Review of The Bucket List (2007) by Ratnakar S — 12 Aug 2010

About the time that weathered H'Wood veterans Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman burst into a deadening thud of a cover of ?The Lion Sleeps Tonight? while on safari, this reviewer saw the immediate need for a bucket?sans any semblance of a list, of course. And yes, there is the pairing of these acing titans, which is-in and of itself-an event. Despite Nicholson chewing the scenery and Freeman performing obligatory narration duties, however, this award-winning twosome are not entirely at fault. Most of the blame falls on director Rob Reiner, whose supposed heart-tugger proves rather soulless.

In the R-rated The Bucket List, Nicholson and Freeman play terminally ill geezers who team up to run down their wish list of things to do before they?well, before they kick the bucket.

Nicholson and Freeman actually appeared to be shooting on location (Egypt, Africa), so if the script read like a Japanese dog food commercial (and it does), no one could blame them for signing on for this romp. In his roles of captain, cook, and head bottle washer, it was Reiner who had the obligation to make lemonade out of lemons. Back in the day, after all, he could crank out shiny penny crowd-pleasers like no other artisan (When Harry Met Sally?, The American President, A Few Good Men). Here, his work appears borne more out of boredom than passion. Directed with very little oomph or vision, the audience knows right where this three-hanky barfer is headed from go-time?a bed pan.

Bottom line: Bucket o? crud.