Ocean’s 8

Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Director: Gary Ross

Quick Impressions:
For reasons I find difficult to explain, I’ve been more excited to see Ocean’s 8 than any other summer movie.

Well, actually, it’s easy to explain. Have you seen how cool Cate Blanchett looks in the trailers? Every time I watched that trailer, I thought, “Wow! Ocean’s 8 has achieved something previously impossible–gotten me to notice someone’s hair, clothing, and eye make-up!” Cate Blanchett is amazing enough even if you don’t do anything to her, but costumed like that! In the past she’s been Elizabeth I, Galadriel, Hela, and Bob Dylan, and yet this is the costume that makes the biggest impression. I mean…I have no words. Whoever came up with this look needs to win at least eight Oscars.

Also, I’ve always liked Sandra Bullock. (Back in the 90s, my mom, grandma, sister, and I repeat watched While You Were Sleeping in the theater the way most people went back to Titanic. My teenage years are now just a distant blur, but I want to say that we watched it something like 348…thousand times.) I would probably watch Sandra Bullock in anything. I mean, I haven’t always loved everything she’s been in, but I’ve never not liked her.

And then there’s Helena Bonham Carter. I love her, too. I think they should just start putting her in every movie that comes out. Imagine it, at the end of all opening credits out there, “…and Helena Bonham Carter.” I mean, why not? Just go ahead and throw her in there. She’ll find a way to make it work, I promise. She’s a pro.

Honestly, another Ocean’s movie sounded like a great idea to me, too. I’ve never seen the Sinatra one, but I enjoyed all three Clooney/Soderbergh Ocean’s movies. None of them changed my life or anything, but an upbeat, all star caper/heist film is always a good way to kill a couple of hours. (I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority, but I even liked Ocean’s Twelve. I thought that silly Julia Roberts bit was zany good fun, and I’m always glad to see Bruce Willis.)

After Ocean’s 8, my husband noted, “If you need an actress to play George Clooney’s sister, there’s no better choice than Sandra Bullock.” And he was right. It’s perfect casting and the best possible bridge between the movies.

I can’t help noticing that by calling this movie Ocean’s 8, they’ve left themselves room to make a 9 and a 10 before they run into Eleven. (I don’t mean to brag, but I have an almost three-year-old, so I am pretty good at counting.)

I don’t know how well the movie will do–our late Saturday morning screening was not sold out–but I hope a future installment involves Debbie and the girls plotting a job only to discover half way through that Danny and the boys are trying to steal the same object. I mean, wouldn’t that be fun?

The Good:
Much has been made of the all female criminal crew in this film, but only after the movie did I realize something else. The biggest of these female stars are not young. (You never think of that during the movie because they all look so mind-blowingly fantastic.) But that’s a really big deal, too.

Bullock (53), Blanchett (49), and Bonham-Carter (52) are all in that weird age range that used to be a wasteland for actresses, far too old to be the star’s love interest, yet just a hair too young to be his beloved great grandmother. It’s encouraging that all three women have substantial star power right now. And certainly, they look fantastic.

As we walked to the car after the film, my husband commented, “I would watch an entire movie of just Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett having conversations.”

I agree. That’s always been the real appeal of the Ocean’s movies. “Look! George Clooney and Brad Pitt are hanging out together! And I’m there, too!” Now it’s, “Wow, Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett just keep talking and hugging, and I’m along for the ride.” I would watch them talk and hug forever. Honestly, they wouldn’t even need to plan a caper to hold my interest. Both stars have so much charisma and screen presence. The movie could just be them having brunch, and I’d watch until all the greasy dishes were cleared away, and the waitress at the diner ran out of coffee. (That doesn’t sound like a great brunch, but it would make a killer movie.) The two of them have so much energy. They’re really fun to watch.

It also helps the movie out quite a lot that the key players are not just famous faces but talented actresses, too. Sandra Bullock doesn’t have to play a Sandra Bullock type, for example, because she coaxes out the Sandra Bullock qualities in every character she plays (which is quite different). Cate Blanchett could play literally anyone (not to mention anyone else. Monarch, monarch butterfly, whatever, her range knows no limits.) Here she’s playing the Brad Pitt, and personally I find her more compelling in the role than Pitt himself. (No insult intended to Brad, who is so often underrated as an actor. It may just be that Blanchett has better hair and make-up or that she’s the one I was watching at the time.) My point is, though, these two charming leads can actually act, and not just passably, but much, much better than most.

