I’ve just watched the film ‘The Bucket List’ with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Feeman. The film is about two men, getting on a bit in years, who meet in hospital. They’ve had completely different lives, but now have both been given less than a year to live. They decide to embark on a trip around the world ticking items off a ‘things to do before we kick the bucket’ list. Their list contains a mix of tangible challenges such as seeing the pyramids and skydiving, and more abstract challenges such as laughing until you cry and doing a good turn for a stranger.
A search on google shows that these types of bucket lists have become quite a phenomenon. There are lots of people out there trying to complete 101 things (it often is 101) before they die. Many of the lists appear quite generic which seems a bit strange, as surely this sort of list should be really personal. There are some biggies that I can understand lots of people wanting to do, such as the skydiving and pyramids, but surely the majority of the list should reflect each person’s own interests, likes and dislikes, etc. Although on my own list there are a few challenges that I seem to share with everyone, I’d like to think that most of the items on my list are a true reflection of me and what I want to achieve in my life.
But, back to the film. I spent a fairly enjoyable 93 minutes watching it. This is probably a reasonable length as I don’t think the story is strong enough to hold out for much longer. But for that 93 minutes I was quite engaged and enjoyed the brief snapshots from Africa, France, India and so on. Would I recommend it? Yes, but only if you’re not in the mood for anything even remotely highbrow.
