“The Bucket List”
Warner Brothers Films
Directed by Rob Reiner
Starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes and Beverly Todd
Rated PG-13

2 ½ Stars

Based on the sentimental screenplay alone, “The Bucket List” should have been an overly melodramatic exercise in pure hokum. This is a movie that’s unapologetically schmaltzy—wallowing in sap and unconvincing platitudes. Still, while it will probably cause jaded filmgoers to roll their eyes at some of the more-saccharine moments, you’ve got to admit that the film does do two things right.

Their names are Jack and Morgan.

As in Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, who may be slumming a bit here, but salvage the endeavor because of the basic fact that these are two actors who can light up and hold the screen. Even in a maudlin film about two men facing their impending deaths, Nicholson and Freeman bring enough charismatic life to the story that audiences will leave the theater happy to have spent the final days with these two characters.

Okay, so jaded filmgoers may not be converted, but there are more than enough harrowing dramas currently playing to keep them happily depressed. This one is aimed at audiences who just want to enjoy an uplifting night at the movies.

Nicholson plays a hospital magnate. Freeman plays an auto mechanic. They have nothing in common until they are both diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live. They form a tenuous kinship and write out a “bucket list,” which is a catalogue of things that the two men would like to accomplish before they “kick the bucket.” The hospital magnate has plenty of money, so the two men set off to skydive, see the pyramids, drive fast racecars and kiss the most beautiful women in the world.

It’s not much of a spoiler to reveal that following their bucket list will help the two men realize what’s truly important in their lives, and guide them in their quest to live each day as if it were their last. You can see all of this coming from a mile away, but with Nicholson and Freeman up on the screen, who cares if the story is predictable?

I’ll draw the line at anybody who thinks that this film will garner any serious attention from Oscar, but the bottom line is that “The Bucket List” is feel good fun at the movies. It has some mild humor, a nice message and those two great actors in the leading roles. I hope that I get to see many more movies as enjoyable as “The Bucket List” before I kick my bucket and head for that great multiplex in the sky.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published Wednesdays and Fridays in “The Port Arthur News.” He can be found weekly on KAVU-TV, KFDM-TV, and KVIC Radio. Additional reviews can be found at www.rottentomatoes.com, www.panews.com or at www.myvictoriaonline.com. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com.