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Created Mar 10, 2008 01:30AM PST • Edited Mar 10, 2008 01:30AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Pretty Bad 1.5

   The Bucket List commits the most blatant of movie crimes: it thinks it is something that it is not and it tries way too hard. Reiner can’t decide how to play the material so he tries to funny it up. Then it needs to be serious and he pushes that down our throats. It’s not as emotionally manipulative as say, Pay It Forward, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

4. Acting

   Pretty Bad 1.5

   Who doesn’t like Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson? The two of them have been in some incredible movies. Doesn’t it make sense that the two of them in a movie together would be good, if for no other reason than to see them in the same movie? Yes, that makes plenty of sense. What doesn’t make sense is why they picked such a lackluster project to finally work together. And don’t get me started on Rob Reiner — or as the name tag he would wear to a high school reunion would read, “Hi, My name is: I haven’t made a good movie in over a decade.”

   The saddest part of The Bucket List isn’t the impending doom of cancer, it is how depressing it is to see these two screen legends wasted on a movie this bad. It’s almost as if they got into filming, realized the garbage heap they were in the middle of, and just phoned it in. And it was a long distance call.
   Sean Hayes as Chambers’ assistant is the best part of the movie. His laughs are accomplished through the subtle art of restraint.

5. Male Stars Pretty Bad 1.5

6. Female Stars Pretty Bad 1.5

7. Female Costars Pretty Bad 1.5

8. Male Costars Pretty Bad 1.5

10. Film

    Pretty Bad 1.5

    The movie is a rush job to see how many extravagant locations they can slap up on the green screen to make these two stand in front of. Some of it was bad. It reminded me of Toonces, the Driving Cat on SNL. Not once did you really believe the background to be conveying the realism of a cat driving a car. At least in Toonces’ case, it was supposed to be for comedic effect.

11. Direction Pretty Bad 1.5

12. Play Pretty Bad 1.5

13. Music Pretty Bad 1.5

14. Visuals Pretty Bad 1.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.2

17. Sex Innocent 1.2

18. Violence Gentle 1.2

19. Rudeness Polite 1.2

21. Reality

    Glib 2.0

22. Circumstantial Glib 2.0

23. Biological Glib 2.0

24. Physical Glib 2.0