Video Fun House film fans Jean Tarbett Hardiman and John Gillispie share their thoughts on "The Bucket List," rated PG-13 and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
JOHN: Watching this week's film made me wonder if you ever wrote a list of things you would like to accomplish during your lifetime?
JEAN: Sure: Write a brilliant, best-selling novel, tour Europe and go on a hot air balloon ride are just a few of the things on there. Come to think of it, I should have done those by now, but have put them off because I'm such an accomplished procrastinator. What's on your list?
JOHN: Well, as the characters mention in "Bucket List," a list you write when you are younger doesn't mean as much as one you write toward the end of your life. My younger list included having a hit song, winning the Wimbledon title, and making it big in Hollywood. Those do sound kind of unattainable now that I look back on my list.
JEAN: Of course not. Just ambitious. So let's get to the movie. In "Bucket List," we get to know Edward (Jack Nicholson) and Carter (Morgan Freeman). They both suffer from cancer and share a hospital room in Edward's hospital. He's a gazillionaire who owns hospitals and thinks it's not economical to allow personal hospital rooms. So this high-strung, bossy, seemingly successful man ends up sharing a room with a mild-mannered mechanic named Carter and finds out that Carter has some wisdom of his own.
JOHN: As time passes, they become friends and decide to create a bucket list (things to do before you kick the bucket) that has some pretty unattainable goals on it such as "Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world" and "See something truly majestic." The fact that Edward is wealthy makes their goals more attainable than the average person could expect. The two set out on a journey around the world to the dismay of Virginia, Carter's loving wife of many years, played wonderfully by Beverly Todd.
JEAN: I enjoyed every minute of this movie, even the more low-key part in the beginning when you're getting to know the characters and understand what makes them tick.
JOHN: Of course, the movie picks up when the two men start jumping out of airplanes and racing each other in fancy cars. "The Bucket List" gives us both humor and drama and avoids being corny. Director Rob Reiner deserves credit for keeping the movie on track and allowing two talented lead actors to do what they do well.
JEAN: Nicholson and Freeman were great together. I never would have put those actors together but they played off each other really well. I'm not sure any other actors could have made this movie so well. Sean Hayes, who plays Nicholson's assistant in the movie, is good, too. Another great thing about the movie is that it takes you around the world. They visit some beautiful places in their last-minute quest to live life to the fullest.
JOHN: For every touching moment there is a laugh-out loud scene to balance everything out. So, it looks as though we are telling people to put this movie on their own list of DVDs to see.
JEAN: That's right. And, not to get all mushy, but it might get you thinking about all the aspirations you've put on the shelf, like it did for us.
JOHN: So what are you going to tackle first on your list, Jean?
JEAN: I don't know. With airline prices and the weak American dollar, I'm not sure it's the best time for a lengthy European trip. And I might have outgrown my hot air balloon dream -- seems like it would be hot in that basket, and really loud.
JOHN: So that leaves the novel. You better get on it, and I expect to see myself in there as a supporting character with all my best qualities and none of my bad ones.
JEAN: No way, that would be too boring. But I'll let you pick your name, and what you look like.
JOHN: Deal.
Jean Tarbett Hardiman is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. John Gillispie is the public relations director for the Huntington Museum of Art. Contact the writers at jeant@herald-dispatch.com.
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