The Bucket List is a 2007 American buddy adventure comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The main plot follows two terminally ill men on their road trip with a wish list of things to do before they kick the bucket .

The film premiered on December 15, 2007 in Hollywood and opened in limited release in the United States on December 25, 2007, by Warner Bros. The film then had a wide release on January 11, 2008. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film was chosen by National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2007 and was a box office success, opening at #1 in the United States, and grossing $175.4 million worldwide.

Plot

Two elderly men, blue-collar automotive mechanic Carter Chambers and billionaire Edward Cole meet for the first time in a hospital owned by Cole after both men are diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Chambers, a gifted amateur historian and family man, wanted to become a history professor in his youth but chose to start a family instead. Cole, a four-time divorced healthcare tycoon and cultured loner, enjoys drinking kopi luwak, one of the most expensive coffees in the world and tormenting his personal valet Matthew, whom he mistakenly calls Thomas.

While in the hospital, Chambers and Cole manage to find common ground. For fun, Chambers started writing a list of activities to do before he kicks the bucket. After hearing he has less than a year to live, he dejectedly discards his list. Cole finds it the next morning and urges him to do everything on the list, adds his own items to it and offers to finance all expenses. Chambers agrees and though his wife Virginia objects, the two patients begin their globetrotting last vacation. They go skydiving, drive a vintage Shelby Mustang and Dodge Challenger around California Speedway, fly over the North Pole, eat dinner at Chevre d or, visit the Taj Mahal, ride motorcycles on the Great Wall of China, attend a lion safari in Tanzania and visit Mount Everest.

Atop the Great Pyramid of Giza, they confide mutually about faith and family. Chambers reveals that he has long been feeling less in love with his wife and feels some regret for his chosen path. Cole discloses that he is deeply hurt by his estrangement from his only daughter, who disowned him after he drove away her abusive husband. Later, while in Hong Kong, Cole hires a prostitute to approach Chambers, who has never been with any woman but his wife. Chambers declines and insists they stop the bucket list and go home.

During the return journey, Chambers tries to reunite Cole with his estranged daughter. Considering this a breach of trust, Cole scolds Chambers and then angrily storms off. Chambers returns home to his family while Cole, feeling alone though among escorts, breaks down weeping in his luxury high-rise suite. Chambers family reunion turns out to be short-lived as while readying for marital romance, he collapses and is rushed to the hospital, where it is discovered that the cancer has spread to his brain. Cole, now in a remarkable remission, visits him to reconcile. Chambers, always a Jeopardy! fan knowledgeable about trivia, reveals how Cole s kopi luwak coffee is fed to and defecated by a jungle cat before being harvested. As the two laugh hysterically over the obscure fact, Chambers implores Cole to finish the list for him.

After Chambers dies during surgery, Cole manages to reconcile with his own daughter and she introduces him to the granddaughter he never knew he had. After greeting the little girl by kissing her cheek, Cole thoughtfully crosses kiss the most beautiful girl in the world off the bucket list. Soon after, Cole delivers a eulogy at Chambers funeral, during which he explains that the last three months of Chambers life were, thanks to Chambers, the best three months of his own.

An epilogue reveals that Cole lived to age 81 and Matthew then took his ashes to a peak in the Himalayas. As Matthew places a Chock full o Nuts coffee can of Cole s ashes alongside another can of Chambers ashes, he crosses off the last item on the bucket list, witness something truly majestic and tucks the completed list between the cans.

