There was once this movie called Grumpy Old Men that taught us not to respect our elders, but to laugh with them as the acted immaturely, talking sex and playing pranks on each other. What it wasn’t though was a downer, it was played for pure hilarity from beginning to end and any mention of death was kept firmly in context as Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon’s curmudgeons tried vainly to remember which of their friends is dead and which ones are alive. The Bucket List isn’t quite Grumpy Old Men, it’s equal part tearjerker and comedy, but at the same time, not really much of anything new.

Morgan Freeman plays Carter, a chain-smoking mechanic that’s diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Jack Nicholson is gazillionaire Edward later finds out that he’s got a big old brain tumour. Both men are told that they’ve got roughly a year to live each. Carter whips out something he tried in his first year of college, “The Bucket List,” all the things he wants to do in life before “kicking the bucket.” Edward says, “Hey, why not?” and they jet off for all corners of the world to cross off all lines on the Bucket List. But it’s not an easy road; Carter’s wife wants him to come home to spend his last days with family, while Edward would rather face death than the daughter he’s estranged from.

So kudos to director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Justin Zackham for crafting what is a very inoffensive movie; it really is quite harmless. Unfortunately, when there’s no risk, there’s no gain and The Bucket List unfolds exactly as you expect it to with out any of that confusing plot twist stuff. I know why this movie’s successful and I know why it appeals on an audience level, but it’s not art and it’s not bold; it just sort of happens and that didn’t leave me much when the credits rolled.

What is fun to watch I have to say is the Nicholson and Freeman dynamic; two old codgers that don’t have to prove anything and just want to have a little fun. These guys can play these parts in their sleep, and I’m not saying they do, but Nicholson as the elder playboy and Freeman as the wise professor are hardly parts these guys are unfamiliar with. They have good chemistry and they play off each other well which is more than enough for most of the movie to get through. Sean Hayes gets to downplay as Edward’s assistant and I think it’s a nice turn for him. Meanwhile though, I was not a fan of Beverly Todd as Freeman’s wife, she was the typical shrill wife always wining about her husband’s shenanigans. If I was Carter, I’d have never gone home.

But a movie like this can skate along by benefit of the good will generated by its leads alone. You got to love the Nicholson and Freeman combo, but I feel slighted by their overall weak list. Sorry, but I’ve seen old people skydive, I’ve seen them try to recapture lost youth and wax poetic about world landmarks. In other words I’ve seen other movies, not to mention TV commercials. On my Bucket List: making an accurate movie about old people – sitting on a front porch somewhere bitching about how young people have no respect anymore.