What Do The Critics Say?

"Nicholson and Freeman are consummate professionals, and their dance of liking and loathing generates some good laughs and, if you're inclined toward emotional displays, even a few tears." Robert W Butler KANSAS CITY STAR "It is nice to be pleasantly surprised when you see a film that exceeds your expectations. It is the actors, though, and not the routine script that elevates the film to adult level fare that, yes, tugs at the old heartstrings." Robin Clifford REELING REVIEWS "Boomers and older will love it. Others should too. The plus is it's played out by two terrific actors of our time." Steve Crum VIDEOREVIEWMASTER "Strikes a nice balance between comedy and drama, favoring humor and poignant conversations over weepy developments." Tim Brayton AGONY & ECSTASY "Freeman and Nicholson are gracefully charismatic, more enthralling than either of them has ever been onscreen." MaryAnn Johanson FLICKFILOSOPHFER "A heartfelt, wickedly funny, one of a kind holiday treat. Nicholson's and Freeman's tandem performances are near to perfection. Charming Jack Nicholson’s sly, twisted nature has an irresistible appeal. As an actor, he is totally liberated, creating one of the most memorable characters this year. Morgan Freeman is extraordinary, completely believable, delivering a quietly composed and curiously touching performance." Susan Granger SUSANGRANGER.COM

"Watching Nicholson and Freeman on the same screen and their characters Edward and Carter embarking on a sojourn of discovery is hard to resist." Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST "An endearing film that will bring you to tears and have you cherishing every relationship and day you have." Vince Koehler ENTERTAINMENT SPECTRUM "It’s time to rejoice – the darkly comic "The Bucket List" is a gift for moviegoers." Susan Granger SUSANGRANGER.COM "Who wouldn't like Nicholson and Freeman at the top of their game, aided by an intuitive script by Justin Bakeman that allows them to argue about the meaning of life?" Tony Medley TOLUCUM TIMES "There are big laughs and minor moments of grace in The Bucket List. It's also fun to watch these two swap lines, Nicholson angry and antic, Freeman laid back and serene." Roger Moore ORLANDO SENTINEL "Nicholson and Freeman are a dynamite onscreen team, the power of their characters' friendship lending appropriate weight and gravitas to the proceedings." Dustin Putman THE MOVIE BOY

