A Testosterone-Heavy Good Time

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2002)

A very obvious plot flaw towards the end concerning the lone female cast member almost sinks this lighthearted remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film concerning a simultaneous heist of three Vegas casinos. The fact that the flaw could have easily been corrected makes it all the more disconcerting and you leave the movie shaking your head. But ultimately the memory of the geniality of the project wins you over. It's definitely minor Steven Soderbergh but that's the point: after the seriousness of both `Traffic' and `Erin Brockovich' this must have been a welcome relief and he has a lot fun letting his actors indulge their hipness quotient. The large cast does just that, with George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts among others preferring to underplay rather than ham it up (although the always-welcome Carl Reiner has some very juicy scenes impersonating a Russian). Soderbergh revels in the testosterone heaviness of his film--there are some shots of backlit Vegas fountains exploding that would seem almost silly if they weren't tinged with the bit of melancholy that occurs after orgasm. All in all, a good way for Soderbergh to recharge his batteries.