Travel the world with The Bucket List

Director: Rob Reiner.
Cinema: Rainbow Town
Running time: 93 minutes
Type of film: humour about the most serious of subjects.
The verb “to die” is, understandably, a very unpopular word in the English language. Euphemisms abound, one of which the maker of this film has latched onto in order to soften the blow, which comes with its inevitable conclusion.
Shakespeare’s oft-quoted refrain for death was: “to shuffle off this mortal coil.” The film’s title is taken from the expression “kick the bucket”, perhaps the most common manner to refer to a person’s passing.
The makers of the film The Bucket List are to be commended for having produced a film which, while not denigrating the importance of this phase of the life cycle, have leavened the tragedy with a deft and humourous touch.
Bringing together in a single Los Angeles hospital room two patients who are as distant in their thinking and life styles as it is possible for human beings to be, albeit they are both handed “death sentences.”
Edwin Cole (Jack Nicholson) is presented to us as a ruthless if overwhelmingly successful businessman. His unusual product is hospitals. His insistence on economy in running his hospitals has led to his requirement that all rooms have two patients.
When, suddenly, his own medical condition deteriorates frighteningly, he finds himself sharing a room with a man (Carter Chambers, played by Morgan Freeman) whose every characteristic not least, his being black rubs this owner of the hospital the wrong way.
There is brilliance in the verbal duelling which ensues, to the point that they call it a draw. Exhausted from their diagnosis, aided and abetted by their verbal fencing, they become willing candidates for a plan they exult in. Each spells out the kinds of activities it would be desirable to carry out before the end comes. Viewers of this film may be surprised to learn that their own choices of the “activities of the last days” are no different than those of this “odd couple.”
And so, against both the wishes and the efforts of their nearest and dearest, off they go. And we, the member of the audience, even more than the two terminally ill protagonists, get the joyride of our lives. At this point one must sing the praises of the photography, which ensues. Starting with the sky diving the two engage in, we the audience are in lock step with everything they do.
To the surprise of no one, I’m sure, their choices then branch out into exotic travel. Filmgoers may think that, at one time or another, their journeys by proxy have been extensive; see this film and, without a passport or leaving your seat, you will get to see the most esoteric of the seven wonders of the world. These include the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall and Mt. Everest, for starters.
All this will be for US$1.
The highest recommendation: for all audiences.