I have written ad nauseam about how Hollywood doesn't take risks anymore. They essentially refuse to produce big budget summer movies that are wholly original. The "risks" that they do take still involve previous source material. Something along the lines of a King Arthur remake with Guy Ritchie at the helm. It's risky because no one actually gives a shit about King Arthur anymore. Budding screenwriters (like myself) aren't able to break into the industry with their specs anymore because Hollywood isn't buying. It used to be that if you thought high-concept, you'd have an easier time breaking in because it's something the studios could spend a ton of money on, but make even more money back. Now... (probably thanks to Marvel)... the only thing Hollywood trusts to make them money are movies that have a familiar name. I'm willing to bet that had the Jumanji "sequel" been titled Welcome to the Jungle, featuring the same cast, the same story (about four high schoolers being sucked into a video game and becoming the game's avatars), and removing the TWO Jumanji references... it would've made the same amount of money. But studios aren't concerned with telling original stories. They're concerned with making money. And they THINK the only thing that will make them any donuts will be movies with titles audiences recognize. I think Ocean's 8 could've been a really cool heist caper movie with an all-female cast. But that would take Hollywood's trust... and that's just not something they have for original material anymore. So, we've got a good script, a fun movie, and a great cast that has to make this movie their own and live up to the Ocean's franchise name. Because of this-- the movie succeeds in some aspects, but pales in comparison (a comparison that didn't have to be made) in others.
Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock)-- is Clooney's (Danny Ocean) sister. She's in prison and the film begins with her parole board hearing-- just like the first movie. She gets out of prison with a caper on her mind and puts together a team-- just like the first movie. Her team consists of Lou (Cate Blanchett), Amita (Mindy Kaling), Tammy (Sarah Paulson), Constance (Awkwafina), Nine Ball (Rhianna), and Rose (Helena Bonham-Carter). The mark-- a necklace of diamonds worth over 150 million dollars to be put on display around the neck of celebrity Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) at the annual Met Gala. The heist/con is not necessarily just about money for Debbie, but it involves an old love interest and some revenge she feels she needs to take. There's all the same beats for the first half of the movie. Debbie putting together the team. Each member showcasing their skills. The planning of the heist. The practicing of the heist. A few minor problems-- and then enacting the heist. However, where Ocean's 8 differs is that the movie doesn't end with the completion of the heist, which was a fresh touch and an added level of conflict to the film. Overall, Ocean's 8 is a fun caper that showcases some serious female talent and, I'm assuming, will get a better audience response than the all-female Ghostbusters (which I think is still a pretty great movie).
I have mixed feelings about Ocean's 8 in its entirety-- and a lot of these feelings stem from the fact that it's now an Ocean's film. I can't help but compare this one to the previous trilogy. What Steven Soderbergh did with his trilogy was craft a sleek and stylish caper with an assemblage of smart, yet individually unconventional characters. The reason we like these movies (or remember liking them) has to do with the writing. The dialogue is riddled with wit and quirk and has a certain tongue-and-cheek feel to it that makes the movie feel even sleeker than it is. The plans enacted (at least in the first movie) were ripe with twists and turns and were clever and inventive enough that the audience never saw the entirety of the schemes coming. Each character was given enough time that we felt like we knew them and were on board with their part of the heist. This is the reason Ocean's Eleven worked so well and Ocean's Twelve didn't. Ocean's 8 feels like a mix of the two. My biggest problem with the first half of the movie is that it just didn't feel as sleek as the other movies. There wasn't a lot of the wit in the dialogue or clever wordplay or idiosyncrasies that made each character unique and stand out from the others. Debbie is given enough time and the introduction of her character is brilliant. Blanchett gets almost enough time, but she's such a powerful (and gorgeous) screen presence it still didn't feel like enough. The rest of the group only get brief moments and it wasn't really made clear WHO they were as people and WHY (other than money) they signed up for the heist. I got almost nothing from Kaling's character. Rhianna's character was also very interesting, but we're thrust into her intro scenes just having to accept she is who she is. And Awkwafina-- an actress I was previously unfamiliar with-- was so compelling to me that I felt like I didn't know her at all, but really really wanted to. It's such a diverse and tremendous cast of women that almost all of them felt underused, even with its two hour run time.
Another "rule" the Ocean's movies generally adhere to is upping the stakes with unexpected conflict and if you've got a movie like this-- you have to stay ahead of your audience. We're expecting conflicts to arise during the planning stage as well as the enacting stage... but the clever solutions to these conflicts have to be inventive. The non-criminal average moviegoer shouldn't be able to come up with a simple solution to the problem, we should be happily surprised with how they figure out overcoming their unexpected obstacles. And Ocean's 8 never really does this. The obstacles that do arise are ones that don't seem like THAT big of a deal and the way they overcome them feel just a little bit lazy. Everything is almost just a little bit too easy for everyone (which, again, is a glaring problem with Ocean's Twelve). However, once the plan is put into motion, the fun really begins and there are some decent twists and turns and it becomes exciting and enjoyable. This is where the movie finds its strength. And while the "end" of the heist feels a tad anti-climactic, like I said... it's not the end of the story-- which I loved. By the end of the movie I was completely sold on the characters and [most of] their motivations. I personally would love to watch a few more movies with these characters. They all have a great chemistry together and there's not a lemon among them. Somehow, each of these strong actors come together to compliment one another, which is no easy feat.
I think my gripes with the film stem from the fact that I couldn't help but compare the movie to its predecessors. And there's the fact that it does feel kind of like an origin story and the first half of origin stories always falter. I think a sequel has the chance to be even better because we know a little bit more about these women and because of this we can dive into the fun a little earlier while spending some more time with each one to get more character depth. My final gripe-- and this is not really a spoiler since it's shown in the trailer-- is the fact that it's mentioned in the very opening shot of the movie that Clooney's Danny Ocean has died. For those of you sitting there expecting him to make a cameo at the end of the film, showing that he's faked his death or whatever are going to be sorely disappointed-- just as I was. Nope. According to this movie (and it may change if we get any sequels), Danny is actually dead. I didn't like it-- not because I just love me some Clooney and fully want him to be off somewhere spending his millions of dollars with his wife Julia Roberts and kids-- but because it served no purpose to the story. We get no explanation of how it happened or why it happened and the events of the film aren't changed or motivated by his death. It felt completely unnecessary and kind of just sucks when you think about how great of an ending Ocean's Thirteen had.
But I want more of these ladies. I want more of their capers on screen and I hope this movie makes the money it deserves. And-- this has nothing to do with the movie at all-- if they're planning on adding anymore female actors to the cast... PLEASE get Kate McKinnon on board. This is the perfect franchise for her and she deserves to be among these already great actors.
B
No comments:
Post a Comment