Old-fashioned fun is the real mark in latest Ocean’s film
You don’t need to have seen the previous three Ocean’s movies (that would be 11, 12, and 13 for the uninitiated) to enjoy Ocean’s 8, the female-helmed companion film that opens today; it stands alone as a highly enjoyable, old-fashioned heist movie. But those who are loyal fans of the original series will be rewarded with a few nods to the previous films, as well as a couple of cameos that I won’t reveal here, but which will no doubt please the films’ devotees. Breezy and fun, writer/director Gary Ross’s entry into the Ocean’s universe retains the brisk confidence of the original pictures, while providing a welcome freshness by changing the stories’ traditional casting.
Ross, an Oscar nominated screenwriter (Seabiscuit, Dave, and Big) whose writing/directing projects have including the rather disappointing Free State of Jones and the highly successful Hunger Games pairs with first time feature screenwriter Olivia Milch here to bring us a jaunty caper tale tonally reminiscent of its predecessors. The angle here is that Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), estranged sister to Danny Ocean (George Clooney in the original series) has just been released from an eight-year stint in prison; having seemingly inherited the family propensity for masterminding criminal undertakings, Debbie is eager to assemble a team to pull off a big score. Why, exactly? Well, similar to mountaineer George Mallory, who famously proclaimed that he climbed Mt. Everest “Because it’s there,” Debbie, when asked why she wants take the risk of another complicated heist, replies, “Because it’s what I’m good at.” We all have our strengths, I suppose, and, lucky for us, watching Debbie ply her trade is great fun.
The heist she has in mind is to steal a Cartier diamond necklace known as the Toussaint off the neck of a celebrity at the annual Met Gala, New York City’s premiere event for the rich and famous at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This particular diamond necklace, of course, is worth a cool $150 million (and yes, if you’re wondering, this necklace (mostly) really exists, as you can read about here).
Some of the film’s most enjoyable moments come from watching Debbie put together her crack team of experts. There’s Lou (Cate Blanchett), Debbie’s old partner in crime; Nine Ball (Rihanna), so named because of course hackers don’t reveal their true identities; Constance (Awkawfina), a professional con artist and pick pocket; Tammy (Sarah Paulson), a suburban mother who also happens to be a fence; Amita (Mindy Kaling), a dutiful daughter by day and renegade jeweler in her off hours; Rose Weill (Helena Bonham Carter), a fashion designer past her prime who’s crucial to roping in the celebrity mark; and the celebrity herself, actress Daphne Kluger, played with a winking gleefulness by Anne Hathaway, in one of her best roles to date.
Thus established, the team goes about executing the details of its plan with utmost precision and masterful skill, which is always engrossing and entertaining to watch, and gives the film its unique slant: yes, these are criminals at work, committing a crime, and yet we find ourselves so impressed by their fortitude, cleverness, and moxie that we cheer them on, and root for them to succeed, the law be damned.
Each of the actresses acquits herself nicely, with each getting a moment in the spotlight to do her thing. Bullock has a great scene in which she pretends to be a wealthy German trophy wife, and her German is impeccable and impressive, as evidenced in a brief exchange with Heidi Klum (a host of celebrity cameos grace the Gala scene). Kaling gets the biggest laugh of the film, when, in the midst of intensive caper preparations, she pauses to scroll through Tinder. And Bonham Carter uses her daffy eccentric persona to fabulous effect in a key scene in which she and Amita view the necklace for the first time and have to transmit a photo of it back to Nine Ball.
In one of the few major male roles (in a nice change up from traditional heist movies, in which the women are usually the supporting, background players), James Corden nearly steals the show as an eager and inquisitive insurance investigator thoroughly delighted by his work. The only other notable male presence is Richard Armitage (The Hobbit) as Claude, an ex of Debbie’s with whom she’s still angry, and Armitage does his best with a rather thankless role.
Ocean’s 8 proves itself a perfect summer movie. Lightweight, but terrifically entertaining, it’s smart, fast paced, and an utterly satisfying movie-going experience. “You would have loved it,” Debbie says at one point to a significant unseen character about the heist she orchestrates; I’ll say the same to you about this picture.
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Ocean’s 8 opens today at Bay Area theaters.
