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Stars: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner, Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, Eddie Jemison and Shaobo Qin.
Director is Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter is Ted Griffin
Music by David Holmes
Warner Brothers
Running Time is one hour and 55 minutes
Rating is PG 13 for violence, sexual situations and language
Website is: www.oceans11.net

The remake of Ocean's 11 has as much sparkle as yesterday's parade glitter. George Clooney and his cast mates have gotten themselves into a high tech score movie that just falls in line with those that came before The Score, The Heist, etc. To make it simple, rent the original with Frank Sinatra and enjoy his Rat Pack, of Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., Angie Dickinson and Joey Bishop.

Ocean's 11 concerns the adventures of one, Danny Ocean (Clooney from O Brother, Where Art Thou) who is fresh from prison and planning to rob three Vegas casinos on one night. He pulls together ten men and they start planning. Each member of the group has a story, but we have so little time to perceive them, they are not worth mentioning. The cast is certainly all-star, there is Matt Damon (The Legend of Bagger Vance), Andy Garcia (The Godfather Part III), Brad Pitt (Spy Game), Julia Roberts (The Mexican), Casey Affleck (To Die For), Scott Caan (Novocaine), Don Cheadle (Traffic), Elliott Gould (television's Friends), Bernie Mac (television's The Bernie Mac Show), Carl Reiner (everyone knows who he is), Eddie Jemison (The Relic) and newcomer Shaobo Qin.

Ocean's 11 has glitz (the Las Vegas strip) and glamour (a boxing match with Hollywood stars at ringside), but director Steven Soderbergh runs this film like a cross between Mission Impossible and Hogan's Heroes. The gang is after $160 million, give or take a few cents. Just when you think something has happened to stop the master plan, the audience discovers this obstacle has been paid off and is in on the plan. It happens once too often. At this rate, there won't be any loot left for vacationing in the Bahamas. Julia Roberts' character was married to Clooney and is now dating Garcia. So much for the love story. She is supposed to be either an art dealer or art museum curator, we never figure out which, and stands by a painting looking pensive. The lighting on her is shoddy. The rest of the time, we see explosives being placed, people being distracted, Clooney looking tired and Carl Reiner trying not to sweat. The only interesting parts are the interplay between Caan and Affleck as two brothers in arrested development and Andy Garcia as he wears his best Godfather Part III demeanor. (Will Part IV ever be made?) There are a few one-liners in Ocean's 11 that are tossed off like discarded wrappers. Different ending than original film and this one begs for a sequel. Yawn.

Copyright 2001 Marie Asner 12/16/2001