Fun, Fun, Fun

Rating: Null/10 (8 December 2001)

If you went into this flick believing it would be Oscar caliber writing, directing, acting, then maybe you should have waited a few more weeks to see something else. But, if you went into the theatre looking to watch cool Hollywood stars put on a cool movie where each and every one of them gets at least 1 or two memorable scenes/lines, then you exited the theatre with a big ol' smile on your face. Oceans 11 is fun, right from the very beginning when Danny Ocean is asked what he would do if he were released from prison right on through to the end. Clooney plays Danny Ocean as the straight up cool guy, the undisputed leader of the pack, who you yourself would follow into this caper just because the guy LOOKS like he knows what he is doing. Pitt is equally cool, suave, and kinda plays his character of Rusty as the old sage, even though he is obviously very young. You almost get the sense that while Clooney's character is the ring leader, the best thief/con-man, may in fact be Pitt and there is never, ever a moment where you feel like Pitt is in danger of losing anything.
Matt Damon does a good job as the youthful thief new to the big score (see the seventh gunslinger in the Magnificent Seven for a reference) and is given some good moments, especially with Barnie Mac. Cheadle, I thought, did a wonderful job as the British born, cockny accented thief, but the strange accent and the strange words used made it hard most of the time to pick out exactly what he was saying. Affleck and Cann are VERY funny as feuding brothers and have some of the funniest moments in the movie and rival only Carl Reiner as a movie stealer. Reiner is GREAT as the old Saul and brings is wonderful to watch on the screen.
Now, my only contention with this movie comes in the form of Julia Roberts. I understand she is in this movie because she is a huge star and she wants to come hang out with all these cool guys in Vegas. She seems like a very nice woman, even though she can come across as a little fake, but can anyone tell me they believe she really is a great actress? I mean, come on, she plays the SAME character, herself, in every movie, and in every movie it gets older and older. Now, I understand in this movie you are not looking for Lady McBeth, but can anyone really tell me she looks AMAZING? Lets face it, this role is designed for one thing, the glamourous, gorgeous woman who takes your breath away. Julia is a really cute soccer mom, not Grace Kelly re-born. The introductory scene of her coming down the steps? It looked like she was having a hard time walking in her shoes. All I could imagine was a Catherine Zeta-Jones or even a Michele Phiefer, graceful, glamourous woman who would take the audiences breath away walking down those stairs and, in the end, Julia just comes up FAR short. She doesn't ruin this movie by any means, but I guess I just have a hard time seeing the obsession with her.
But that being said, this is a fun movie. It never seems to sit still for too long, it blends all of the stars together nicely so you don't have that somewhat nagging feeling like, oh I wish so and so would have had a scene together. To me, this will forever be a modern version os The Sting. Is it laugh out loud funny? At points yes, but not all the way through. Is it tense and suspenseful? Yes, at certain times, but not all the way through? Is it cool and fun and well shot, well directed, and well acted? Absolutely, throughout the whole thing. Leave your mind and your cynicism at the door and enjoy just simply being entertained for a few hours.