Dir. Rob Reiner, US, 2007, 97 mins
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes
Review by Carol Allen
Two elderly men dying of cancer doesn't sound like the stuff of comedy. But Reiner must have thought the casting of veterans Nicholson and Freeman would ensure good chemistry and get maximum laughs from Justin Zackham's well written but sometimes sentimental script and, to a certain extent, he was right.
Nicholson plays a type of role he's often played before. Edward Cole is a self made and selfish corporate billionaire, who's devoted his life to making a fortune from exploiting the health care industry and is the grumpiest of old men. While not playing God this time, Freeman plays a close, earthly equivalent in the wise and saintly Carter Chambers, who gave up a promising career as a philosophy teacher when young and became a car mechanic to support his growing family. When both men are diagnosed with cancer, they find themselves sharing a room in one of Cole's hospitals, which has an inflexible, cost cutting "two to a room" role, so no special treatment even for the boss. It's here that the two strike up a tentative friendship and Carter tells his room mate about the bucket list - a project that he gave to his students years ago, which was to make a list of all the things they wanted to do before "kicking the bucket". You can see where this is going, can't you? Edward, with his limitless amounts of cash, persuades Carter to join him on the trip of a lifetime, experiencing together all the things on their respective lists, before its too late. So these two surprisingly robust old men, now in remission and with less than a year to live, go swanning round the world for a bit of sky diving, driving fast cars, eating gourmet meals and getting tattoos, though the happily married Carter does draw the line when the oft married and divorced Cole sets them up with a couple of high class hookers.
The two stars strut their stuff as required and there's a likeable and dryly witty performance from Sean Hayes, the outrageous Jack from "Will and Grace", playing Edward's patient assistant, who organises their odyssey, proving here how well he can play it straight. Virginia Chambers also makes an effective contribution as Carter's feisty wife, who heartily disapproves of her husband's new best friend and their joint shenanigans. It's nicely written and directed and entertaining enough, provided you can swallow the excess of warm heartedness, which periodically bubbles up and drowns Nicholson's acerbity and the on the nose moral lessons about what are the really important things in life; an element which appears to be mandatory in this type of American comedy.
|
