The Bucket List

My wife and I went to see "The Bucket List" yesterday. We both really enjoyed the movie, despite it’s less than real premise and maudlin storylines. I couldn’t help but be moved by Morgan Freeman’s character’s approach to faith. One observation: It is very clear that baby boomers are dealing with issues surrounding death and dying, faith and spirituality. What ends up being portrayed is a kind of non-judgmental approach to world religions. Reincarnation is discussed with the same weight as ancient Egyptian myth and the Judeo-Christian God.

Of course, Mr. Freeman (who excels at portraying God and deeply philosophical characters) has found the perfect foil in Jack Nicholson’s extremely wealthy hospital magnate. Medical treatment in general gets short shrift. Director Rob Reiner takes dramatic license a bit when he uses a "dead" character as the film’s narrator. This film should be a must-see for fundamentalist Christian practitioners who want to deny the cultural influences that both favor a return to spirituality and reject institutional "I’m right and you are going to hell" Christianity. Hopefully, it would cause them to think and have compassion, more than it would simply make them angry.