Sneakers meets The Sting

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 2002)

This is a fun movie, although intentionally more complex than it needs to be. I have a couple of questions. 1) Where is Basher (my favorite character) from? 2) Please explain the "Jethros", "Ella Fitzgerald", etc? What do these terms mean? 3) And this is the Most Important question: why doesn't someone teach Julia Roberts how to walk!? As in Pretty Woman, she looks like she's stepping over corn rows in the back forty.
Roberts is a wonderful actress when she doesn't have to play off of a male,and here there are eleven of them. Roberts is best when she can let her natural exuberance explode into the part, as in Erin B.
Plus, since I'm on the subject, Roberts doesn't have the flowing elegance and natural grace that Benedict would look for in a female accessory. She is not beautiful standing still and she spends the entire movie just hanging around.
Carl Reiner and Elliot Gould are perfect. So is Brad Pitt. But Pitt and Clooney are not the Newman and Redford of this generation. Brad Pitt holds up his end, but Clooney, like in all his films, is on cruise control. He exudes contentment, kind of a, "What the heck, I think I'll act" kind of presence. While this is great for his personal life, it costs him an acting edge.
But who cares? Viewers who buy into even the fantasy of someone robbing a Las Vegas casino forfeit their right to quibble. This is a great, fun movie. I watched it, I bought it, I enjoy it over and over (except for the parts where Roberts walks across the lobby). I just can't let it go!