Helena Bonham Carter is also a fantastic and versatile actress who is not limited by a need to be glamorous. (That last bit sounds like I’m insulting her in a whisper at a cocktail party, but I mean it as high praise.) What I’m trying to say is that getting a group of stars together can be a tricky business because of fragile egos and the need to preserve a certain image, but these women are all strong, gifted actresses who are happy to serve the story. (And if the story is a little weak, they’re able to sell the material so much that we hardly mind.)

Sarah Paulson is also a good actress, and, of course, Anne Hathaway is an Oscar winner. Then, rounding out the ensemble, we have a surprisingly understated Mindy Kaling, the weirdly winning Awkwafina, and, of course, (one of the only bright spots in the movie Battleship) Rihanna, whose Nine Ball was my nine-year-old daughter’s favorite character by a mile.

These women all give terrific performances and the illusion of having so much fun that we’re brainwashed into thinking, “Yeah, that’s right. I’m having fun, too.” The supporting male cast (including James Corden and actual-sized Richard Armitage) are fun to watch, too. And we even get a couple of cameos from the earlier Ocean’s movies (but maybe not the ones you’re on the edge of your seat hoping to see). That much rumored Matt Damon cameo was cut, by the way, but I did have fun recognizing Dakota Fanning, and I also got a kick out of seeing Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour light up the screen in the same movie.

Best Scene:
Even though my favorite aspect of the film is the engaging camaraderie between Bullock and Blanchett, I actually think the best scene belongs to Helena Bonham Carter.

Her Rose Weil’s every interaction in that Cartier vault is just perfection. We get a great sense of her character in the scene when she comes to request the use of the necklace and take an initial look at it. Though Rose may be down on her luck and certainly not the most seasoned criminal, she is also a woman who built a memorable career as a designer, someone who understands her own industry and knows how to think on her feet.

Mindy Kaling is also quite strong in this scene. Everything Kaling does in this movie is almost uncharacteristically underplayed, and I think that really works for her.

The writing here is also at its best (unless the whole thing was secretly improvised, but there’s no reason to think that). It’s one of the film’s sharpest sequences in just about every way.

Best Action Sequence:
I’m not sure this counts as an action sequence, but I love the sequence in which we see Debbie Ocean in action for the first time. Her initial series of cons beginning in the department store cosmetics department is so inspiring.

Just the day before watching the movie, I accidentally stumbled through the cosmetics department at Macy’s after finding myself at the mall for my first haircut in two years.

“I probably do need to put on some make-up,” I thought. “That’s usually what women who cut their hair do with their faces.”

But the scene in there was overwhelming. I’d stumbled into an event. Someone had put out a plate of cookies, and a flock of smartly dressed, elderly women were circling the counter, queuing for make-overs. I was relieved to see the cookies (because then I could stop worrying that Macy’s might kick me out for carrying around a latte), but I knew I couldn’t linger. Those old ladies were too chic for me, and I can’t afford any product that comes with a demonstration and free cookies. I was only in Macy’s in the first place because I’d accidentally parked there. So I ran away to Walgreens where nothing is free and prices are a few cents lower.

Debbie’s method of shopping made me sit up and think, “Maybe I could have the finer things in life, after all.”

But honestly, it can’t be that easy. Afterwards, I thought to myself, “I’ll bet this bit doesn’t seem so charming to Winona Ryder.”

It really is a delight to watch, though, and it made me remember a distant time, just on the brink of adulthood when I had a little less and wanted so much more.

Watching, I thought, “That’s right! The world is full of expensive things to desire!” How did I forget about covetousness? It’s right there in the Ten Commandments! (Twice if you’re Catholic!)

This sequence reminds us of the other appealing aspect of the Ocean’s movies. They’re not just about star power. They’re also about high-dollar high jinks.

Best Scene Visually:
Probably the most fun scene to look at is the big reveal of what really happened on the night of the robbery.

