Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing everything they ever wanted to do and an unrealized need to come to terms with who they are. Together they embark on the road trip of a lifetime, becoming friends along the way and learning to live life to the fullest, with insight and humor.
You get the performances you expect from these two great stars, which lift this story mercifully but marginally above its meager content.
– Jonathan F. Richards,
Film.com,
15 Jan 2008
rotten:
The Bucket List's craft is as impeccable as moviemaking technique and computer tricks can be. But boiled into a formula that is sometimes cloying and sweet, the movie is nonetheless a lazy low-grade product.
– Ted Fry,
Seattle Times,
11 Jan 2008
rotten:
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.
– Mick LaSalle,
San Francisco Chronicle,
11 Jan 2008
fresh:
There are certainly worse ways to spend the holiday season than in the company of two charming old actors, being reminded that human companionship makes life worth living, even as it makes dying a little tougher.