Rating: 14/20 (Jen: 13/20)
Plot: A couple old guys with terminal cancer make a list of things to do before they die--skydive, race fast cars, climb a mountain, have sexual intercourse with a walrus, etc.--and bond as they globetrot to make those things happen.
This movie would have gotten at least three bonus points for a Morgan Freeman/Jack Nicholson/walrus sex scene.
I never really felt this movie. It's heavy subject matter, one of those stories that can be simultaneously depressing and uplifting, but it never really struck a chord. I liked the friendship of two very different human beings and thought that it unfolded very naturally in the hospital although I'd listen to arguments that that part of the movie went on for too long. Freeman and Nicholson are both good playing the same sort of characters they play nowadays, but it feels to me like they're going through the motions, and I didn't think they had any natural chemistry. And Nicholson's screaming during a skydiving scene was awkward, the type of thing that could make any walrus uncomfortable. Jack Nicholson's kind of shaped like a walrus at this stage in his life. Not in a good way. I enjoyed traveling around with these two guys and seeing pyramids and Taj Mahals and snowy mountains, but the episodic bucket-list-scratch-offing got a little tiresome after a while. Any real emotional impact sort of comes and goes, and a script that just refused to take any chances probably didn't help things. Mostly, it feels like Hollywood emotions, and when I think about the amount of money that had to be involved to make the dreams of Morgan Freeman's character come true, it kind of cheapens the whole thing.
My inability to completely connect with this makes me wonder if I'm just not quite old enough for it.
Morgan Freeman narration and shots of snow. Jennifer and I thought that we'd accidentally popped in March of the Penguins. I wouldn't have minded, by the way, seeing Freeman and Nicholson having their way with penguins either, but this just wasn't that kind of movie.
The "kiss the most beautiful girl in the world" bit almost got me. It might have if the rest of the movie would have been as good as it should have been.
Kiss the most beautiful girl was one of the most touching things I have ever seen in any movie. It totally caught me by surprise and I'm happy you mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I am old enough to connect with this film. I would disagree about their chemistry. They are wonderful characters that are perfectly suited to these great actors. Their friendship struck me as realistic and organic, and was the greatest strength of the film. Nicholson's words and performance at the funeral was another very emotionally moving scene (sorry if this is a spoiler for anyone). I also really enjoyed the unspoken bond with Jack's assistant, whose actions at the end were also touching and funny, and made for a perfect ending.
Not everything in "The Bucket List" is as smooth or realistic as I wish it were. There are scattered clunky moments that hurt the flow of the film, but as I said, I am the right age for this movie to really speak to me, and there is enough humor, realistic drama, and meaning to make this an unexpected personal favorite. It's something I could see myself coming back to again and again. An 18.
Another successful Oprah Movie Club discussion!
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting pick, Cory. And there are no spoilers for Oprah Movie Club picks because if anybody reads these without watching the movie, it's their own fault anyway. These are assigned movies that are watched about as consistently by my 4 1/2 blog readers as my students at school do their homework.
I like Nicholson a lot (the guy across the hall from me at school doesn't; he says he plays the same character in every movie) and Freeman just fine, but I wonder if this would have worked better for me with two actors I don't see as often.
Maybe. There are definitely moments that could have been better, and maybe Reiner dealing with huge stars kept him from improving the film, but I still thought the charisma of the leads helped make it great.
ReplyDeleteI was not as fond of this as you guys. I found it to be formulaic and rather saccharine.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am the same exact age as Cory. (Actually a bit more than a month older.) When the hell did you start identifying with guys who are older than our parents? Exactly what are you saying there? These guys are half again as old as you are.
As for the little ending? Eh....I dont HAVE any grandkids so that most beautiful girl in the world thing was just another nail in the sugary sweet coffin.
It gets a 13 from me. It had a few good moments, and I did like the assistant guy, but overall its just not a movie that I really connected with. Call me back in a quarter century and maybe I will have more in common with the characters in this film.