What’s on your to-do-before-death list?

The Bucket List 2007. Directed by Rob Reiner.

In The Bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play terminally ill men working their way through the list of things they want to do before they “kick the bucket.” Most reviewers have panned the film, calling it a “tepid excuse for feel-good entertainment” (Toronto Star) . . . “that has not an ounce of reality” (Variety). But my parents, who are reaching retirement as Baby Boomers, enjoyed it. They talked about the movie’s central question: How do you measure the quality of life you’ve lived, and how do you make the most of what you’ve got left?

As people of faith, it’s tempting to think that a secular film, especially one made in Hollywood, will miss The Big Answer to that question. After all, we have our relationship with God and the assurance of eternal life. That answers the questions – or at least it should, right?

Unfortunately, when a person is sitting at the side of a dying loved-one or facing a cancer diagnosis, the weight of the situation brings with it a set of issues that are a little different from questions of eternal salvation. More often than not, the questions raised by The Bucket List become ours, too. Where, in times like these, does a person of faith look for answers?

In The Bucket List, Freeman’s character references an ancient Egyptian belief that when a person dies, they are asked two questions at the gates of heaven: “Did you experience joy in your life?” and “Did you bring joy to the life of another?” The first is reminiscent of Ecclesiastes and the second brings us to the book of James as well as Jesus’ call to serve “the least of these.”

The Bucket List is not a great movie. Nicholson’s character is a clichéd selfish businessman with four divorces under his belt. The two characters’ journey to check off items from their wish list lacks trailer-touted intrigue, and character conflict often erupts almost without warning and then resolved too quickly.

Should you see it? Sure. It’s fun in places, and it manages, in its Hollywood-formula way, to bring life to important questions – questions asked by your co-worker, your friend, and probably the person next to you in the pew.

Brad Thiessen is a writer from Spokane, Washington who has worked in public relations for MB Biblical Seminary and MBMSI.