The Bucket List

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The Bucket List

PG-13

Released Jan 11, 2008

1h 37m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

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176 Reviews

77%

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250,000+ Ratings

Billionaire Edward Cole and car mechanic Carter Chambers are complete strangers, until fate lands them in the same hospital room. The men find they have two things in common: a need to come to terms with who they are and what they have done with their lives, and a desire to complete a list of things they want to see and do before they die. Against their doctor's advice, the men leave the hospital and set out on the adventure of a lifetime.

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Critics Consensus

Not even the earnest performances of the two leads can rescue The Bucket List from its schmaltzy script.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

As Rob Reiner should know better and Jack Nicholson should know better and Morgan Freeman should know better, what you have here is a film which has to make you ask: how come they didn't?

Aug 23, 2018

Full Review

Alonso Duralde

MSNBC

... plays like Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries, reimagined as an uninspired sitcom and travelogue.

Rated: 2/5

May 1, 2008

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Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

You get the performances you expect from these two great stars, which lift this story mercifully but marginally above its meager content.

Jan 15, 2008

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

If there is a message to be found in this 2007 comedy, which was directed by Rob Reiner, it is that if you are going to be diagnosed with terminal cancer then you will be better off if you are enormously rich.

Rated: 5/10

Jul 31, 2024

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

In the end it's a predictable movie that seems to try and manipulate the viewer into bursting into tears when really he or she might only be trying to suppress yawns.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jan 31, 2021

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

One of the most fun and uplifting films of the year.

Rated: 8/10

Nov 24, 2020

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Robert R

Nowhere near the rollicking comedic triumph that the marketing would've led you to believe it was back in 2007, "The Bucket List" is actually a deeply sobering, generally quiet study on the meaning of life in the face of a ticking clock and, though there weren't any waterworks on my side of things, I completely understand why this movie turned so many folks into a puddle when it came out. It's just sad, man. Particularly the last half-hour or so and not in like a purifying "Green Mile" or "Me And Earl And The Dying Girl" kind of way. Just depressing. Still, a movie making me feel misery is a movie making me something and that's to be commended (lol). Kidding aside, there are some elegant tricks played upon the audience during the film's final act and I think — ultimately — what's said is worthy of being heard. Definitely on the lesser end of the spectrum of Rob Reiner's filmography, but he's done far, far worse.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/03/25

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Audience Member

Even The man who has everything didn't do everything with all of his money... that's life

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/05/25

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thiago s

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é mais ou menos, o elenco é bacana e alguns ajudam a melhorar o filme, o filme ainda coloca um drama que é bom, mas o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/03/25

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Leaburn O

Morbid, boring and badly acted. Poor script and the messaging is weak. I’ve had deeper baths than this film. Watched on DVD.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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Augustine J

What can a person do when he is about to die? Two veteran actors of the same age talk about their bucket lists full of adventures and more important things. About friends, laughter, reunions, and family that can never be let go. It is a touching piece within Rob Reiner's wide spectrum.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

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William B

I loved this movie as a kid, due for a rewatch soon

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/11/24

Full Review

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Rob Reiner

Director

Jack Nicholson

Edward Cole

Morgan Freeman

Carter Chambers

Sean Hayes

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Synopsis

Billionaire Edward Cole and car mechanic Carter Chambers are complete strangers, until fate lands them in the same hospital room. The men find they have two things in common: a need to come to terms with who they are and what they have done with their lives, and a desire to complete a list of things they want to see and do before they die. Against their doctor's advice, the men leave the hospital and set out on the adventure of a lifetime.

Director: Rob Reiner
Producer: Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Alan Greisman, Rob Reiner
Screenwriter: Justin Zackham
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Bros., Two Ton Films, Storyline Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Language|A Sexual Reference)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 13, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $93.5M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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