Movie Review: Ocean’s 8

“A ‘him’ gets noticed.  A ‘her’ gets ignored.”  To pull off the biggest heist of the century, you will need to be ignored. The “Ocean” series makes waves with an all-female ensemble spin-off: “Ocean’s 8.”

Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock, “Gravity“), Danny Ocean (George Clooney)’s sister, is released from prison after being incarcerated for five years for a con gone wrong. She waltzes out in a little black dress and scams her way into fancy cosmetics and clothes and a luxury hotel room – it’s a sleek little sequence.

Debbie reaches out to her former partner-in-crime, Lou (Cate Blanchett, “Thor: Ragnarok“). Together they put together a crew with special skills – fashion designer Rose (Helena Bonham-Carter, “The King’s Speech“), jeweler Amita (Mindy Kaling), hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna), pickpocket (Awkwafina), fence Tammy (Sarah Paulson).

The target is the Toussaint, a $150 million necklace at the world’s most prestigious fashion event in New York City, the Met Gala. The diamond necklace is currently stored in a Cartier underground vault. The plan is to get the necklace to be worn by a fashionable starlet and host of the star-studded event, Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway, “Interstellar“), and make the switch there before the necklace is returned to the vault after the event ends. Not only is it a tall order, it’s also an impossible one.

The crew needs to get to the starlet and have her agree to be dressed by the designer. The necklace needs to be seen in person in order to be scanned and cloned.  The security map of the building and seating charts need to be obtained and studied. Deception, infiltration, encounter, switcheroo and getaway need to be planned to the exact detail. Things could go sideways easily and they would all end up in jail.

The impossible mission in “Ocean’s 8” requires more than a suspension of disbelief and there are plodding moments in the setup. But situational comedy and cheeky interplay among the characters help a lot. The characters are a mix of low-key, cool, calculating, improvising, down-on-her-luck, ditzy and diva-ish. Hathaway is the highlight as she lampoons celebrity with her vainglorious portrayal.

Playing fast and loose and with dresses and jewels on display, it’s a glitzy ride. Not all the secrets and tricks are known and it’s a treat to see how they come together and the payoff is revealed.

A stylish, sassy heist, “Ocean’s 8” is a breezy treat for a girls night out or crime caper lovers.

Copyright (c) 2018. Nathalia Aryani.

Nathalia Aryani is a film columnist and has a movie blog, The MovieMaven (sdmoviemaven.blogspot.com). Twitter: @the_moviemaven. She can be reached at [email protected].