Queerbaiting, feminism, and other dimensions. Ocean’s 8 in review.
The film opens with the most charming of conns, Sandra Bullock, playing Debbie Ocean. The opening scene being her hearing is a nod to Oceans 11, which opens with a similar scene with Danny Ocean in the chair. Now finally free to set forth the mega-heist she has been planning through her five year imprisonment, struts down manhattans streets as we get beautiful drone shots of the cities castle-like architecture which so heavily contrasts what jail must have felt like to Debbie. Ginormous, beautiful, free and alive. Her talent shows itself abundantly and plainly as she fits in with the high dollar tourists of Manhattan, shopping bags in hand (full of stolen goods of course) and walking into a luxury hotel all using only her trickery while never even breaking a sweat or spending the $46 she left the prison with.
Her even more impressive power of manipulation shows itself when she convinces the second of the eight, Lou (played by Cate Blanchett) to join her in the magnificent heist. Lou is a con in a daughter-who-drank-her-moms-liquor way, running what looks like a basement operation in diluting vodka bottles with water. Both her attitude and extensive knowledge of Judge Judy episodes show her intense boredom, making her that much easier to manipulate when her old prison friend Debbie shoots her a text arranging a meet up time. Debbie and Lou’s scenes comes with what I hate to call queerbaiting so … lets call it screenwriter awareness of the potential of a queer / lesbian audience. The tone of their friendship seems to go far deeper than a platonic sense, which occasionally boarders on flirting. Nothing past a platonic relationship between the ladies is mentioned and to me this is too safe a play on appealing to both homo and homophobic audiences, it’s a lot of middle ground without being ‘too unsafe’.
I find it hard to explain exactly where I stand in the spectrum of anger when it comes to queerbaiting. Two female friends flirting and seeming into each other isn’t innately a screenwriting wrongdoing, what doesn’t sit well with me are those actions being written in to persuade me to pay to see the film (gay characters in mainstream / Hollywood film are still very rare) whereas maybe I wouldn’t have without the implications of queerness which ends up not being in the film anyway. Lucky for me queer subplots is not what made me want to see Oceans 8, but I can see why it wouldn’t sit well with other people in the LGBT community.
In the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art ( what most would consider Manhattans museum mile’s crowning jewel in itself) we are introduced to one of the few men of the film, a man that in a way starts off our whole plot. Claude Becker, a fraudulent art dealer, happens to be the reason Debbie Ocean ended up in prison five years ago which is well established as the reason she had the time to come up with her brilliant plan of thievery. A man being at the center of this powerful female cast was a bit off putting, but what kept me going was a hint of his ultimate demise when Debbie approaches him and pushes a shiv into his chest to threateningly cut off a button on his expensive suit. . This turns out to be a fairly tame approach, considering what his cowardice did to her. Pulling her into an art dealing con Debbie is the one who takes the fall when it all goes wrong. While she remained tight lipped after being caught by the feds, he sung like a canary placing all the blame on Debbie, who spent most of her following five years in a “peaceful” and fruitful solitary confinement.
Helena Bonham Carter joins the crew mostly from necessity. Her once thriving fashion line has plummeted drastically into an all grey all dull flight attendant line.
With a failing career and a horrid over spending habit, Rose Weil has been striped of her assets and owes $5 million to the IRS. Broke and bored, we have our second easy target. Helena’s first scene is hilarious, her throwing up, and the second is even better when we see her crying on the floor eating nutella. Her line “I’m going to go to prison and I’m going to be really poor” was one of my favorites from the film. While the actresses brings so much fragility to the character and really embodies the desperation and (once again) boredom, her accent was questionable at best throughout a lot of the film. It left me guessing … American…. No, Irish.. No, English … no, no I think she’s Irish. This was unexpected, as Helena has portrayed an Irish character before. Nonetheless Rose Weil was an amazing addition to Debbie and Lou that brought a needed vulnerability to the group. When counseling Rose, she asks the two if they are journalists, which appalls and offends Debbie and Lou equally, most likely sending daggers through the hearts of every journalist yearning for the approval of two cons or two actresses — I don’t think we will find that approval from either.
