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Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, Alfonso Freeman ... see more see more... , Rowena King , Rob Morrow , Annton Berry Jr. , Verda Bridges , Destiny Brownridge , Brian Copeland , Ian Anthony Dale , Jennifer DeFrancisco , Angela Gardner , Noel Guglielmi , Jonathan Hernandez , Hugh B. Holub , Andrea J. Johnson , Dawnn Lewis , Jordan Lund , Richard McGonagle , Jonathan Mangum , Karen Maruyama , Amber Mead , Nikki Novak , John O'Brien , Serena Reeder , Christopher Stapleton , Taylor Ann Thompson , Alex Trebek , Roy Vongtama , Sean P. Hayes

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star as two terminally ill cancer patients who decide to break out of the hospital and live their last days to the fullest in director Rob Reiner's seriocomic road mo... read more read more...vie. Edward Cole (Nicholson) is a corporate billionaire who is currently sharing a hospital room with blue-collar mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman). Though initially the pair seems to have nothing in common, conversation gradually reveals that both men have a long list of goals they wish to accomplish before they kick the bucket, and an unrealized desire to discover what kind of men they really are. But one can't accomplish such lofty objectives from the confines of a hospital bed, so now, in order to live their lives to the absolute fullest, Edward and Carter will have to make a break for it. With a checklist that includes playing the poker tables in Monte Carlo, consuming copious amounts of caviar, racing the fastest machines on four wheels, and much more, these two terminally ill men will do their best to fit a lifetime of experience into their last remaining days while forging an unlikely, but truly remarkable, friendship. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

81% liked it

242,254 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

168 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Rob Reiner

Release Date: December 25, 2007

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DVD Release Date: June 10, 2008

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Stats: 25,447 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (25,447)

  • moonrivers
    April 21, 2012
    moonrivers
    Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. There's the draw here in a nutshell, two heavyweights in the same space. The story, one of redemption while facing death, is predictable enough, as is predictable the reliance on its two stars to save it, which they do but only just. If only ... read morethe story had mas huevos ...
  • sanjurosamurai
    November 25, 2011
    sanjurosamurai
    this was a wonderful movie with great characters and perfect diologue. seeing these two hollywood icons on the screen together was a treat and the film helps you rethink life in a similar way to kurosawa's great film ikiru. a must see.
  • fb7018436
    November 15, 2011
    fb7018436
    This was the best movie for skydiving since point break.
  • fb1038944442
    November 2, 2011
    fb1038944442
    The Bucket List is an amazingly cliched and predictable script buoyed up by the high octane charisma of its two leads. Both Nicholson and Freeman phone in characters they could do and have done many times before in their sleep. Seeing these two together is a joy, and most of the... read more jokes work due to the Reiner knack for comedy as well as Jack and Morgan's sparkling chemistry.

    However, a deeper, darker and more interesting and disturbing film could have been made with the same story and the same actors and it's a shame that that film never got made. What we do when we have been given a death sentence is a rich vein for drama, and anyone who has experienced cancer or had loved ones stricken will completely relate. However, the formulaic working out of this tried and true plot is ham handed and utterly void of imagination.

    Freeman's saintlike family man perfection and Nicholson's hard core lone wolf selfishness never break, until the end - where else? At this convenient ending, all lessons are learned and ambiguity is resolved. If you want to see Jack, Morgan and Rob having a crowd pleasing good time with a mostly witless script, indulge yourself. I did and it did me good at a bummed out moment. But this is one of those bad/movies that can be watched more like therapy than an artistic experience, which it is decidedly not. It's like the lighthearted gossip and lifestyle magazines like People and Good Housekeeping, that we bring sick people in the hospital, rather than the Economist and Atlantic Monthly, which are too depressing for someone waiting for chemotherapy.
  • 76Majikat
    October 15, 2011
    76Majikat
    Some topics such as illness and death are hard to cover in the form of entertainment, but this film is one with several emotions attached. It becomes less about the meaning of death and more about the meaning of life, something that money can't buy, something that is inspiring a... read morend thought provoking and concentrates on the basic human needs.
  • spielberg00
    August 31, 2011
    spielberg00
    When we think of a buddy comedy, we rarely ever think of two old men. Somehow, THE BUCKET LIST makes that hysterical. This tells the story of Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) and Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), two men who are fighting cancer. They know they will soon die, so th... read moreey decide to jot down a list of things to accomplish before they die, ranging from reasonable to ridiculous. This film is slightly flawed, as it is a comedy/drama blend, and, as with most films filed under the genre, it becomes slightly uneven, as for a while it's all absolutely hilarious, but all of a sudden, nothing is funny at all, and everything becomes straightforward and serious. Otherwise, THE BUCKET LIST is both a hilarious and a poignant motion picture, and if you haven't seen it already, I recommend that you do.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 15, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    The plot was predictable, acting was incredible, and overall just an okay film for me.
  • murphmann93
    June 24, 2011
    murphmann93
    Amazing! So heart wrenching and Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman warmed your hearts.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    February 5, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Saw it again!!! The movie is truly great. Everyone no matter age difference should watch this because of been such a magnificent film.

    Blue-collar mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman) and billionaire hospital magnate Edward Cole (Nicholson) meet for the first time in the hospital ... read moreafter both have been diagnosed with cancer. They become friends as they undergo their respective treatments. Carter is a gifted amateur historian and family man who had wanted to become a history professor, but in his youth had been "broke, black, and with a baby on the way" and thus never rose above his job at the McCreath body shop. Edward is a four-times-divorced healthcare tycoon and cultured loner who enjoys nothing more than tormenting his personal valet/servant, Matthew (Hayes), whom he calls Thomas. He makes Matthew serve Carter as well as him and orders his employee and doctor (Morrow) to familiarize himself with Carter's health.

