Shallow Ocean

I’m not a great fan of the “Ocean” franchise (not even the original), but I have enjoyed them. So I was looking forward to Ocean's 8 (2018). It was all right, I guess.

It starts with America’s Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock, getting out of prison. She immediately does a little shoplifting and hotel room scamming, so you can tell she’s not planning to go straight. She goes to her prison pal Cate Blanchett  - looking deliciously butch. The target is a Cartier necklace, and they will need 7 women...

First they get Helena Benham Carter, a ditzy fashion designer with a punk/baroque Vivienne Westwood vibe and serious money problems. They would position her to dress actress Anne Hathaway for the Met Gala - and get Cartier to loan them the necklace. Then they’d need jeweler Mindy Kaling , punk hacker Rhiannon, pickpocket Awkwafina, and suburban mom and fence Sarah Paulson. The plan is to slip Hathaway some barf drops and switch the necklace for a fake while she is in the toilet (the only place not covered by cameras).

Of course, it turns out the job isn’t about the job - it’s about Bullock getting revenge on Richard Armitage, who let her take the fall for a heist that they committed together. So, we have all the ingredients that made the original series. The Met Gala stands in for the glitzy casinos, the team of larcenous, lovable buddies are there, and there are always a few twists to the heist plot.

But I came away kind of underwhelmed. I think I missed the improvised (I guess) banter between the old 11/12/13 crew. Maybe Steven Soderbergh is just a better director than Gary Rosss. On the other hand, it was nice to get cameos from Elliot Gould and Shaobo Qin, but neither was really necessary - I didn’t think, thank God, one of the men.

And Danny Ocean? Why, he’s dead - they go to his tomb and everything.