Ocean’s movies always work this way. We get to hear what will happen, then see it happen, then find out what really happened.

My daughter had never seen an Ocean’s movie before, so when the plot twist came, she was legitimately shocked and so delighted.

I absolutely loved the submarine.

The Negatives:
The James Corden character doesn’t really make sense to me. He’s supposed to have been plaguing the Ocean family for years. He’s also investigated not only Danny, but also the Ocean patriarch. One of the characters describes him as a Columbo type. And yet, James Corden is forty, fair, and baby faced. His look doesn’t remind me of Columbo, and neither does his manner. He doesn’t seem old enough to have tangled much with Debbie and Danny’s father. I guess technically at forty, he is old enough to have been working for about twenty years. Maybe he just looks young. I don’t know. I kept wondering if perhaps the part had been intended for someone else.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad Corden is in the movie. I’m a fan. (Gavin & Stacey is a staple at our house.) He’s fun to watch. He even managed to get the biggest laugh of the movie from our audience just by counting. It’s the script that seems weird here. It’s like they’re all talking about a different person than the one who appears on screen. Also, if he’s so familiar to everyone, why are we just now meeting him for the first time at the end of the movie? Maybe he should show up briefly closer to the beginning, or in one of Debbie’s flashbacks.

The writing of this last section of the film is conspicuously weak in general. We’re asked to be a very indulgent audience, and we’re in a pretty good mood, so we’re willing to play along, but we still notice that we’re doing the movie a favor. The John Frazier character works strictly deus ex machina. He shows up from nowhere to save the day and works strictly by method of having others swoop in to save the day for him. (Columbo doesn’t need that kind of help to rattle the bad guy.) You don’t often see a deus ex machina circle, and this one isn’t as fun as we might hope. It’s not that the Frazier part is unbearable to watch, but it’s hard not to see untapped potential in the character, which is frustrating.

The writing is just lazy in this final third of the caper. It’s like the writers got so excited about surprising us with what really happened that they forgot there has to be something for us to watch until we get to that reveal.

Daphne Kluger’s character arc becomes problematic in the same way. Just from the trailer, we know that there’s bound to be something surprising about the character, and the moment of, “Surprise!” is fun, but it could be done more artfully. (I’m not taking Anne Hathaway to task here. Her performance isn’t the issue. In fact, the movie only works as is because Hathaway really sells it. She makes the character compelling and the moment fun, but the way the story uses the character isn’t quite as satisfying as it could be.)

As I watched, I kept thinking, “Maybe Daphne Kluger is in on it, and she’s in a conspiracy with X, and then the girls’ scheme seems doomed to fail, but at the last minute, the Ocean’s boys show up and save them.” Then I realized, “No, that can’t happen. You can’t have the boys sweeping in to save the girls,” that undermines the whole female crew aspect. Then I thought, “But you could have the boys sweeping in as part of the girls’ plan the whole time kept secret from the audience.” But then I thought, “No, that would only show that star actresses couldn’t really carry a movie alone.” Then I thought, “But what if the girls sweep in and save themselves, showing either that they were one step ahead or that Kluger’s conspiracy was all part of their plan the whole time?” Then I started to get a head ache.

What I was privately scheming is inconsequential, of course, but I did leave the film with the feeling that something more should have happened. The ultimate use of Kluger is just lazy. That whole part of the film is lazy. It’s still fun to watch, and Anne Hathaway is a game delight and all. I just feel like the writing could have been better, and I also feel like the filmmakers must have realized that and just gone, “Eh.”

Overall:

I like the crew assembled in Ocean’s 8 enough to hope Ocean’s 9 and 10 are in the cards. Movies like this are so easy to watch. I would have watched more sequels featuring George and Brad and Matt and the guys, and to be honest, I’m even more drawn to the new female cast.

Is Ocean’s 8 the movie that will change your life? Absolutely not. But it does deliver everything it promises–Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and a heist. If that’s not enough for you, then nothing ever will be. You’re looking for something that can’t be found at a movie theater.

But if you want pleasant summer popcorn fare that showers you with sparkling wealth and never taxes, then go see Ocean’s 8. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty fun.

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