    Carter begins writing a "bucket list," or things to do before he "kicks the bucket." After hearing he has less than a year, Carter wads it up and tosses it on the floor. Edward finds it the next morning. He urges Carter to do everything on the list (suggesting he add things like skydiving) and offers to finance the trip. Carter agrees, despite the protests of his wife, Virginia (Todd).

    The pair begins an around-the-world vacation, embarking on race car driving, skydiving, climbing the Pyramids, and going on a lion safari in Africa. They discuss a rare coffee and its unusual taste. They also confide about faith and family, revealing that Carter has long been feeling less in love with his wife and that Edward is deeply hurt by his estrangement with his only daughter, who disowned him after he sent some people to "take care of" her abusive husband (hinting at physical assault, but ruling out murder).

    In Hong Kong, Edward hires a prostitute (Rowena King) for Carter, who has never had sex with any woman but his wife. Carter declines and asks to return home, and reciprocates by trying to reunite Edward with his daughter. Edward angrily storms off. Carter returns home to his wife, children, and grandchildren.

    The family reunion is short-lived. In the preparation for a romantic interlude, Carter suffers a seizure and is rushed to the hospital. The cancer has spread to his brain. Edward, who is now in remission, visits him and they share a few moments, where Carter reveals to great amusement the disgusting origin of the "world's most rare coffee" (Kopi Luwak), over which Edward obsesses and Carter has refused to drink. Carter crosses off "laugh till I cry" from his bucket list and insists Edward finish the list without him. Carter goes into surgery but the procedure is unsuccessful. He dies on the operating table.

    Edward delivers a eulogy at the funeral, explaining that he and Carter had been complete strangers, but the last three months of Carter's life were the best three months of his (Edward's). He crosses off "help a complete stranger for a common good" from the list. We see Edward finally attempt to reconcile with his daughter. She not only accepts him back into her life but also introduces him to the granddaughter he never knew. After greeting the little girl with a kiss on the cheek, Edward crosses "kiss the most beautiful girl in the world" off the list.

    In the epilogue, it is revealed that Edward lived until the age of 81, and his ashes are brought to the top of the Himalayas. It turns out to be Matthew who does this, and as he places Edward's ashes alongside a can containing Carter's, he crosses off the last item on the Bucket List ("witness something truly majestic") and places it beside them. In the final lines of the movie, Carter explains " I'm pretty sure he {Edward} was happy with his final resting place. Because he was buried on the mountain, and that was against the law."
  • SajinPA
    December 13, 2010
    SajinPA
    Story of two "about-to-die-soon" friends who decides to appreciate the life to its fullest, for whatever time they has left.
    Although a bit clichéd at many points, the movie serves it purpose..

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan F. Richards
January 15, 2008
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

You get the performances you expect from these two great stars, which lift this story mercifully but marginally above its meager content. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 11, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The movie is caught in the crossfire of its two missions -- to celebrate the universal things that "really matter" in life (friendship, family) and to celebrate what it means to live like Jack Nicholson. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
January 11, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Not every film about death needs a bald Swede and a game of chess: Sometimes, the sky-diving's enough. Full Review

Tom Long
January 11, 2008
Tom Long, Detroit News

By the end of The Bucket List, silliness has been replaced by pretension, and while there may not be a dry eye in the theater, many of those tears will be shed in embarrassment for giving in to such h... Full Review

January 11, 2008
Denver Rocky Mountain News

Acting's good, but Bucket is half-empty. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
January 11, 2008
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Watching Nicholson and Freeman on the same screen and their characters Edward and Carter embarking on a sojourn of discovery is hard to resist. Full Review

Chris Vognar
January 11, 2008
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

Bucket's rush to sentiment leads you to think the film, not its characters, is soon to expire. Full Review

Sid Smith
January 11, 2008
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune

A manipulative look at dying with dignity and a lame yarn about as realistic as the fantasy in The Princess Bride. Full Review

Peter Rainer
January 11, 2008
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

The Bucket List is a movie for oldsters that, paradoxically, looks as if it was made for 15-year-olds. If this is what is meant in Hollywood as "thinking outside the box," then it's time to get a new ... Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 11, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I urgently advise hospitals: Do not make the DVD available to your patients; there may be an outbreak of bedpans thrown at TV screens. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Dr. Hollins: Humour is always a good sign.
    • Edward Cole: Kiss my ass.
    • Dr. Hollins: Apparently, so is surliness.
    • Edward Cole: Why thank you Kyle, I never even thought of that!
    • Edward Cole: Just do it on how you do it for your family.
    • Thomas: So...would that mean giving all the money to my assistant?
    • Edward Cole: We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round.
    • Carter Chambers: You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you.
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The Bucket List Trivia

  • What film with Jack Nicholson contains the quote: "Never waste a hard-on and never trust a fart..."?   Answer »
  • What recently (2007)released movie has this tagline? When he closed his eyes, his heart was opened.  Answer »
  • From which film comes the quote "Somewhere some lucky guy is having a heart attack"?  Answer »
  • In the film The Bucket List, what was the question related to regarding getting into Egyptian Heaven?  Answer »
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