One, The Bucket List could, in one sense, be the latest entry in the “romantic buddy comedy” genre that Justin Shubow identified a few months ago; I quoted bits of his article here and here.
Shubow was primarily concerned with films featuring actors in their 20s and 30s, whereas The Bucket List stars two men who turned 70 during or after their work on the film; but it is striking nonetheless to see how the story goes through some of the standard rom-com beats — including the break-up 15 minutes before the end — and how the Jack Nicholson character explicitly compares the Morgan Freeman character to at least one of his wives, and remarks that he’s never been to a certain restaurant with “a guy” before.
Two, this film just might mark the first time that director Rob Reiner has given up his anti-religious prejudice and, indeed, become a bit more open to matters of faith.
Reiner’s early films, like The Princess Bride [1987] and When Harry Met Sally… [1989], had very minor and very benign jokes at the expense of religion, but his later films turned pretty hostile; Misery [1990], A Few Good Men [1992] and Ghosts of Mississippi [1996] all featured murderous characters who happened to talk about God and the Bible and so on. Ghosts of Mississipi is an especially interesting example because it is based on a true story, and when I interviewed the real-life person on whom the Alec Baldwin character was based [see page 4 of this PDF file], he said he wished the film had had even one scene that acknowledged the positive role that prayer had played in his own life and in the lives of other people who were part of that story.
But now, The Bucket List features Morgan Freeman as a man who believes in God, has faith in a life beyond this one, and quotes something his pastor once told him when it comes time to deliver the film’s inspirational theme — while Jack Nicholson plays the skeptic who openly says that he “envies” people like Freeman. I could say even more about the film’s portrayal of the Freeman character, and how this portrayal relates to the character’s beliefs, but it might mean giving something away; so for now, all I will say is that the film gives Freeman the voice-over, and thus invests his character, rather than Nicholson’s, with the greater moral or spiritual authority.
The film as a whole is nothing to write home about — the premise is implausible, the humour tepid, and the tacky CGI can’t hide the fact that they were too cheap to film the overseas scenes on location — but seen in the context of Reiner’s larger filmography, I can’t help but find this one aspect of the film rather interesting, in much the same way that I found Reiner’s similarly flawed The Story of Us [1999; my comments] rather interesting when it veered in certain existentialist directions.
The story of the movie is reportedly inspired from an article which Tejas Deoskar saw somewhere in 2013. It was apparently a short story about an event and, ever since then, it was on his mind. He then developed a story around it in late 2016.
What movie is Jack Nicholson most known for?
He gave an iconic performance in “The Shining” [1980], and was also strong in such films as “The Witches of Eastwick” [1987] and “Batman” [1990], as well as in “Terms of Endearment” [1983] and “As Good As It Gets” [1997], all of which underscored Nicholson’s place in at the top of the Hollywood pantheon.
Did Jack Nicholson shave his head for the bucket list?
Morgan Freeman once said in an interview that Jack Nicholson was on his bucket list, and eventually got the chance of acting with him in this movie. Jack Nicholson shaved his head for the film. Rob Reiner and Morgan Freeman independently thought of Jack Nicholson to play the role of Edward Cole.
What height is Morgan Freeman?
6′ 2″
Morgan Freeman/Height
Why do they call it a bucket list?
When Did People Start Saying “Bucket List”? Jack Nicholson at ‘The Bucket List’ premiere, 2007. According to Zimmer, [and word researcher Hugo van Kemenade], when used in this context, the phrase originated with Bucket List screenwriter Justin Zackham; the earlier usages mentioned in this column were misdated.
Who was Jack Nicholson’s father?
Donald Furcillo
Jack Nicholson/Fathers
What is Jack Nicholson’s best role?
Jack Nicholson’s 15 Most Iconic Roles Ranked
- Jack Torrance, The Shining. Warner Bros.
- Randal McMurphy, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
- The Joker, Batman.
- Colonel Nathan Jessup, A Few Good Men.
- Jake Gittes, Chinatown.
- Melvin Udall, As Good as It Gets.
- Garrett Breedlove, Terms of Endearment.
- Frank Costello, The Departed.
What were the items on the bucket list movie?
Here’s what was on their list:
- Witness something truly majestic.
- Help a complete stranger for a common good.
- Laugh till I cry.
- Drive a Shelby Mustang.
- Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world.
- Get a tattoo.
- Skydiving.
- Visit Stonehenge.
What movies have Morgan Freeman been in?
Freeman appeared as God in the hit film Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty. He appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy – Batman Begins [2005] and its sequels, The Dark Knight [2008] and The Dark Knight Rises [2012] – as Lucius Fox .
What is the new Morgan Freeman movie?
Here’s what new movies starring Morgan Freeman are coming this year. Oscar Trio Gives New Spin to an Old Classic. Freeman stars with Michael Caine and Alan Arkin in the comedy drama, Going in Style. The film, a remake of the 1979 heist comedy, released on April 7, 2017.
What movie is Morgan Freeman in?
Morgan Freeman is an American movie star, known for playing authority figures. In addition to portraying several detectives in murder mysteries, he played the Director of the CIA in The Sum of All Fears, the President of the United States in Deep Impact , and God in Jim Carrey’s Bruce Almighty .
January 10, 2008 / 11:15 AM / CBS
Morgan Freeman is back on the silver screen, starring with Jack Nicholson in the movie, "The Bucket List."
The two play an unlikely duo of terminally ill cancer patients who decide to create a "bucket list" of the things they'd like to do before they "kick the bucket" -- then start trying to really do the things on the list.
But, does the actor have one off-screen? Or has he done all the things he's always wanted to do?
"Just about all of them," he responded when co-anchor Harry Smith posed the question on The Early ShowThursday.
"I think we all -- everybody has a bucket list. You know?" Freeman continued. "You know, you don't write it down necessarily, but there it is. You have one."
Smith noted that "Bucket List" is a Rob Reiner film, and that Reiner "likes movies that have heart, that have soul, a serious story line."
Freeman told Smith working with Nicholson and Reiner was a "dream come true. I've always wanted to work with Jack. I always wanted to work with Rob, from the time he started directing; this was some time ago. And the chemistry in that situation is amazing. It's really, really, really good."
Nicholson, Freeman observed, is "a marvel to work with. He's such a professional. Obviously. You don't get to be Jack Nicholson just fooling around.
"He's very serious. He's a writer. He's a script tinkerer. He comes up with all these great lines and all this cool stuff."
Getting to do a film with Nicholson, Freeman says, was "terrific. Every day was magic."
Smith remarked to Freeman that, even though Nicholson and Freeman get equal billing, "The Bucket List" "is, in a lot of ways, your movie. It seems like to me your character is the one with the gravity. Yours is the one that has -- is really the one who has the more interesting journey, at least, until the final scenes."
"Well, all right," Freeman responded, "but that's subjective, Harry. I think. Yeah, my character is, I suppose, more soulful. You know, married guy, kids, job."
"And a life unfulfilled," Smith interjected.
"And a life unfulfilled," Freeman agreed. "I think both of us [his and Nicholson's characters] are trapped in that world. We're both terrifically unfulfilled in that way."
First published on January 10, 2008 / 11:15 AM
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