The Inside Story Director/producer Rob Reiner was only ten pages into the script of "The Bucket List" when he told producing partner Alan Greisman ("Fletch" & "Texas Rangers") he had found their next project. As Greisman recalls, "I told him to read the rest of it, just to be sure, but there was no doubt about it." This was a subject close to his heart and without having to read any further, he knew, "I love this story; I know these characters." The two then contacted producers Craig Zadan ("Footloose" & "Hairspray") and Neil Meron ("Chicago") of Storyline Entertainment, who had sent them the script, and started making plans that would launch "The Bucket List" into production within the year. Reiner responded to the story in an immediate, deeply personal way and felt it addressed issues that many people can relate to. "The baby boom generation, in particular, are really starting to examine and evaluate their lives in a deeper way and the themes touched on by "The Bucket List" really resonate. Those of us who have parents or grandparents getting up in years can appreciate what it’s like to look back on the time spent and also to look ahead and really think about what we’re doing with the time we’ve been given. I knew this was a subject I absolutely wanted to tackle now. There was just something about it." That something was, "the grand adventure that takes these two men around the world to figure out what’s been burning inside them their entire lives." Zadan and Meron weren’t surprised, having fallen in love with the story themselves after "The Bucket List" caught the attention of their head of feature development, Travis Knox ("Hairspray"), an executive producer on the film. "It was just like any other weeknight when I took home a pile of scripts to read, but this was the first one in a long time that I could not put down. It was special, a unique blend of humor and heart. I had to be a part of it," Knox says. He then took it to producers Zadan and Meron and suggested Reiner, with whom the producers had recently met on an entirely different matter and had struck an undeniable creative rapport. Acknowledging Reiner’s impressive body of work, Zadan recalls, "What we liked about Rob was his ability to find the humor in emotional subjects. It’s that depth that gives him such impact as a director." There's no doubting that reiner was what the three men wanted for "The Bucket List". "This is a story about friendship and love and discovering what’s really important in life. It stirs a lot of emotions but at the same time makes you laugh and, ultimately, I think, says something significant about the human condition," Greisman notes. As three time Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson's character Edward Cole reminds us in the film, "It’s always the things you don’t do in life that you regret most, not the things you do." Having decided to make this picture, Rob Reiner’s next thought was that he absolutely needed Morgan Freeman for the part of Carter Chambers. "In my mind, there was no one else but Morgan for this role. His involvement was essential." Luckily, 2005 Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar Baby") was genuinely taken by the script, and came back with a casting suggestion Reiner already had in mind: Jack Nicholson as Edward Cole. Reiner and Nicholson had previously teamed for the acclaimed 1992 crime drama "A Few Good Men", for which they both earned Oscar nominations. "If we’re talking about personal bucket lists," Freeman avows, "working alongside Jack Nicholson would certainly be on mine." So how did the two actors get on? "Jack can be very explosive on screen, and Morgan is like the Zen master who lets nothing bother him," posits Reiner. "They complement each other in a very special way. I knew their chemistry together would be amazing and would fuel the dialogue and action in ways we couldn’t imagine just by reading it." "It’s a pleasure," says Zadan, "to see the two of them develop these characters. There were lines in the script I thought were very well-written but I didn’t know how funny they were until I heard Jack saying them and we all burst out laughing. He has a way of finding the character in each word and phrase. And Morgan is just incapable of hitting a false note. Ever. With him, there is no such thing as a bad take." In the film, Chambers and Cole are being treated for Cancer. Each character bears his measure of disappointment in his own way. "Edward is a billionaire, always gets what he wants and goes first class all the way," Reiner explains. "He lives to make money and has poured all his energy into business at the expense of anything resembling a personal life. He’s become the embodiment of that adage about how no one ever wishes, on their deathbed, that they had spent more time in the office, only he doesn’t realize it." Carter nurses his own regrets. "He’s disappointed. Well, at least he believes he’s disappointed," says Freeman. "There were things he wanted to do in his life but circumstances caught up with him and his sense of duty made him change direction. He worked, raised a family, put his children through school and now, even though his family means everything to him, he can’t help feeling that he’s missed the boat. A lot of people end up in Carter’s situation. If they’re lucky, they might realize that they got what they wanted after all." As for Cole's situation, Nicholson acknowledges "That fight has left him rather lonely, surrounded by money, so to speak. Still, it’s this competitive spirit that serves Edward well at this juncture, enabling him to confront any obstacle that stands in the way of the trip he means to take with Carter. Whatever it is, he is ready to go to war over it because he basically is a fighter." Aiding and abetting these two in their impromptu quest is Thomas, Edward Cole’s personal assistant, barista and all-around Man Friday, played by Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace"). No matter what his original job description may have been, Thomas has obviously exceeded it, not only navigating every demanding detail of Edward’s corporate and personal schedules with wit and aplomb but also handling his boss’s moods and prickly personality like a pro. "He’s the assistant who gives back as much crap as he takes from Edward and is probably one of the few people who is actually not afraid of him," Hayes stated. "Thomas is always on call and never dresses down, which became a running joke. No matter what time of the day or night, or what remote outpost they found themselves in, Thomas always appears in a suit and tie." A dedicated list-maker and goal-setter himself, Hayes feels "The Bucket List" is, "a very motivational story, a testament to the power of looking forward. I’m a huge fan of movies that contain subtle life lessons or make you think about things in a new way as you leave the theatre." Reiner notes "Sean is also the perfect comic foil for Jack, and the two of them have some extremely tart exchanges that rely a great deal on Sean’s flawless deadpan delivery." Like Thomas, Edward's physician Dr Hollins knows who he’s dealing with but, unlike Thomas, has not the slightest ability to predict or control him. Multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Rob Morrow was cast as Hollins. "We were lucky and happy that Rob was able to work this around his series schedule and he’s been great. As Edward’s doctor, he’s there to represent the voice of reason, but you can see in his face and his manner that he’s well aware nothing he says will persuade this man from doing exactly what he wants," says Greisman. On Dr Hollins’ side is Carter’s wife Virginia, played by Beverly Todd, teaming here for the third time with Morgan Freeman. The two first co-starred in a two-character drama at Joe Papp’s Public Theater in New York in the early 1970s and then in the 1989 film "Lean On Me". When her husband announces he's pursuing a bucket list with Cole, Virginia feels angry, hurt and abandoned. "She cannot even wrap her mind around the fact that this husband she’s known, loved and cared for all these years is going to go off on some crazy adventure with a man he just met, when they don’t even know how much time they have left together," Todd explained. Freeman credits Todd for conveying the depth of this decades-long marriage and its rich, often conflicting, emotions, saying, "What Beverly brings to a portrayal is total credibility and a range of feeling that makes audiences understand what she’s going through. I learned that the first time we were on stage together, playing a troubled couple." The role of Carter and Virginia’s son Roger is played by Morgan Freeman's son, Alfonso Freeman. Roger is more ambivalent about Carter’s impulsive holiday. An attorney with a young family of his own, he misses his dad and feels his mother’s anxiety but also understands the longing that prompted Carter to take this leap, and does not begrudge him the freedom and peace it may bring. "What matters is not the places they visit and the things they do, but what happens between them during the course of their taking this trip. They could be riding a jeep in the Serengeti one day and sitting in front of a pyramid the next but it’s in the constant thread of their conversation and reflection where the really exciting changes are occurring," Reiner acknowledges. "Each destination leads them to examine another facet of their lives." Synopsis

