Weekend/ARTS & MORE: One last fling for Nicholson, Freeman

According to a survey quoted in "The Bucket List," the latest film by Rob Reiner, 96 percent of people answered "No" when asked if they would want to know when they would die. Unfortunately, in case of the two protagonists in this film, Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) and Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), they didn't have a choice. They are diagnosed with terminal cancer and given, at most, six months to live.

Chambers, a diligent auto mechanic who dedicated his life to taking care of his family, and Cole, a self-centered lone-wolf billionaire, had nothing in common until they ended up sharing a hospital room.

Soon, they decide to use their time remaining to fulfill their bucket list--to do all the things they've ever wanted to do before they "kick the bucket."

The pair leaves the hospital and goes on an adventurous road trip. Taking advantage of Cole's extremely deep pockets, they skydive, visit Stonehenge and go see the pyramids.

"It (the film) will stimulate you. It will be worth your nickel," Nicholson said at a recent Tokyo press conference, his first visit to the city in 14 years. "You won't feel cheated by the movie. I think the movie isn't sentimental but it has sentiment. And I always try to give you a good time."

The film won the second highest rating at a test screening for viewers in Warner Brothers' history, Nicholson said.

Indeed, it's fun to see the aging duo excitedly take a shot at skydiving or race a Shelby Mustang with teenage enthusiasm. A cynic might say that it takes a bucketful of money to make these dreams come true, but let's not quibble.

Nicholson says this film covers "life, death, faith and what's valuable in life." Not surprisingly, the three main individuals involved in the movie--61-year-old director Reiner, Nicholson, 71, and Freeman, 70--had different perspectives on these fundamental subjects, making for some interesting discussions between takes.

"That was really more the off-stage task," Nicholson recalled, adding that his character's beliefs "pretty much reflect my own feelings about it."

At the press conference, the outspoken actor kept the reporters both amused and excited. In the film, "kiss the most beautiful girl in the world" is on the bucket list. Asked about the best kiss he'd ever had, Nicholson paused, said, "So many!" and grinned.

About his own bucket list, Nicholson said he usually only makes uneventful to-do lists--reminders to call someone, pick up his shirts and so on.

But "one last big romance" made the list when he was asked about his own bucket list in a previous interview.

He said when he first heard the movie's title he wasn't sure what "the bucket list" actually meant, but the plot quickly makes the meaning clear.

One item apparently not on Nicholson's bucket list is reworking the titles of movies for Japanese audiences. After questioning the interpreter about the film's Japan title, he expressed a tinge of displeasure that it had been changed to the expository "How to make the best of your life."

"We always have this problem," the Oscar-winning actor said. He referred to Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" and other Japanese films whose titles were not changed for release in Western countries. "So I am always sort of against changing the title," he said. "But it's not my job."(IHT/Asahi: May 9,2008)