Cast

• Jack Nicholson as Edward Perriman Cole
• Morgan Freeman as Carter Chambers
• Sean Hayes as Matthew / Thomas
• Beverly Todd as Virginia Chambers
• Rob Morrow as Dr. Hollins
• Alfonso Freeman as Roger Chambers
• Rowena King as Angelica
• Jennifer DeFrancisco as Emily Cole
• Serena Reeder as Rachel
• Annton Berry Jr. as Kai
• Verda Bridges as Chandra
• Destiny Brownridge as Maya
• Brian Copeland as Lee
• Ian Anthony Dale as Instructor
• Noel Guglielmi as Mechanic
• Jonathan Hernandez as Manny
• Andrea J. Johnson as Elizabeth
• Jordan Lund as Tattoo Artist
• Jonathan Mangum as Richard
• Christopher Stapleton as Kyle
• Alex Trebek as Himself
• Taylor Ann Thompson as Edward s Granddaughter
• Karen Maruyama as Nurse Shing

Release

The film opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on January 11, 2008 and grossed $19,392,416 from around 3,200 screens across 2,911 theaters, averaging $6,662 per theater ($6,060 per screen) and ranking #1 at the box office. The film closed on June 5, 2008, never having a weekend-to-weekend decline of more than 40%, and ended up with a final gross of $93,466,502 in the United States and Canada and another $81,906,000 overseas, for a total gross of $175,372,502 worldwide, easily recouping the film s considerable $45 million budget and turning a sizable profit for Warner Bros.

Reception

The Bucket List received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 41% based on 178 reviews, with an average rating of 5.20/10. The site s critical consensus reads, Not even the earnest performances of the two leads can rescue The Bucket List from its schmaltzy script . Metacritic gave the film a score of 42 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A- on an A+ to F scale.

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 and whose lower jaw was removed in 2006, criticized the film s portrayal of cancer sufferers, writing in his one-star review that The Bucket List …thinks dying of cancer is a laff riot followed by a dime-store epiphany.

Accolades

Named one of the Top Ten Films of the Year by the National Board of Review.

Soundtrack

A score album from Varèse Sarabande was released on January 15, 2008, featuring composer Marc Shaiman s original score for the film as well as a selection of newly recorded themes from Shaiman s previous scoring projects, including City Slickers, Simon Birch, The Addams Family, Mother, North, Sleepless in Seattle, South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut, Mr. Saturday Night, and Stuart Saves His Family. It also features a rearranged version of the James Bond theme Goldfinger (titled Printmaster ), with Shaiman s own voice and lyrics in which he spoofs the industry s habit of tracking music in scenes where they don t belong.

The full list of 23 tracks is as follows:

The theme song, John Mayer s Say, is not included on the Bucket List soundtrack, but included on the re-release of Mayer s third album Continuum.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray June 10, 2008.