Carter Chambers has spent fourty six years of his life as an auto mechanic, working hard to give his children a better life than he has had. Edward Cole is a billionaire whose only worry is the bottom line. He was always too busy making money and building an empire to think 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 find 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. You see, Cole and Chambers both have cancer. Cole objects to having to share a hospital room, in his own hospital, with another patient. But then Cole made the golden rule: Two patients to a room. No more no less. They will become dear friends, thanks to a 'bucket list'. A list of things you want to do before you die.

The Verdict "Get out the tissues because there won't be a dry eye in the cinema at films end. Two iconic actors join forces in what truly is a real tour de force. Is this 'as good as it gets'? Well, while it's not quite as good as the film "As Good As It Gets", it is great fun to watch three time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman on the road trip of a lifetime. I'm sure that there will be many, who after seeing this film will be writing their own bucket list. Former "Will & Grace" star Sean Hayes, certainly holds his own as Edward Coles 'Man Friday'. Well worth a look at. 3 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "THE BUCKET LIST" stars .......
Three time BAFTA Film Award winner Jack Nicholson ["A Few Good Men", "Somethings Gotta Give" and "The Departed"]; Silver Berlin Bear winner Morgan Freeman ["Batman Begins", "Bruce Almighty" and "Evan Almighty"]; American Comedy Award winner Sean Hayes ["Cats & Dogs", "Pieces Of April" and "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!"]; Beverly Todd ["The Ladies Club", "Crash" and "Ascention Day"]; Alfonso Freeman ["The Shawshank Redemption", "Se7en" and "Ten 'til Noon"] and Rob Morrow ["Labor Pains", "The Guru" and "The Emperor's Club"] as Dr Hollins.
"THE BUCKET LIST" was .......
directed by Rob Reiner ["A Few Good Men", "Ghosts of Mississippi" and "Rumor Has It"]; screenplay by Justin Zackham ["Caught In The Act", "Going Greek" and "The Fastest Man in the World"]; costume design by Molly Maginnis ["In Good Company", "The Shaggy Dog" and "Norbit"]; production design by Bill Brzeski ["As Good As It Gets", "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" and "Deck the Halls"]; edited by Robert Leighton ["Best In Show", "A Mighty Wind", "Rumor Has It" and "For Your Consideration"]; director of photography John Schwartzman ["Armageddon", "Meet The Fockers" and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets"]; original music by Marc Shaiman ["Patch Adams", "Rumor Has It" and "Hairspray"]. Who's Who?

Jack Nicholson Morgan Freeman Sean Hayes Beverly Todd Rob Morrow Alfonso Freeman Rowena King Annton Berry Jr Verda Bridges Destiny Brownridge Brian Copeland Ian Anthony Dale Jennifer Defrancisco Angela Gardner Dawn Lewis

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Edward Cole Carter Chambers Thomas Virginia Chambers Dr Hollins Roger Chambers Angelica Kai Shandra Maya Lee Instructor Emily Female Administrator Flight Attendant

Run Time 97 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - Warner Bros - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.