Movie Review – Ocean’s Eight (2018)

As Debbie is released from prison, she immediately contacts her good friend, Lou, with plans for a grand heist involving the annual Met Gala in New York City. Together, they bring together other women who each have an individual talent to assist in such a risky robbery: Amita, a jewelry maker who wants to break away from her family business; Nine Ball, a first-rate computer hacker who won’t tell anyone her real name; Constance, a sly street hustler and pickpocket; Tammy, a suburban mom who sells stolen goods on the side and Rose, a broke British fashion designer. With the help of a male art dealer who previously turned Debbie in to the police for art fraud, Debbie manipulates a popular young actress, Daphne Kluger, a co-host of the Met Gala, to attend the event wearing a $150 million Cartier necklace.

I’ve seen all three of the previous Ocean’s movies and enjoyed them, although I always had to discuss with my husband after the movies how all the characters came together to “pull off the greatest heist of all time”. This movie is similar in the way that I had to go back and think about each character and what part they played in the organization of their mission.

A common thread in all four movies is actor Elliot Gould, who plays Reuben Tiskoff, an old-time con artist who was friends with Danny and visits Debbie after she is released from prison.

I found the all-female leads refreshing and it adds a few twists and turns in the film. It also provides several actresses with very memorable performances, including Emmy winner Sarah Paulson, as Tammy, who lives an upper class lifestyle, simultaneously taking care of her school age children and trafficking stolen goods out of her spacious garage and singer Rihanna, who does a convincing job as a computer expert who can break into any network.

Since the yearly Met Gala draws A-List celebrities, there are many who are shown attending the glamorous event. Some of the cameos appearances add a positive experience to the movie, such as new bride Hailey BIEBER and rapper Common, while others detracted from the film and thankfully did not speak, just walked around wearing fancy clothes – I’m talking about you, Kim Kardashian-West and your two half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

Before this movie, I had never heard of Awkwafina, but she was good in Ocean’s Eight but even better as “Asian Ellen” in the hit summer movie, Crazy Rich Asians.

Since Ocean’s Eight is now available on DVD and streaming services, I  recommend watching it. I really enjoyed seeing all eight main actresses and the supporting actors, along with the beautiful costumes.

Five of the eight main characters planning the stealing of a $150 million necklace.