Largely self-taught, Carter keeps himself in mental shape by watching “Jeopardy!” and competing out loud with the contestants. Anyone this articulate and composed would have risen far above day-laborer status.
Who played in the bucket list movie#
By the time the movie allows Edward a token gesture of humanity (his guilt-stricken attempt to reunite with an estranged daughter he cruelly betrayed), it is too little too late.Ĭarter is the one who initially brings up the notion of “the bucket list,” a roster of must-have experiences to be pursued before “kicking the bucket.” We are asked to accept that this dignified sage has been happily toiling as an auto mechanic for 46 years after forgoing his higher education to support a family. The actor’s frantic mugging, guffawing and eyebrow twitching only underscore the character’s pompous self-satisfaction. Nicholson has played wealthy rogues before (most recently in “Something’s Gotta Give”), but this particular bon vivant is unsalvageably repellent.
Who played in the bucket list full#
Nicholson, whalelike at 70, in full rutting mode.ĭirected by Rob Reiner from a sketchy screenplay by Justin Zackham, “The Bucket List” fails its stars in fundamental ways. The movie mercifully spares us the spectacle of Mr. But nothing has ever prevented Edward, who has been married and divorced four times, from pursuing continuous novelty. On the sexual front, the happily married Carter demurs when opportunity presents itself. As they follow an itinerary that takes them to the south of France, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Himalayas and Hong Kong, these stopovers, obviously filmed on a soundstage, have all the reality of snapshots photographed in front of travel posters.
Their initial adventures, like sky diving and race car driving, are high-adrenaline stunts embraced with macho zeal they even visit a tattoo parlor. As they undertake their journey, both men, in temporary remission, appear as robust as the rejuvenated seniors in “Cocoon.” The movie strenuously denies medical reality. Given less than a year to live, Edward and Carter flee the hospital to board Edward’s private jet for a final blowout underwritten by Edward.Īlong the way they become best pals who help each other learn the usual lessons about living life to the fullest. Freeman), neither actor adds a note that we haven’t seen before. Slipping into their stock screen personas of rampaging fool (Mr. Edward, however, does have gourmet food supplied by his obedient assistant Thomas (Sean Hayes), which he lustily consumes until chemotherapy takes away his appetite along with his hair. Obviously, no billionaire in his right mind would endure such humiliation in an institution he is knowingly bleeding to death he would have his own deluxe private suite somewhere else. A greedy billionaire health care mogul, Edward is a victim of his own ruthless cost-cutting program that decrees two to a room in his cramped establishment. The geezers chafing at death’s doorstep are Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), cancer patients who meet cute in the room they share in a hospital owned by Edward. Stars or no, it is an open question whether audiences will flock to a preposterous, putatively heartwarming buddy comedy about two men diagnosed with terminal cancer living it up in their final months. “The Bucket List” operates on the hope that two beloved stars rubbing their signature screen personas together can spark warm, fuzzy box office magic.