The film I chose to watch this week was titled ‘The Bucket List’, and starred Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It follows two terminally ill cancer patients – Carter Chambers and Edward Cole, who couldn’t be less alike if they tried – as they decide to forgo their futile treatment and break out of the hospital in order to complete a list of random tasks – their shared bucket list. Many of the goals are mediocre – go to Africa, drive a dodge challenger, go skydiving – yet they somehow bring the two men together. Which, in turn, gives them the strength to overcome some of their tougher obstacles.
The movie can definitely be classed as feelgood – that is, as incredible as Freeman and Nicholson are; it shies away from any heavy emotion. It does not truly explore the emotional bombshell that is being terminally ill, even trivializing their illness. These two men do not present as terminal cancer patients; they are too healthy, and aside from some erratic behavior, they are not emotionally affected. The film has used cancer as an inciting incident – to bring these two characters together – and then seemingly forgotten about it, aside from conversations about death. But, after facing cancer, these conversations would be commonplace anyway, so the entire cancer story line becomes forced.
Additionally, the likelihood of these two men – Carter Chambers, the poor mechanic who has always lived by the book and has a tight knit family unit – and Edward Cole, the hospital tycoon who monopolizes the misfortune of others and has had numerous divorces – ending up in the same hospital room together and forming a firm friendship is minute. Character-wise, it makes little sense for family man Carter to travel the world with a man he has known for mere weeks, and the film certainly fails to remain medically accurate.
Yet, somehow, while watching this film, almost all of that can be forgiven.
Perhaps it’s Nicholson and Freeman’s performances, perhaps it’s the very fact that the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, perhaps it’s Morgan Freeman’s narration reviving it, but The Bucket List is certainly an enjoyable watch. Yes, there was moments of cringe – Cole being extremely cruel in court, being cheap and dismissing the hospital’s concerns and then coughing blood – but there’s also moments that are absolute mastery – the moment that Carter learns he has cancer, for example. Or the skydiving scene (green screen aside) in which Cole completely looses it, shouting and wanting to fall forever. Some of the death discussions were incredible as well – especially the discussion on Buddhism, and how a snail would lead the perfect life.
There was also very little in the film that wasn’t paid off – the Kopi Luwak coffee, for example, just seems like a quirk of an extremely affluent character. However, this could have been anything – a Ferrari, wristwatch – but none of those would have been paid off. The Luwak was, when Carter informs Cole that it comes from a palm civet’s shit.
So while yes, there were certainly flaws in the film – it is worth considering what these flaws did for the film, and how it would have been had they not been present. If Cole and Carter were too ill to travel, or were unable to find some joy in their state, then the film would just not have been enjoyable. No one wants to watch miserable people being miserable, but two strangers finding happiness in a dark time – not matter how unlikely the friendship – is something that everyone can get on board with.