Mindy Kaling is found working at her mothers jewelry shop, clearly over experienced and over talented for the simple jeweling work she is doing there, Amita takes around 4 seconds to join the group of cons. Mindy Kaling is a constant surprise, her comedic style is so naturalistic it truly does not seem like she is ever trying to make you laugh. I do, though, practically at every line she delivers!
“Are there any hackers who aren’t Russian?”
“There’s no Russians that aren’t hackers.”
Rihanna plays nine ball, a non-Russian hacker whose character is just as cool and chill as the actress herself. She is the reason we all cover our computer cameras and refuse to check junk email. After watching a YouTube video on exactly what nine ball is doing in the film, I am confident that Rihanna did an amazing job making these not-so-natural-things look easy.
Finally, we get more information on Anne Hathaway’s character, Daphane Kluger where the character is just as famous as the actress who play’s her except with a horrible attitude I wouldn’t expect from Anne herself. She snaps at her assistant rudely in a way so aggressive it made me flinch in my seat. When it comes time for Rose to meet up with Daphne in hopes of being her stylist for the upcoming ever so prestigious and famous Met Gala, she is told by Debbie and Lou to seduce Daphne with indifference. I assume to a huge actress being ignored would demand respect and be, as Lou calls it in the film, an aphrodisiac. When the dinner meeting does happen, Debbie and Lou go to hilarious lengths to keep Rose distracted. As Daphne is charming and complimenting Rose (surely expecting the same back) Rose, resembling a puppy, stares out the window at the bubbles Lou and Debbie are blowing. I seriously don’t know how Rose doesn’t break out and laugh at this, an impossible task if you ask me. The sight of the oh-so-stoic Cate Blanchet and a stern Sandra Bullock in trench coats and sunglasses staring through the window is almost too much to handle. The method ends up working and Rose is set to style Daphne for the Met Gala so she can persuade the star to ware the large diamond necklace the ‘Jeanne Toussaint’. The plan begins to take shape magnificently!
Once again taking to the streets of New York we see a very normal sight, street performers. Taking to the streets of New York we see a very normal sight; street performers. One in particular is Awkwafina’s character, Constance who is playing a card trick on who is most likely a tourist (the easiest ones are always tourists). Her quick hands and stealth make her role in the operation obvious and necessary. She wins her ten-dollar bet and meets up with Debbie and Lou in a subway sandwich shop. Isn’t that where most important negotiations happen? Constance, and Awkwafina herself is an obvious New Yorker at heart. Smart mouthed, willing and bold with a great street style. Constance’s agreement to join the group happens quickly as she chooses the topping for her sub. Throughout Awkwafina’s performance I cannot help but be reminded of the comedic style of Nicole Randall, who plays Darrell in the famous MTV sketch “can I Have Your Number” which is actually one of my favorite sketches of all time! I am curious to see if anyone else picks up on this, as I haven’t read about it anywhere nor am I aware if the actress uses this as inspiration. You can and should find the sketch on YouTube.
My favorite scene happens when they need another member to join their team to work from the inside of the gala. While looking through options Lou suggests a MAN.
“What about him?”
“He’s a him”
“So? What’s wrong with a him?”
The reason Debbie gives, is that men always get noticed before women and for once being noticed would work against them. I like to think that Debbie just straight up did not want a man to join their ranks, an all women army ready to take on the MET. I rarely get to see this overwhelming woman love play out on screen, so when I do I revel in its solidarity and strength. Apparently (x) this is also Sandra Bullocks favorite scene in the film! All in all, I am a huge fan of the ‘no man’ rule.
Now we meet Tammy, a bored mother who is making dinner while simultaneously yelling at her son. She has a severe case of the mom ‘help me’ eyes, the ones that show the mother is so desperate to do something, anything at all. Good thing Debbie comes along! Obviously having a past friendship, Debbie calls Tammy when she is already in her garage waiting for her to come outside to talk. The garage is packed full with multiples of home wear and kitchen appliances — a perfect symbol for a housewife with too much time and money. This is where Debbie persuades Tammy to join the team of cons for a high dollar heist, the dollar amount being what officially wins Tammy over though I suspect it still has more to do with her boredom. Sarah Paulson is the perfect finishing touch to the groups of actress’s dynamics. She has certain darkness to her that contrasts her character beautifully, and has a contained rage that is so funny in the films settings!
