Jack may be back. After a couple of years of laying low it looks like Nicholson has decided The Bucket List can’t be his final feature. The rapidly decaying actor is in talks to get back together with James L Brooks (Brooks directed Nicholson to two Oscars in the past) for the director’s latest untitled film.
Nicholson wouldn’t be the lead this time; rather he’d be playing Paul Rudd’s dad. Rudd is one corner in a romantic triangle that also includes Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson. Yuck, let Wilson have her. Bill Murray was going to play the role but the deal couldn’t get closed. While Nicholson is always a good choice, I do think Bill Murray is the perfect dad for Paul Rudd.
So will this be Nicholson’s final performance? He’s obviously winding down, and he’s obviously getting really, really old (abetted by a lifetime of self-abuse). He probably could have another decade of work ahead of him, but is it likely that he could keep finding roles that are worthy of him? One last Brooks movie is the perfect swan song, I think.