"The Bucket List", directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, has become one of the early hits of the new year. Judging by the critics' overall reaction to it, one would assume that it's a stinker that the gullible public is eating up. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) is a billionaire with an estranged daughter and enough money to do whatever he wants. Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) is an auto mechanic with a loving family. Both are diagnosed with terminal cancer, and both accidentally end up sharing the same hospital room. This is primarily due to Nicholson owning the hospital and enforcing some rather unusual hospital policies. He is a cantakerous, ill-tempered man greatly annoyed at the thought of facing his own mortality. Freeman is equally ticked off, but is far more easygoing, preferring to spend his hospital time watching "Jeopardy" and playing along, rather than listening to Cole.

After the two both endure harrowing bouts of chemotherapy, they are allowed a certain amount of time to recuperate. Freeman's wife (played by Beverly Todd) is concerned for him, but rather strangely distant - Freeman later reveals the reason for this. Nicholson, on the other hand, has a rather annoying right-hand man (Sean Hayes, of TV's "Will and Grace") and a rather insenstive doctor (Rob Morrow, of TV's "Numbers").

Freeman makes out a list of things he'd like to do before he dies - what he calls a bucket list (in reference to the phrase "kick the bucket"). Nicholson, a more daring person than Freeman, hatches a plan - the two will break out of the hospital (we never learn how) and try to accomplish as many items on the bucket list as they can - all this, of course, over the strong protests of Freeman's wife.

The adventures of both Freeman and Nicholson after they break out of the hospital are both funny and poignant, and it is here that many critics have villified the film. However, upon seeing it, one is tempted to think that perhaps they were not either really watching it or paying close attention. One accusation against the movie is that the terminal cancer is not emphasized enough, but the hospital scenes of Nicholson going into surgery, and throwing up repeatedly as a result of his chemotherapy, emphatically refute this claim. It is true that both Nicholson and Freeman both look reasonably well once they embark on their adventures, but one supposes that this is because they have had enough time to fully recuperate from the effects of the chemo.

Another charge against the film is that, once the comic scenes begin, all mention of the illness of the two men disappears. That is patently untrue. What makes this film so poignant is that even though several moments are comic, the audience is never allowed to forget the seriousness of Nicholson and Freeman's situation, and that anything could happen at any moment (one incident involves the sudden dislodgement of Freeman's catheter - hooked up to his chest - in a restaurant, and it is played for anything but comedy.)

The performances of the two stars have also been criticized, as if Nicholson were simply recycling his lovable old grouch and Freeman his wise, all-knowing philosopher for the umpteenth time but both actors act their roles to the hilt, and turn in the kind of performances that make a moviegoer marvel at how good they both can be as actors. If this film had come out earlier, it is very likely both would be up for Oscars.

This may be guesswork on my part, but I suspect that perhaps the critics' reaction to the film stems from the fact that they are disturbed that anyone could receive a death sentence and then proceed to enjoy life in a way that can make an audience laugh. Yes, the idea of two men breaking out of a hospital and embarking on a series of wild adventures is improbable, but the fact that the two are haunted by the possiblility of symptoms appearing during the trip mitigates against any charge of absurdity that the story has.

What I have been describing sounds like a real downer, but it is not. Do not, however, expect this to be just the silly, shallow comedy that the trailers for this film imply. This is a heartfelt examination of what it means to live life to the fullest even when one thinks it may not be possible. It is sad, yes, but entertaining at the same time. Listen carefully, though, to Morgan Freeman's narration at the beginning and end of the film, or you will not understand the surprise at the conclusion - Freeman reveals something that the audience does not expect.

"The Bucket List" may not be as witty and clever in the same way that Rob Reiner's previous hits - "The Princess Bride", "Stand By Me", "When Harry Met Sally", and "The American President" among them - but it is definitely worth seeing.