The Bucket List is a lifeless, mawkish melodrama barely brightened feeble attempts at caustic wit. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are likable and capable as ever in their respective roles, which embody, almost comically, the typical characters each has been known to play. Freeman is the dignified, wise gentleman. Nicholson is the ruthless, smart-alecky live wire. Together they pull off something resembling charm but the film they inhabit is so morose and coldly calculated that even these two fine actors cannot light a spark within it.After receiving an estimated life expectancy of less than one year, Ed and Carter (Nicholson and Freeman respectively) embark on a wild, international journey to cross off items on their “bucket list,” a rundown of things they’d like to do before the “kick the bucket.” They go sky diving, chase lions, see the pyramids, and in between they make blandly sentimental speeches about the nature of life and death. Neither character seems remotely real, or invites us into the illusion of storytelling in the very least. Everything is done with such clear, tear jerking intentions that it feels more like an executed formula than a true film. The movie's sentimental side is awkwardly deliberate, giving it nothing more than an ugly and embarrassing sense of falseness. The gags fall flat, the serious dialogue is overwritten, and the few sweet moments in between get very quickly lost in the monotonous shuffle.
The dark humor and subtle tragedy of a life in its final years was captured beautifully last year in the little seen dramatic-comedy Venus starring Peter O’Toole. This far more trite and unremarkable retread of similar territory (minus the predatory sexuality) sinks so fast it’s sometimes hard to watch. Nicholson and Freeman struggle admirably and the film does give its best shot at conveying a kind, world-weary sentimentality, but ultimately the thin bond between Ed and Carter never really seems honest and therefore is never moving. It’s a stale little feel-good film that’s not likely to make anyone feel good, only bored and agitated.
Grade: D
