The Bucket List (2007)

The Bucket List Unoriginal But Still Deeply Moving

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Jun 30, 2008 | 0 out of 1 found this The Bucket List (2007) review helpful

Pros: The topic of facing mortality has been done before. But this movie tackles it in its own original way.

Cons: Having to face the thought of one's own mortality is never easy. That could make for lower sales numbers even on DVD.

Facing our own mortality is not one of the easiest things for humans to do. And Hollywood has reflected that difficulty for decades. There have only been a very small handful of movies that have confronted this topic. One of the earliest attempts to confront our mortality came in the early 90's in the form of My Girl. That movie starred Dan Akroyd and a young Macauley Culkin. After that, the most recent movie to delve into that realm was Will Ferrell's deeply moving and thought provoking, Stranger Than Fiction.

Now, along comes another member of that tiny fraternity of movies that force us to confront our age old enemy. Those who have never fought cancer, or have known anyone who had to fight cancer may have some difficulty fully taking in this movie. But director Rob Reiner does a fantastic job of attempting to illustrate what cancer patients, and their family and friends go through upon the discovery of one of the world's most horrible killers.

What is most noticeable in this movie is that the leads are played by a black man and a white man. Whether or not Reiner and company did this intentionally, it was a perfect addition to the story. It showed exactly what people have always been told; cancer has no bias. It attacks all races, ages, and both genders. Seeing the effects of chemotherapy on cancer patients is difficult to handle. Again, the only people who know for certain about what happens are those who have gone through it, and their friends and loved ones. But if the early hospital scenes here are any indication, audiences can't help but feel so much of their own emotional pain.

Watching the bond form between Freeman and Nicholson during the entire process is what really makes the movie. It shows that the movie is not just about doing everything possible before we pass. The main message presented here is to simply not waste one's life. Enjoy life as much as possible. Enjoy being with your family and friends. Even if there is a rift, do everything you can to heal that rift. Because in the end, all we have is not what we've done. It's not where we've been. It's not what we've accumulated. In the end, it's about who we are. It's about who we have in our lives, even if for only a brief time. The people we know, whether friends or family, should always be at the top of our own bucket lists.