Friday, March 29, 2024

“Ocean’s 8”: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett Are Cool Thieves, And Anne Hathaway Steals the Show — Plus Rihanna is a Movie Star Now

Share

You can’t not like “Ocean’s 8.” It’s not possible. The cast is so perfectly full of the best people, and they just want to have fun: Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett anchor the plot of this caper comedy directed by Gary Ross, but it’s Anne Hathaway who steals the show, with Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, and James Corden punctuating the story with perfect supporting roles.

There’s even a cameo by Elliott Gould from the original “Ocean’s” movies but no other big stars like George Clooney or Matt Damon, even though they were rumored to be in it. (In fact, Clooney’s character seems to have been decisively removed for now from this iteration–his character is said to be dead.)

Warner Bros. knows they have a hit with “Ocean’s 8.” They threw a big old fashioned swanky premiere last night starting with a screening at Alice Tully Hall followed by a lavish party at the Metropolitan Museum’s Temple of Dendur. That’s because “Ocean’s 8” is also about stealing a $150 million Cartier necklace from the Met Ball. (Good product placement!)

Interesting: Anna Wintour is mentioned in the movie but is seen for a nano second. Maybe she was scared off by her disastrous involvement in “Zoolander 2.” But there has been almost zero of the expected synchronicity between the movie, Anna, Vogue and the Ball.

There are plenty of other fun cameos in “Ocean’s 8” and it’s worth staying for the closing credits to see all the people who play themselves at the movie’s re-staging of the Ball. Ross also used several “older” actresses from New York to play a pivotal plot point including Marlo Thomas, Dana Ivey, Elizabeth Ashley and Mary Louise Wilson.

But back to the party, where Rihanna wore Givenchy, Sarah Paulson was in all plastic Prada, Helena Bonham Carter, Bullock, and Blanchett were shining stars. Anne Hathaway’s dad, Gerry, was overcome with pride for Anne and thrilled for his MIA wife (Anne’s mom) Kate who’s getting raves in Cape May right now playing Erma Bombeck in a one woman show. Bonham-Carter told me her life has been a “nightmare” lately (divorce from director Tim Burton) but she’s back now–can’t wait to see her in more movies.

Bullock is the leader of the “Ocean’s 8” gang as Debbie Ocean, and she helped organize the movie. But when I congratulated her, she was so gracious to the “Ocean’s” original producer, the late Jerry Weintraub. “It’s all about Jerry, he did it,” she said. Sandy and Cate had a long confab, which is how I got the photo here. I asked Cate how she liked being head of the Cannes jury this year. “It was hard work,” she said. “But I think I had a great group on the jury.” Blanchett, who is Australian, has finally settled in the UK outside of London with husband Andrew Upton and her boys, after a year of globe trotting.

“Ocean’s 8” is going to be a big hit– we need it– it’s fun, refreshing, and cool. And there are just enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seats. Sequels– oh yes, we’ll have “Ocean’s 9” and “Ocean’s 10”– there is plenty of potential!

 

 

All photos c2018 Showbiz411

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
spot_img

Read more

In Other News