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The Bucket List (Rob Reiner)
"Humorous Performances Make This Film Decent"
Two men have cancer. One is a family man working as a mechanic, the other is a wealthy grouch divorced at least 3 times. While getting to know each other they develop a Bucket List, a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. They decide, instead of having people feel sorry for them, they will do all the exciting things they want to.
On paper "The Bucket List" is a winning combination. It has two of today's most respected actors, a heart-warming story with some humour and a director with some decent films under his belt. In reality, the film is a ploy to try and tug on heart strings. Yet it works in a weird way because of the two leading men. Nicholson and Freeman, both fine actors seemed at ease with each other and made the ride a little bit more pleasant. If it weren't for these two actors the film would not have worked at all.
The film is lazy. It needed a way to get these two characters in one room together and threw in some dialogue to make it happen. Reiner has had many projects, yet many productions values here were poor. Continuity errors take the viewer out of the film experience, obvious green screens distract the eye and a hyped up, but lackluster bucket list doesn't really make the film what it wanted to be. What you see them do in the trailer, is basically what they do in the film, so other then the performances from two Oscar winning actors, these film has very little going for it.
I don't know if the screenplay was lazy, or if it were Reiner himself, but one scene that could have been emotionally charged and could have possibly helped Nicholson receive yet another nomination is dumbed down to nearly nothing. It's as if Reiner thought that Nicholson couldn't hold the scene together, so he had to shift his way around it. It doesn't work well at all and leads to bland editing. Nicholson is good enough to hold his own and just when you think your about to get something good, Reiner takes it away by showing us something else.
With what Freeman and Nicholson do have, they do very well with. They play off each other very well, which is awkward at first considering the kind of character Nicholson is playing. Sure we get a bit of him not wanting to be in a room with someone else, but then it seems like the next day they're friends. No hostility between these two before they decide to embark on this list? Nicholson was meant to play this character, sometimes a bit over the top, yet with a restrained tone. He hits every mark he needs to and Freeman does as well. Freeman is the usual cool headed individual and nothing really changes here, but seeing them laugh till they cry is certainly a joy.
Yes this film has narration and yes it is from the one and only Freeman. It seems like it is mandatory for him to narrate films now, as he is popping up everywhere. Was this a last minute thing to try and add some kind of level to the screenplay that wasn't there before? Actors can only do so much, the screenplay has to be strong in the first place and this is not really the case.
Like many critics have been saying the performances are great but the film isn't. I liked the performances enough to give the film a decent rating and a scene here and there were heartfelt, but overall the film doesn't really deliver. Maybe expectations were too high because of the people involved, but there was definitely something missing from this film. A spark that would have the audience drawn to it, it never happens. We are meant to have fun with these characters, Nicholson and Freeman try to bring the audience on the trip with them, but we end up just watching them have all the fun.
"Humorous Performances Make This Film Decent"
Two men have cancer. One is a family man working as a mechanic, the other is a wealthy grouch divorced at least 3 times. While getting to know each other they develop a Bucket List, a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. They decide, instead of having people feel sorry for them, they will do all the exciting things they want to.
On paper "The Bucket List" is a winning combination. It has two of today's most respected actors, a heart-warming story with some humour and a director with some decent films under his belt. In reality, the film is a ploy to try and tug on heart strings. Yet it works in a weird way because of the two leading men. Nicholson and Freeman, both fine actors seemed at ease with each other and made the ride a little bit more pleasant. If it weren't for these two actors the film would not have worked at all.
The film is lazy. It needed a way to get these two characters in one room together and threw in some dialogue to make it happen. Reiner has had many projects, yet many productions values here were poor. Continuity errors take the viewer out of the film experience, obvious green screens distract the eye and a hyped up, but lackluster bucket list doesn't really make the film what it wanted to be. What you see them do in the trailer, is basically what they do in the film, so other then the performances from two Oscar winning actors, these film has very little going for it.
I don't know if the screenplay was lazy, or if it were Reiner himself, but one scene that could have been emotionally charged and could have possibly helped Nicholson receive yet another nomination is dumbed down to nearly nothing. It's as if Reiner thought that Nicholson couldn't hold the scene together, so he had to shift his way around it. It doesn't work well at all and leads to bland editing. Nicholson is good enough to hold his own and just when you think your about to get something good, Reiner takes it away by showing us something else.
With what Freeman and Nicholson do have, they do very well with. They play off each other very well, which is awkward at first considering the kind of character Nicholson is playing. Sure we get a bit of him not wanting to be in a room with someone else, but then it seems like the next day they're friends. No hostility between these two before they decide to embark on this list? Nicholson was meant to play this character, sometimes a bit over the top, yet with a restrained tone. He hits every mark he needs to and Freeman does as well. Freeman is the usual cool headed individual and nothing really changes here, but seeing them laugh till they cry is certainly a joy.
Yes this film has narration and yes it is from the one and only Freeman. It seems like it is mandatory for him to narrate films now, as he is popping up everywhere. Was this a last minute thing to try and add some kind of level to the screenplay that wasn't there before? Actors can only do so much, the screenplay has to be strong in the first place and this is not really the case.
Like many critics have been saying the performances are great but the film isn't. I liked the performances enough to give the film a decent rating and a scene here and there were heartfelt, but overall the film doesn't really deliver. Maybe expectations were too high because of the people involved, but there was definitely something missing from this film. A spark that would have the audience drawn to it, it never happens. We are meant to have fun with these characters, Nicholson and Freeman try to bring the audience on the trip with them, but we end up just watching them have all the fun.