Year	2007
ReleaseDate	2008-01-11
RuntimeMins	97
RuntimeStr	1h 37min
Plot	Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.
Awards	Awards, 3 wins & 4 nominations
Directors	Rob Reiner
Writers	Justin Zackham
Stars	Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes
Produced by	Frank Capra III,Alan Greisman,Travis Knox,Neil Meron,Rob Reiner,Jeffrey Stott,Justin Zackham,Craig Zadan
Music by	Marc Shaiman
Cinematography by	John Schwartzman
Film Editing by	Robert Leighton
Casting By	Janet Hirshenson,Jane Jenkins
Production Design by	Bill Brzeski
Art Direction by	Jay Pelissier
Set Decoration by	Robert Greenfield
Costume Design by	Molly Maginnis
Makeup Department	Deena Adair,Howard Berger,Michael Germain,Nancy Hancock,Marie Larkin,Ryan McDowell,Medusah,Matthew W. Mungle,Valli O’Reilly,Mike Rotella,Tonyia Verna,Kevin Wasner,Joy Zapata,Stephen Bettles,Melissa Forney,Jamie Kelman
Production Management	Susan E. Novick,Mark Scoon,David Siegel,Jeffrey Stott,Barbara Russo
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Frank Capra III,Stephen W. Moore,Brian Relyea,Chironjib Bordoloi,Alex Daniels,Eugene Davis,Bill Purple,Jody Spilkoman,Denise Strong
Art Department	Todd Bennett,Jack Blanchard,Shane Buckallew,Laurence Castello,Randy Culberhouse,Doug DuRose,John R. Elliott,Brian Feola,Kenneth Garrett,Sean Ginevan,Ilana Gordon,Robert Greenfield III,Martha Johnston,Cynthia La Jeunesse,Eugene McCarthy,Mike Medina,Barbara Mesney,Mark Moretti,Lee Runnels,Dominic Sandfrey,Kelly Schultz,Art Smith Jr.,James E. Tocci,Richard F. Anderson,Mark Boucher,Chris J. Champagne,Alan Easley,Mathias Fain,L. David Gordon,J. Bryan Holloway,Jeffrey Paul Johnson,Charles Kern,Ricky Lewis Jr.,Steven Light-Orr,James MacDonald,Cameron Matheson,Scott Owen,Portia Perry,Michael Ruby,Mark Tuttle,John Villarino,Todd Wolcott
Sound Department	Robert Althoff,Laura Harris Atkinson,Steve Bartkowicz,Ron Bedrosian,Lon Bender,Tim Boggs,Bryan Bowen,John Cannon,Robert Deschaine,Perry Dodgson,Robert Eber,Marc Fishman,Nerses Gezalyan,Glynna Grimala,Daniel R. Kerr,Tony Lamberti,Michael Mesirow,James Moriana,Jordan O’Neill,Mark Ormandy,Ann Scibelli,Greg Steele,John C. Stuver,Gayle Wesley,Jeffrey Wilhoit,Xavier Horan,Jeff Malham,Greg Zimmerman
Special Effects by	Jan Beran,Scott R. Fisher,Donald Frazee,Scott Lingard,Jim Rollins
Visual Effects by	Greg Anderson,Tricia Henry Ashford,Jeremy Burns,Casey Conroy,Syd Dutton,Collin Fowler,William Higgins,Brinton Jaecks,Anne Putnam Kolbe,Fumi Mashimo,Kelvin McIlwain,John Myers,Erin L. Nelson,Lori J. Nelson,Kim O’Donnell,Jim O’Hagan,Jason Piccioni,John Roden,Robert Scifo,Prateep Siamwalla,Jerry Spivack,Catherine Sudolcan,Corinne Villa,Travis Baumann,Jan Beran,Marvin Chua,Jan Cilliers,Casey Conroy,Ron Crabb,Craig Crawford,Todd Erickson,Kiel Gnebba,Andy Gorzalski,Brian Hanable,Marcel Hemingway,Brinton Jaecks,Taryn P. Kelly,Arnon Manor,Joel Merritt,Gary Mortensen,John Myers,James P. Noon,Mathew Rotman,Barrett Sanders,Wilson Tang,Lisa Tomei,Simon Wakley,Mark H. Weingartner,David Wu,Xye
Stunts	Dean Bailey,Jophery C. Brown,Robert A. Caster,Melanie Conatser Peschio,Alex Daniels,Tanner Gill,Steve Kelso,Hubie Kerns Jr.,David Major,Craig O’Brien,Peewee Piemonte,Austin Priester,Rick Seaman,Todd Shoebotham,Buddy Sosthand,Jim Wallace,Harry Wowchuk,Ross A. Jordan