With the magnificent assemblage of ladies finally together in one room, the heist (the biggest jewel heist in history apparently) is explained. Tammy will work with the Gala party planners to help leak inside info, Nine Ball will control security camera placement and monitor through them throughout the gala, Rose will make sure Daphne wears the Jeanne Toussaint, which Constance will swipe from her neck after Lou poisons the actresses soup with something that will send Daphne running to the bathroom where Constance will be waiting. The necklace will then be passed off to Amita who will deconstruct it carefully then it will be distributed amongst the eight women and a fake necklace which Tammy will have under her dress, will be put in its place to buy them all enough time to leave the building.
We are reminded of Debbie’s brother quite a few times through the film and are lead to question the legitimacy of his demise. In one such instance, Constance approaches Debbie;
“That’s your brother? He’s hot! You sure he’s dead?”
“No”
This deadpan delivery is as hilarious as the audacious question itself and makes for a great moment between the two actresses who bounce off each other perfectly.
Tammy introduces a bazaar machine that still leaves me baffled. This reaches a level of far-fetched-beyond-belief that loses important realism points for me. However, Technology and its advancement constantly shock me, so I think I may be alone in this. It balances in the middle of too convenient and frighteningly realistic. The machine, called a zirconium machine, partners with a pair of glasses which are used to make a code if whatever it see’s which then transfers to the zirconium machine so that it can print out a 3D copy from this code into a tangible zirconium object. They plan to use this to make a fake Jeanne Toussaint.
Mindy and Helena make a great pair of actresses! the balance they give each other is amazing and their style contrast is so extreme that it’s seriously impossible not to laugh at. Rose and Amita are meeting with Cartier to make a deal in order to loan out the Jeanne Toussaint. Amita acts as a negotiation partner for the stylist and her humor is so naturalistic it makes me wonder if Mindy was following a script or improving! Helena’s French is fluent and natural (far more so than the Irish accent she half uses throughout the film) and impressive for both the film watcher and characters in the scene.
Once they are downstairs and viewing the necklace in its vault — come on, no heist movie is complete without one — the glasses used for the zirconium machine can not connect to Wi-Fi and the women have to think of a way to get the Cartier workers to take the necklace out of its vault and upstairs for viewing. There is no reason as to why their chosen tactic hit me in the funny bone the way it did, but it almost hurt. Rose, stoic looks up to the ceiling “I must have the sun” to which Amita repeats “she must have the sun!” The moment practically left me breathless along with Rose’s final complete deadpan in extreme close up “I’m done” after successfully scanning the glasses which are printed from the zirconium machine.
As Rose has her first fitting with Daphne (with a paperclip replacement of the real diamond necklace), things are not going smoothly. Staring at herself in the full length mirror, Daphne begins to back out from wearing the ginormous diamond necklace “I look huge. I look huge! Ilookhuge Ilookhuge Ilookhuge!” Daphne’s breakdown is genuinely heartbreaking as I imagine every other actress having the same exact one at fittings for big events. What makes it even worse is Anne Hathaway really was self-conscious of her body at the time, having said in an interview for the film that she felt uncomfortable with her bodies change after giving birth to her baby. The importance and pressure we as a society put on females bodies inevitably breaks their mind and soul in a way, their perception of themselves ever changing and completely reliant on the mass consumers of their industry, an audience. The tone of the scene is lightened with Roses (and Helena’s, by default) over-acting in telling her that only her beautiful elegant neck could grace that of the Jeanne Toussaint. This tactic proves enough to keep the plan in motion.
In the MET museum, Debbie and Tammy visit to cause enough trouble to check MET’s security system and team. Next to the famous image, Washington Crosses the Delaware, Debbie plants a faux Banksy piece which is a smaller version of the same painting except this time all the characters in the painting are women, a stark contrast with the original testosterone filled painting. I absolutely adore the symbolism of this! Females bringing themselves representation and showing their power in absolutely any way we can. I also like to think that this piece is a nod to Oceans 11 all male cast.
