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Movies / Upcoming / The Bucket List
The Bucket List

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The Bucket List (2007)

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Reviews Counted:160

Fresh:67

Rotten:93

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: Not even the earnest performances of the two leads can rescue The Bucket List from its schmaltzy script.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $93,452,056

Synopsis: Academy Award winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star in the comedy drama "The Bucket List," directed by Rob Reiner, a touching, no-holds-barred adventure that shows it's never too late to... Academy Award winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star in the comedy drama "The Bucket List," directed by Rob Reiner, a touching, no-holds-barred adventure that shows it's never too late to live life to its fullest. A long time ago, Carter Chambers' (Morgan Freeman) freshman year philosophy professor suggested that his students compose a "bucket list," a collection of all the things they wanted to do, see and experience in life before they kicked the bucket. But while Carter was still trying to define his private dreams and plans, reality intruded. Marriage, children, myriad responsibilities and, ultimately, a 46-year job as an auto mechanic gradually turned his concept of a bucket list into little more than a bittersweet memory of lost opportunities and a mental exercise he occasionally thought about to pass the time while working under the hood of a car. Meanwhile, corporate billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) never saw a list without a bottom line. He was always too busy making money and building an empire to think about what his deeper needs might be beyond the next big acquisition or cup of gourmet coffee. Then life delivered an urgent and unexpected wake-up call to both of them. Carter and Edward found themselves sharing a hospital room with plenty of time to think about what might happen next--and about how much of that was in their hands. For all their apparent differences, they soon discovered they had two very important things in common: an unrealized need to come to terms with who they were and the choices they'd made, and a pressing desire to spend the time they had left doing everything they ever wanted to do. The list wasn't just a mental exercise anymore. It was an agenda. So, against doctor's orders and all good sense, these two virtual strangers check themselves out of the hospital and hit the road together for the adventure of a lifetime--from the Taj Mahal to the Serengeti, the finest restaurants to the seediest tattoo parlors, the cockpit of vintage race cars to the open door of a prop plane--with just a sheet of paper and their passion for life to guide them. Adding and crossing items off their list while taking in the grandeur and beauty of the world, they will grapple with the difficult questions and the even more difficult answers that plague all of us. And, without even realizing it, become true friends. With humor, insight, heart...and a fair amount of attitude. Sometimes you just need a deadline to get your life in gear. --© Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow, Beverly Todd

Director: Rob Reiner

Director: Rob Reiner
Screenwriter: Justin Zackham
Producer: Alan Greisman, Rob Reiner, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Composer: Marc Shaiman
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for The Bucket List

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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This rather special film is one about mortality and immortality and guarantees both laughter and tears. Of course, the combination of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman is special in itself

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/14/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The way these two iconic actors play off one another is as good as it gets.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
01/01/08
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

This bucket's got a hole in it.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment 1 Comment
01/11/08
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

The Bucket List doesn't want to be about reality. Instead, it's about a fantasy version of illness and death, in which those things have no repercussions except to sanctify the dying.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
01/21/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Considering Rob Reiner's output lately, it's tempting to call the film a triumph, if only on the grounds that it's not awful. The problem is that it isn't any good either,

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
01/17/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

The Bucket List isn't so amazing that a viewing deserves a spot on your own bucket list, but at least it's safer than skydiving.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
01/10/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

The Bucket List must have seemed like a good idea -- around 1985.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
01/10/08
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

...Rob Reiner returns to the crowd-pleasing form he seemed to lose about the time of the first Clinton inauguration

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/12/08
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Nicholson and Freeman are so lovably companionable, they almost make you forget the glaring contrivances screenwriter Justin Zackham concocts.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
01/09/08
David Germain
David Germain
Associated Press
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/18/08
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s safety-first adventuring and safety-first filmmaking, both of which should be mortal sins.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/11/08
Josh Rosenblatt
Josh Rosenblatt
Austin Chronicle

There are certainly worse ways to spend the holiday season than in the company of two charming old actors, being reminded that human companionship makes life worth living, even as it makes dying a little tougher.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
01/11/08
Noel Murray
Noel Murray
AV Club

The Bucket List is 98 minutes of mawkish sentiment, a stream of greeting-card moments.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
01/11/08
Chris Kaltenbach
Chris Kaltenbach
Baltimore Sun

Terminal cancer can wait.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
02/10/08
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/12/08
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It might be a decent movie with very good performances, but it should see a quick box office death.

Full Review Source: Beaumont Journal | comment Comment
01/10/08
Danny Minton
Danny Minton
Beaumont Journal

Dying just seems an excuse for a geriatric, spend-it-all Spring Break.

Full Review Source: Beliefnet | comment Comment
01/10/08
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Beliefnet

It's impossible to mistake the movie for inspired.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
01/11/08
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

That director Rob Reiner is often successful in eliminating the too-sweet taste of sentimentality is largely due to a pair of powerhouse performances from Freeman and Nicholson.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
12/12/07
Chad Greene
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

Thinking about taking a road trip with Nicholson and Freeman sounds like the best thing ever. Perhaps it would have been in a more serious, less light-hearted film.

Full Review Source: Bronsonfive | comment Comment
01/10/08
Michael Ferraro
Michael Ferraro
Bronsonfive
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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