Jack Nicholson has looked back fondly on 2007's *The Bucket List*, a comedy-drama reunion with his *A Few Good Men* director Rob Reiner and co-star Morgan Freeman, describing audience reactions as beyond anything he'd previously experienced in his career. The remarks are notable given Nicholson's status as one of Hollywood's most consistently acclaimed actors, holding more Academy Award nominations than any male performer, and the film's role as one of the last major successes in his acting career before he largely withdrew from the public eye.

Nicholson recalled being unsure how the film would land after filming wrapped, but said Freeman's one-word review, "astonishing", reassured him it had worked, and he described audience members reconciling in the cinema lobby after a screening. The film follows two terminally ill men on a road trip to complete their bucket list, and while critical reception was more muted, it became a box office hit that helped revive Reiner's career after a run of flops. It opened in limited release in early December before expanding wide over Christmas. Nicholson's final acting role came in 2010's *How Do You Know*, after which he has stayed largely out of the spotlight.