Somewhere in the bowels of teen movies, comic book remakes, gross out films, and sequels of the past few years, it appears that one simple fact has been mostly forgotten in movie making.  Movies are supposed to be fun, and can be so, while also telling a story that is interesting.  Oceans Eleven is a swaggering, smart, hip and slick remake of the Rat Pack heist movie from the 50’s, and director Steven Soderbergh kept the most important thing from that movie, the attitude, while incorporating a spirit of playful confidence with a simple plot, and a script that is rapid fire intelligent and so cool, that most will barely feel worthy to absorb the words.  Soderbergh continues to show his diversity, yet consistency in his work.  Save a small stumble at the conclusion, this was a near perfect example of how things should be done.

There is a certain prevailing atmosphere that the city of Las Vegas exudes, one of cockiness, braggadocio and confidence.  Rarely do films that use it as a backdrop, also contain this spirit, and only someone who has lived there can truly understand it, until now.  This film captures it to a tee.  The story is actually quite simple, but it is the details, the words, the characters and the little things that make this film a gem.  Danny Ocean is paroled from a New Jersey prison, and sets out, Blues Brothers style, to rebuild his old acquaintances for a common purpose.  The best of which is done in one of the movies many memorable moments, when Pitt is shown teaching cards to a group of Gen-X actors (I couldn’t name them all, but I recognized the faces). The group is formed to pull off the impossible, a “smash and grab” theft of money from 3 Las Vegas casinos, in a method much more creative and unique than its predecessor.  There are, of course, underlying factors, one actually, that I will leave for the film to reveal, since its part of the enjoyment, suffice to say it involves casino mogul Andy Garcia, who bears more than an inferred similarity to real life casino mogul Steve Wynn. There so many wonderful things, big and small, that I could go on and on about them, but watch just about everything Bernie Mac does, Don Cheadle as well, and listen to most of Pitt’s dialogue.  Soderbergh takes a story idea that other directors would have botched with multiple ideas, and instead shrugs off implausibility and realism, in some cases, in favor of a calm, confidant air of “so what, just go with it”, rarely even giving us time to question before the next cool thing happens and we become caught up in the coolness once again.  The plot becomes secondary to the dialogue and attitude of the characters, but neither is ever forgotten about, but instead balanced in mood in and complex simplicity. He has proven that he can handle obviously heavier works, but here, he’s just having fun, while still maintaining his stylistic touches and mood.  He, and writer Ted Griffin have simplified the complex, and complicating the simple, without losing the audience in the transition.  The unbelievable seems plausible in this hip alternate universe of all that is cool, where the lines of good and bad are blurred.  This is a world we all secretly fantasize about being a part of, and personally, it instilled a bit of swagger and confidence in my step, just knowing that these people, and situations, could even remotely exist.   By keeping things simple, and letting the characters and dialogue carry things along, as it should be.

In a movie with an ensemble cast, there is a fear of underdevelopment or lack of sufficient screen time, but here, Soderbergh pulls off the near impossible.  Every character, save Roberts I guess, is given the time and importance required, the complexity is given to the characters rather than the story, but still not crowding things as to over emphasize one thing, or steal from another. Obviously, amidst the mass amount of talent, the focus lies on Clooney, he has apparently slipped into his role in Hollywood as the cocky, confidant, yet still charming and appealing, obviously good looking leading man.  My problem with him early on, was that he suffered a similar mindset that befell Tom Cruise during his cutesy days.  He would be onscreen, knowing his good looking, whether his character was supposed to be or not.  Now, he’s taking roles, where the character requires that kind of confidence, and he is a natural at it, but his roles are not fluff, they are complex and deep, but that is all buried in the charm and wit that Clooney so effortlessly exudes. The best of the supporting lot is Pitt, hearkening back to his Fight Club attitude sans violence.  He and Clooney’s chemistry in their scenes, including a memorable exchange involving the plan, is near perfection.  Also standing above and beyond the rest is Mac, as a fast-talking dealer, Cheadle as a British explosives expert who may or may not have a screw loose, and Affleck and Caan, as bickering brothers who also have several memorable exchanges.  In a cast this large, it is nearly unimaginable that all of its stars could shine, but here, for the most part, they actually do.  Roberts’s role is the most understated, but still exists just as much as it needed to, as most of this movie does. 

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