Ocean's Eleven

[KLAXXON]

On his release from prison Danny Ocean plans robberies of the three biggest casinos in Las Vegas, the owner of which just happens to be the new love-interest of Danny's ex-wife...




Now that director Steven Soderbergh has established himself as a Prestigious and Important American Director with his message films Erin Brockovich and Traffic, he can get back to making the same top-notch entertainments that we loved him for in the first place, like Out of Sight and The Limey.

Taking off on something (I believe) the late Vincent Canby once said, Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin (Ravenous and Best Laid Plans) set out to remake a bad movie for a change instead of a good one. The original 1960 Rat Pack flick Ocean's Eleven, directed by sixty-something Lewis Milestone was a plodding, boring mess that simply had Frank, Dino and Sammy posing a lot.

Instead of trying to create a new Rat Pack (or, God forbid, casting the Brat Pack of the 1980s), Soderbergh puts together a crackerjack cast of cool 21st century stars: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, and Julia Roberts in the same thankless girlfriend role that Angie Dickinson occupied in the original. Andy Garcia steps up, using some of his Godfather III tough-guy clout to play the all-powerful casino owner.

A very funny scene has Brad Pitt teaching a group of young Hollywood up-and-comers (mostly WB TV stars) how to play poker, with the up-and-comers all playing themselves: Holly Marie Combs, Topher Grace (also in Traffic), Joshua Jackson and others.

These stars seem to be enjoying themselves just as much as the original cast, but here the focus is on the heist and not the playtime. Soderbergh and Griffin concoct a doozy of a robbery, seemingly impossible with a new hitch around every corner. The cast, headed by Clooney, never loses its cool and never gives away a surprise beforehand (except for one minor one involving Julia Roberts and a cell phone).

After a severely rocky start that included the godawful Batman and Robin, Clooney has firmly established himself as a real movie star, embodying qualities that Cary Grant and Gary Cooper (maybe even a little John Wayne) had. He effortlessly steals the screen, making girls want to sleep with him and guys want to be him.

Thanks to Clooney, Soderbergh and Griffin, this Ocean's Eleven reveals a tight, well-oiled engine and proves a solid good time, though it doesn't seem quite as innovative or essential as Out of Sight or The Limey. Very much worth seeing.





A bright and breezy caper flick without any pretensions at all: no message, no hyperventilating action, no steamy sex ... just clever writing and a bit of mindless escapism.
Danny Ocean (Clooney) is just out of prison when he decides to stage an impossible heist, stealing some $150 million from three Vagas casinos. But his 11-man team start to worry when they discover Danny's ex (Roberts) is now seeing the casino owner (Garcia). Is this about the money ... or the girl?

Director Soderbergh and writer Griffin keep things witty and smart, adding flashes of style and humour in every scene, and letting the actors relax into their roles. There are no histrionics at all, no massive set pieces, just one quietly confident scene after another, punctuated with intelligent humour and starry glamour.

The standouts in the cast are easily Reiner (as a wheezy retiree drafted in from Florida to pose as a wheezy Eastern European zillionaire) and Gould (as a disbelieving casino oldtimer). The uncredited Cheadle also gets plenty of laughs with his ridiculous cockney twang, while Affleck and Caan provide goofy comic relief around the film's edges.

There isn't a plot twist you don't see coming a mile off, but it hardly matters as you won't be able to remember much of anything about this film 10 minutes after leaving the cinema. But sometimes it's wonderful to just switch off and smile for a couple of hours.











George Clooney ...  Danny Ocean
Cecelia Ann Birt ...  Board Member #1 (voice) (as CeCeLia Birt)
Paul L. Nolan ...  Board Member #2 (voice)
Carol Florence ...  Board Member #3 (voice)
Lori Galinski ...  Blackjack Dealer
Bernie Mac ...  Frank Catton
Brad Pitt ...  Rusty Ryan
Mark Gantt ...  Bartender
Timothy Paul Perez ...  Security Guard
Elliott Gould ...  Reuben Tishkoff
Frank Patton ...  Lockbox Carrier
Casey Affleck ...  Virgil Malloy
Scott Caan ...  Turk Malloy
Eddie Jemison ...  Livingston Dell
Jorge R. Hernandez ...  FBI Man #1




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