and are facing South a shadow of the second pyramid is seen. Actually a shadow can't be cast in that direction (South East-South) on this latitude. Even if it could the shadow would be much longer.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Carter Chambers: Edward Perriman Cole died in May. It was a Sunday afternoon, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky...

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Alphas: The Quick and the Dead (2012)
mentioned in dialogue

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Soundtracks

"La Vie En Rose"
Written by Louiguy and Édith Piaf (as Edith Piaf)
Produced by Marc Shaiman

User Reviews

As much silly as serious

"The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young." Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Now and then I should rethink what I've been learning all these years as a critic because I predicted The Bucket List would have all kinds of holes in it. It did, but they were tiny blemishes in an otherwise solid frame. This is a good movie, as much silly as serious. And therein lies the skill of director Rob Reiner, who makes sure Jack doesn't kill the lines with bluster and Morgan doesn't drown them in vocal sweetness.

Edward (Nicholson) and Carter (Freeman) meet in hospital where they have been given less than a year to live because of cancer. They bond, create the "kick-the-bucket" list of ten things to do before dying, and then do them. The hokey process shots at several of the world's wonders indicate the surety of Reiner's direction where he evokes the old Hope and Crosby road pictures and emphasizes that the journey is the important thing, not the destination.

Both men laugh and cry and change in subtle ways that make this not a maudlin exercise in death denial but rather a celebration of love through friendship, regardless of the grim future. Although Justin Zachman's script is overall weak given the actors' worth, there are lines that save it all from mediocrity: As Edward the cynic says, "We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round." As Carter the humanist says, "You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you." The two philosophies, fate and love, caress in a slow dance to recognition of life's true value.

The Bucket List is not half as sappy as I sound so far; it is a sober rendering of life's lessons at the end by two different men who find their common humanity.