Nicholson, Freeman a team to reckon with in fine 'Bucket List'

Before two dying friends in "The Bucket List" kick the proverbial cylindrical vessel, they aim to fill it with as many longed-for experiences as they can. Terminally ill hospital roommates -- Edward, a hospital magnate (Jack Nicholson), and Carter (Morgan Freeman), a mechanic -- put together a list of things they'd like to do before they die, then abandon the hospital together to make them happen.

On the agenda:

-- Skydive.

-- Race expensive cars.

-- Travel the world.

-- Render the audience a sobbing mess.

While "The Bucket List" aims a little too forcefully at the final item on the agenda, there's enough talent in this shamelessly manipulative dramedy to patch up all the holes. Director Rob Reiner comes close to recapturing his form of the 1980s, when he made "This Is Spinal Tap," "Stand by Me," "The Princess Bride" and "When Harry Met Sally..."

"The Bucket List" may not be quite as moving as those gems, but it unfurls with the momentum and depth of character his last couple of films, "Alex & Emma" and "Rumor Has It ...," have lacked.

The main event, though, is the casting. Working with each other for the first time, Nicholson and Freeman thrive as replicas of screen personas both have built for decades. Nicholson is the forceful wild man; Freeman the methodical dispenser of wisdom. Any movie narrated by Freeman is worth watching, and no movie in which Nicholson flashes that devilish grin is altogether predictable.

According to Reuters, screenwriter Justin Zackham wrote the script in two weeks, and at times you can tell. The story unconvincingly manufactures a conflict between Edward and Carter, involving Edward's estranged daughter, and takes the cheap and easy route by giving Edward unlimited financial resources, allowing the characters to zip around the globe. Zackham missed out on golden comedic opportunities in failing to imagine what tricks two broke old men would go to in order to fulfill their wildest fantasies.

Despite the hokey story, Nicholson and Freeman are a team to reckon with, and both actors craft full-bodied, nuanced characters that you feel you've known all your life. Working in tandem, the actors can shift the tone from hilarity to solemnity and then back again with the slightest gesture or well-delivered line.

"The Bucket List" isn't so amazing that a viewing deserves a spot on your own bucket list, but at least it's safer than skydiving.

3 stars out of 4

Rated: PG-13 for language, including a sexual reference.

Family call: Fine for teens and up.

Running time: 96 minutes.

(Contact Phil Villarreal at pvillarreal(at)azstarnet.com)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)