'Bucket List' brings Maverick Jack and the Zen Master together

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Can a film be held together purely by the power of its cast? That's the risk director Rob Reiner's taken with "The Bucket List," a movie derided by some as little more than a shop-front for its megastars.

The no-frills story is held together by two Hollywood greats: maverick Jack Nicholson, who's carving himself a niche in sexy, grouchy older guys; and chilled-out Morgan Freeman, who slips into character so effortlessly that it's sometimes hard to tell if he's even acting.

The premise is simple: Nicholson's and Freeman's characters, diagnosed with terminal illness, set out on a trip of a lifetime to experience the world before they kick the bucket. (That's where the list comes in.) Their whirlwind tour takes in the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, skydiving and motor-racing as the pair's journey leads them to the inevitable conclusion that home is, indeed, where the heart is.

With questionable sets, lackluster stunts and a plot that's in perpetual danger of slipping into cliche, Reiner is clearly banking on audiences finding the heart of the movie in the relationship between Nicholson's and Freeman's characters. And does he pull it off?

Just about.

The success of "The Bucket List" is down to one thing: the quality of the acting. Nicholson and Freeman are comfortably at ease opposite each other, and for Reiner, it was a dream pairing.

"As a director, it makes your life a lot easier when you've got the two best actors in the world," he said at a London press conference for "The Bucket List." "This is like a dream come true for me."

And Reiner took delight in watching them raise each other's game.

"It's like two great tennis players hitting the ball back and forth to each other," he continued.

Reiner previously directed Nicholson on the Oscar-nominated "A Few Good Men," and has huge respect for his star.

"[Jack] approaches things as an artist," he revealed. "He takes his life experience and lets [it] be reflected in the characters. The characters are informed by it."

It's a common gripe amongst female actors that the decent parts dry up when you hit middle age, and, perhaps surprisingly, Nicholson says it's the same for the guys. "Literature, not just films, but in general, is pretty limited in people beyond 50. There aren't a lot of stories," he said. His solution? From "About Schmidt" to "Something's Gotta Give" and now "The Bucket List," he's imbued his roles of older men with the spice of life. "I want to bring sexuality to middle-aged characters," he said. "This is an area where there's a lot of room to move in."

For Morgan Freeman, the lure of "The Bucket List" was the chance to star opposite Nicholson. "It was the realization of the dream of working with Jack and Rob, two of the top names in movie-making" he told CNN. "You want to walk with giants, and now I seem to be doing that."

Reiner labels Freeman a "Zen master". "He's so calm, he's so centered," he said. While Nicholson and Reiner himself take a more frenetic pace to shooting, Freeman's approach is a welcome contrast. "Jack and I have a tendency to be a little more hurricane-like," Reiner said, "But he's like the calm in the eye of the storm."

The combination of Freeman's calm and Nicholson's joie de vivre allowed Reiner, always a fast worker, to make "Bucket List" in just 44 days: most scenes were shot in one or two takes, three maximum. Even by Mad Jack's standards, that was pushing it. "One take, you yourself think (sharp intake of breath) maybe you want another one?" And Nicholson could be right: there is a slightly unfinished feel to parts of the movie.

So far, "The Bucket List" has confounded the critics (who for the most part have dismissed the movie as trite and too reliant on its heavyweight cast), taking the number one spot on release in the United States and continuing to perform strongly. That's not simply down to the draw of the Nicholson-Freeman tag-team.

"People connect with the film because ... we're all in the same boat," Reiner explained. "Whether we're going to die tomorrow or the next day or down the road, we were born with the knowledge that we're going to die. Everybody has that on some level."

Ultimately, the film's message is to find joy in life, and Nicholson had this to offer on the subject: "Recognize when you are happy. People sometimes seem afraid to be happy." For him, that means sneaking up on pal Dennis Hopper to give him a fright; watching Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire victory over and over on TiVo -- "Unanimous glee -- nobody gets hit like Mrs Clinton" -- and seeing his kids graduate from high school.

Reiner gets joy from his wife and family, while for Freeman, "finding joy is tantamount to finding yourself." The laid-back star revealed that being comfortable in your own skin is, in his view, the key to happiness. "I think that's a joyful place because once you get there, it's like ice cream," he said, "a part of that reflection that is the joy of you."

And the stars' advice to living life to the full? "Don't lie, don't steal, and don't be afraid," said Nicholson. "Mainly don't be afraid," added his co-star.

Perhaps it's time to add that one to your list. E-mail to a friend