Weekend couch time

My Mom-in-law came up to visit over the Thanksgiving holiday. She lives about 2 1/2 hours away by car, and we always appreciate when she comes up to spend time with us. As we were all a little run down, and trying to avoid spending extra money these days, we stayed in during the evenings to watch a couple of movies. We rented Juno and The Bucket List.

Juno is about a teen girl named Juno who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. The movie's attraction is in the quirky characters and Juno's snappy/sarcastic dialogue. The adoptive parents are Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, and though they seem to have it all initially, in the end they aren't as prepared for adoption as they think. Juno's parents in the movie are more understanding and supportive than she expects. Overall it was an enjoyable movie.

I enjoyed The Bucket List. From the previews I expected a pretty formulaic movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. With Jack Nicholson, you can expect some over the top moments, but I didn't feel him dominating the movie like I expected. And I always enjoy Morgan Freeman. Their characters share a room in the hospital as they are both being treated for different forms of cancer. Their relationship is initially abrasive, but after going through chemo together they form an uneasy friendship.

Freeman's character recalls a teacher's exercise of writing a bucket list of all the things you want to do in your life before you "kick the bucket". He starts to write one, but after a couple of entries he gets the news that he has less than a year to live. He crumples up the list thinking "what is the point now". Nicholson's character finds the list, convinces Freeman that it is now more important than ever, and offers to fund the adventure. He adds his own entries to the list like skydiving, getting a tattoo and kissing the most beautiful girl in the world to the list.

They jet around the world to a safari in Africa, the pyramids in Egypt, and the Great Wall of China. Along the way they delve into topics of philosophy, religion, family and regrets. There are some predictable moments, but I found the movie to be pretty satisfying.

After the movie, my Mom-in-law asked what was on my bucket list. I didn't really have an answer. I have some goals and things I'd like to do, but I'm not sure they are big enough to be on a bucket list. I've been fortunate to have some great adventures, and I have lots of stuff in my bucket already (to mix metaphors). The goals these days are smaller and as a couple.