Okay, okay, friends. Things have been tough lately. The news is disastrous and checking Facebook or Twitter is more likely to end in a fit of blinding rage than anything else. So it's time to get into some art that gives us a brief break from the awfulness that is the rest of the world. Which brings us to:
Guys. GUYS. We loved this movie so hard. We've seen it multiple times. It's become my new "happy place" when the stress of pre-production is trying to break me. To be honest, I've tried to write this post multiple times and every time it just turns into a nonsensical rant of love, so I'm going to do my best to dig into the ways that this movie works SO well without ranting.
Wish me luck.
Okay so the first thing that I have to talk about is Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean. One of my favorite character types is super-competent, and that could be said about any of the women in this movie. But hinging it around Debbie is key. Debbie Ocean is driven and smart as hell and my goodness does the woman have a plan. Debbie is the perfect balance of a character that is strong, capable, and ambitious without sacrificing a single bit of her femininity. From the opening scene, which is a delightful wink at the George Clooney version, it's clear that following this character is going to be an absolute blast.
One of our favorite things in the world is movies that show interesting, full female friendships. And this is a movie that is chock-full of them. I read someone that compared this movie to the Linklater hang-out films like Everybody Wants Some, and I think that's a fair comparison. The last trilogy was at least as much about how much fun it was to hang out with those guys, and they've done a great job of matching that in Oceans Eight. I loved these ladies. I wanted to hang out with them so badly. It felt like how I feel hanging out with my friends- intimate and casual, conversations ranging from our hopes and dreams to dating apps and pizza.
And pizza brings me to the next thing I loved. Throughout the movie, the characters eat, share food, pass bites of things they're eating around. It is incredibly, sadly, rare to see women eat like this in a movie without talking about their diets, what they can and can't eat, etc. It was so refreshing to see eating shown as a totally normal social activity among female friends the way I experience it.
And that doesn't even cover a tenth of what I liked about this movie. Rihanna and her genius little sister. Awkwafina and her metro card. Cate Blanchett's outfits (buy me every single one please). Anne Hathaway's merciless portrayal of every annoying internet opinion of her as an actress. THE SOUNDTRACK. Mindy Kaling's suuuuuper impressive tool cabinet. Helena Bonham Carter's outfits.
If you need a break from the awfulness of the news, or if (like us) pre-production has you laying on the floor like a moody teenager, give this movie a go. It's ladies stealing giant diamonds and having fun doing it. What else could you ask for?
Happy Watching!
CT
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