The Bucket List

"The Bucket List” is a movie about 2 strangers who met whilst sharing a hospital room. In the midst of coping with the effects of treatment and ultimately learning that they were dying from cancer, they came up with a list of to-dos before they ‘kick the bucket’.

This movie, acted superbly by Jack Nicholson who plays billionaire Edward Cole (who incidentally owns the hospital) and Morgan Freeman, as Carter Chambers; a mechanic who gave up his dreams of furthering his studies when his wife got pregnant with their first child. Both men, so contrasting in nature, managed to forge a friendship while embarking on their journey to fulfilling the list.

Edward has lived his entire life pretty much for himself whereas Carter has had to make sacrifices throughout his to raise a family. Against his wife’s wishes, Carter, along with Edward checked out of hospital to carry out their dreams. Being a billionaire Edward could take Carter to places he could only dream of going before e.g. India to see the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Egypt to see the pyramids etc. It was an altogether new experience for Edward too. Being’s a ladies man, this was the first time he has done it with a man, a friend, not someone he was trying to impress or woo.

Along the way, Carter learnt that Edward has a daughter he no longer kept in touch with. Carter eventually managed to convince Edward to reconcile with her as he said, ‘nobody should die alone.’

In his eulogy at Carter’s funeral, Edward made a touching speech. Part of it read, “ I hope it doesn’t sound selfish of me but the last moments of his life was the best of mine. He saved my life and he knew it before I did. I’m proud that this man has found it worth his while to know me. In the end, I think it’s safe to say that we brought some joy to one another’s lives.”

If you don’t have a lot of time and has to be selective with your choice of movies, watch this. It’ll be worth your while. Hmmm… of course, there’s also, “I am Legend” and “The Kingdom”. Both also not bad.

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