Camera and Electrical Department	James Alden,Michael D. Anderson,Dana Baker,Sidney Ray Baldwin,Melanie Banders,David Bartholomew,Jack Chouchanian,Joe Chouchanian,David R. Christensen,Jimmy Culligan,Carlos DePalma,Thomas DeRose,Frank Dorowsky,Ian Fox,Brooks P. Guyer,Rick Harris,Mark Hochman,Stuart Kirschner,Thomas D. Lairson Jr.,Jonathan Leary,Ronald A. Miller,Richard Mosier,Jaim O’Neil,Robert Petrin,Brad Rea,Tony Rivetti,Sky Rockit,David Schmalz,Michael Shaw,Donald A. Spadoni,Les T. Tomita,Michael T. Travers,Rick Whitfield,Thomas Wostak,Eric Amundsen,Adam Austin,Mark Carlile,Joshua Davis,Clayton Fowler,Steven L. Franklin,Josh Greer,Quinn Grove,Tony Hibbard,Gregory Irwin,Milan Janicin,Scott C. Keys,Christian J. Killingsworth,Dominik Mainl,James M. McClure,Kevin McGill,Isaac McKee,Johnny Medeiros,Daisuke Dice Miyake,Terry Moses,Ziggy Pedone,Glen Purdy,Daniel R. Purinton,John Savedra,Jerry Woodside
Casting Department	Chris Bustard,Jamie Castro,Jeni Thornell
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Sandy Kenyon,Sally Smith-McCardle,Debbie Travis,Cathie Valdovino,Demetricus Holloway
Editorial Department	Zahida Bacchus,Susan Bliss,Pete Conlin,Scott Gregory,Mo Henry,Jonathan Hoffman,Mike Mertens,Danny Miller,Stephen Nakamura,John Hirota,Darin Wooldridge
Location Management	Isaac Ardolino,Monique Berrenson,Robbie Goldstein,Heather Haase,Ann Lukacs,Michael Wesley
Music Department	Pete Anthony,Jeff Atmajian,Chris Botti,Tom Boyd,Tom Brown,George Doering,Greg Hayes,Jim Hoffman,Gayle Levant,London Symphony Orchestra,Sandra Park,Victor Pesavento,Bryan Pezzone,Brett Pierce,Ryan Robinson,Peter Rotter,Marni Sanders,Naomi Sato,Marc Shaiman,Steven L. Smith,Scott Stambler,James Thatcher,Rich Wheeler,Frank Wolf,Stephen Bashaw,Mark Graham,The Hollywood Studio Symphony,Frank Wolf
Script and Continuity Department	Trisha Burton,Kerry Lyn McKissick,Adam Scheinman,Andrew Scheinman
Transportation Department	Linda Cipperley,Gene Hubert,Jim Petti,Jonathan A. Rosenfeld,Brian Stackhouse,Jeff Verdick,Rich Bennetti,Alberto Coto,Robert Gaskill,Joel Larson,Marty Radcliff,Sarah Lynn Schmitt,Paul Tumber
Additional Crew	Wendy Altman-Cohen,Cindy Anderson,Chet Badalato,Laine Bateman,Bostic Beard,Kevin Berlandi,Donna Bizzaro,Jack Blanchard,Lisa Broffman,Jennifer Carno,Bryan Davis,Sierra Donley,Steven Eddy,Fred Einesman,Janette Evans,Alyssa Feener,John Hackett,Tom Hanada,Rob Harris,Henry Humphreys,Jared Iacino,Deidric Irving,Rachel Jensen,Pam Jones,Alice S. Kim,Eric Layne,John Malakoff,Mark McSorley,Charlie Nadler,Dawn Perlin,Quentin Pierre,Brandy D. Pollard,Tom Poole,Lois Radcliff,Willie Radcliff,Deborah Ricketts,Rocky Schmidt,Matthew Schoenbaum,Chris Scott,Christine Scott,Gene Starzenski,Galadriel Thompson,Maria Westfried,Paula Whiteman,Andrew Will,Shawn Williamson,Rio Ahn,April Betts,Steven W. Blumenfeld,Jennifer Corey,Scotch James Diaz Crisostomo,Bianca D’Carpio,Maude F. Furia,Robert Gaskill,Cindy Nevins,David Shannon,Donisha Walker,Lisa Womble
Genres	Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Companies	Warner Bros., Zadan / Meron Productions, Two Ton Films
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	PG-13
ImDbRating	7.4
ImDbRatingVotes	245560
MetacriticRating	42
Keywords	falling asleep,list,journey,friendship,road trip