Ocean's 8

Ocean's 8

Starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter

Directed by Gary Ross

The Story:
After spending five years, eight months, and twelve days in prison for planning a heist, Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) convinces the parole board that she's a changed woman, and is free to plan the heist of the century.  With her longtime partner in crime Lou (Cate Blanchett), Debbie plans on robbing the Met Gala - or specifically, a $150,000,000 Cartier necklace on the neck of famed actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway).

To pull it off, Debbie and Lou find five other women with specific skill sets: Amita (Mindy Kaling), who's a jewelry maker; Tammy (Sarah Paulson), who worked with Debbie in the past and now spends time selling stolen merchandise from her suburban home; Constance (Awkwafina), who's a street-smart street hustler and pickpocket; Nine Ball (Rihanna), who's skilled with computer hacking; and Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), a disgraced fashion designer who serves as the team's ticket to get close to Daphne.  Together, the women hatch a plan so outlandish and so over-the-top, it just has to work - after all, it's in Debbie's blood.

The Synopsis:
Many people don't know this, but the original "Ocean's 11" debuted back in 1960, starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.  The films people remember are the trio of Steven Soderbergh-directed films starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, and it's from this lineage "Ocean's 8" comes from, as this time the criminals are women, led by Danny Ocean's sister Debbie, played by Sandra Bullock.

While Soderbergh served as a producer, it's "The Hunger Games" and "Pleasantville" director Gary Ross in the chair, and even though he draws heavy inspiration from Soderbergh, he's no Soderbergh.  Yes, the film still has glimmers of the now-classic trilogy, but there's a certain unexplained polish that the trilogy had that this one is missing.  I can't put my finger on what it is, but it prevents the film from joining the ranks of its predecessors while yet maintaining enough charm, charisma, and entertainment to keep it from becoming an utter failure.

It's on the shoulders of Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock where the brunt of the film must be held, and thankfully she accomplishes this feat and makes it as simple as putting on a pair of socks.  She's easily believable as Danny Ocean's sister, especially due to her real-life work with George Clooney in the past (they both appeared in "Gravity," and have been close friends for years).  Even though Clooney doesn't appear in the film (a downside to the film occurs when we find out what happened to Danny after "Ocean's Thirteen"), his spirit still lingers large in Debbie's eyes, as she sets out to find the perfect cast of femme fatales to make the heist of the century happen.

Unfortunately, a main issue with the film lies in the lack of character development for any of Debbie's accomplices (even Debbie doesn't have a lot of backstory, which might be due to showcasing her as a blank slate where you don't know where she's coming from most of the time).  While the actresses gel extremely well together, they're not given enough time to shine on their own, and with the exception of Rihanna, I can't even remember their characters' names.

Cate Blanchett does admirably as Debbie's second-in-command Lou, but the only thing we know about her is that she loves riding motorcycles and is rather tomboy-ish.  Mindy Kaling is an expert jeweler and doesn't want to live with her mother anymore, but apart from that we don't find out anything else about her.  Television darling Sarah Paulson has some major screen time, but all we know about her character is that she used to work with Debbie but quit to move to suburbia, where she still sells stolen merchandise out of her garage (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense because she literally has a huge garage filled with merchandise that her family somehow doesn't know about).  Actress and musician Awkwafina is a streetwise hustler, but other than having fast hands we know very little about her, and the same goes for Rihanna, who's name is only remembered because Debbie keeps repeating it, and all she does is work with computers and is knowledgeable about hacking them.  Then there's Helena Bonham Carter, who plays to her strength as an eccentric woman who's a down-and-out former fashion designer who showcases her own unique style.

Anne Hathaway steals the show (pun intended) as Daphne Kluger, an actress who serves as the host of the Gala and the ultimate mark by Debbie.  Having to play an actress, Hathaway brilliantly blends the stereotypes you imagine from an actress - she can be a total snob, a girly girl, and even show moments of insecurity in a way that doesn't ham it up too much, but just enough to make her endearing.

As the weeks go by until the big heist, the girls work together to make sure everything goes off without a hitch, and the resulting crime proves their prowess, but also makes it seem all too easy.  There's no big moments of breath-holding tension you found in the other "Ocean's" movies, yet it's still interesting enough to see how all their planning come to fruition.  Plus - being a true "Ocean's" movie - there's plenty of sleight-of-hand and cons within cons that will still keep you riveted enough due to the controlled spontaneous moments the women use to keep even each other on their toes to keep you entertained throughout.  Not to mention the pure pedigree of the actresses chosen to play the part, which is pure casting genius.

Many people wondered why this film was made in the first place, and felt like it was rather unnecessary (much like the all-female led "Ghostbusters" last year, which I personally found entertaining).  Personally, I don't have a problem with an all-female cast, as long as it's done right - and "Ocean's 8" is done right in the sense that I wanted to see more from the actresses than what they were given, instead of wishing it would just end.  Not to mention it's interesting to see how this many women can work well together, because everyone knows it's difficult for women to work well together at all.  Plus the film delves into the differences between how men and women are seen, especially when Lou wants to recruit men.  Debbie tells her that "a 'him' gets noticed, a 'her' gets ignored.  And for once, we want to be ignored."  For the type of heist they're planning, Debbie is exactly right - a group of men trying to steal a necklace at the Met Gala would be something noticed by people, but a group of women would be able to be more inconspicuous.  Fortunately for the viewer, these women won't be ignored, resulting in a fun heist caper with flaws, but an overall enjoyable time.

The Summary:
Proving that women can do anything men can do, "Ocean's 8" is a fine addition to the "Ocean's" franchise featuring some of today's most prolific female actors, musicians, and comediennes as they come together to embark on a fun heist.

The Score: A