 The Bucket List is an American film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, and Rob Morrow. The story follows two terminally ill men (Nicholson and Freeman) on a road trip with a wish list of things to do before they die.
The film premiered December 15, 2007 in Hollywood. It opened in limited release in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2007 and was distributed by Warner Bros. The film opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on January 11, 2008. It will be released in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2008. The film will be released in Australia on February 21, 2008.
Synopsis
Two elderly men, auto mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) and hospital-corporation head Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), discover they are both terminally ill with cancer. Sharing a hospital room, they become friends and decide to fulfill their personal desires through "The Bucket List" before they "kick the bucket". Bankrolled by the wealthy Cole, they sky dive, race each other in classic cars, and take Cole's private jet around the world. They see the Egyptian pyramids, the North Pole, and laugh until they cry. In the end, Chambers dies on the operating table and Cole, inspired by his friend, goes to make up with his daughter realizing life is too short. The last shot shows the continuation of the first. It shows his assistant (Sean Hayes) climbing the mountain and visiting Cole's grave (with a voiceover by Freeman).
Ben Jelen's song "Come On" is also featured in one of the film's theatrical trailers.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. As of January 12, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 40% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 113 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 45 out of 100, based on 18 reviews. On IMDB, it currently holds a score of 7.9 out of 10.
Awards
Named one of the "Top Ten Films of the Year" by the National Board of Review.
The Bucket List received the Truly Moving Picture Award in 2007, designating it as a film that can “move you to laughter, to tears, to make a difference.”
Soundtrack
A score album is set to be released on January 15, 2008, from Varèse Sarabande featuring composer Marc Shaiman's original score for the film as well as a selection of newly recorded themes from Shaiman's previous scoring projects including City Slickers, Simon Birch, The Addams Family, Mother, North, Sleepless in Seatle, South Park, Mr. Saturday Night, Stuart Saves His Family, along with a re-arranged version of a classic Bond song, Goldfinger, titled Printmaster with Shaiman's own voice and lyrics in which he tries to spoof industry's habit of tracking music in scenes where they don't belong to.
On November 20, 2007, John Mayer released the song "Say" which is to be on the soundtrack. A music video for the song was introduced shortly after, which introduced clips from the movie. |