Upon the day of the Met Gala, the Jeanne Toussaint necklace leaves its Cartier vaulted home, the same security man that protects the pope accompanies it. Daphne practically has an orgasm when the six pound string of diamonds is placed on her neck, whispering to herself in the mirror “lucky you.” Debbie prepares in a bathroom in central park, which is just outside the front doors of the Museum and gives a brilliant mock speech, which greatly resembles that of an academy award-winning actress giving her speech “whatever happens tonight I want you to remember one thing, You aren’t doing this for me. You are not doing this for you. Somewhere out there is an eight-year-old girl lying in bed dreaming of being a criminal. Let’s do this for her.”
Entering the Gala, both Daphne and Rose look beautiful, I was shocked to see the stylist out dress the actress but this is Helena Bonham Carter after all and according to the director of the film, the actresses practically dressed themselves and lead the design ideas for their Met attire. Cameos range from Serena Williams to Kim Kardashian with a lot more famous faces in the crowd, further blurring the lines between film and reality in a stunning way. Nine ball situates herself in a street meat truck across from the Met, and the imagery of Rihanna in a meat truck will stick with me forever. Her complete badassery deepens when she monitors the MET through hacking the cam’s as she paints her toenails!
In the Met, Daphne is now eating her poisoned soup, apologizing for it of course since apparently women are not suppose to eat let alone enjoy their food with vigor. Sitting beside her is her date Claude Becker, the man behind Debbie’s jail sentence. Constance swipes the diamonds off Daphne’s neck swiftly as she pukes into the bathroom toilet, all the while Debbie stands in perfect camera shot the whole night as to not be blamed for the theft of the necklace. Seeing Amita’s jeweler set up in the kitchen bathroom made for a hilarious set piece, and watching her work whilst sitting on a toilet was even better. When the chaos quickly commends Claude panics and immediately states that he never left the table, earning an eye roll from Daphne and everyone in the cinema. Eventually the search for the necklace or a culprit ends when Tammy quietly pulls the fake necklace off from around her thigh and throws it into a mote which protects mannequins baring real ancient jewelry. All eight ladies leave the MET with little pieces of the beautiful necklace hidden on their person, looking victorious and proud. They all look passed celebrity and are more akin to royalty. Rihanna’s dress is the only one that is slightly underwhelming as it would be impossible for nine ball to live up to the actress who played her.
It only takes one inspection for the Cartier team to realize that the necklace is a zirconium fake replacement. James Cordon basically plays an insurance man version of himself, he does his detective work in as goofy as a manner as you’d expect from the late night host. At the ball, Debbie plants a diamond on Claude and when she is grilled by John (James Cordon) she tells him this, who willingly follows suit after being promised photographic evidence as reasonable cause.
While all eight of the ladies are sitting around, anxious about the investigation, in what could be considered their clubhouse, Daphne enters frame! Revealing that she knew what was going on all along (through Rose’s over acting, as mentioned before) and followed the obvious steps as to black mail them and get a cut of the cash, well, that’s not the only reason. “I don’t have many close female friendships and book clubs are the worst!” This line hit me hard, the tough mean Daphne Cruger becoming a criminal just to gain a group of friends. Honestly, to be friends with these ladies I would go to the same lengths.
The con ends up successful and Claude is turned over to the police as the culprit. Justice, in the American since, is served. The way the women spend their huge cuts of the money is interesting, unique and telling for each character. Rose opens her own shop full of her new designs, and hopefully pays her millions worth in back taxes that got her involved with the cons in the first place. Tammy buys a warehouse; honestly I’m pretty confused as to why… I guess she just needed a bigger garage. Amita travels to Paris to live out a pretty typical Mindy Kaling romantic fantasy. Nine ball opens a self titled bar, a little Smokey joint she plays pool in. Constance buys a huge studio with high ceilings and joins a co-op. And my personal favorite choice, Daphne Cruger directs a film! Which makes me think that maybe that’s what she wanted all along, only did not have the abundant money needed to direct a film with a full set, big beautiful camera and green screen. Lou takes off on her motorcycle down the beautiful pacific coast highway. What Debbie does with her money is a mystery, as the film ends with her visiting Dannie’s marble grave. I was so worried he would pop out of that grave, proving he had fooled everyone into thinking he was dead to avoid someone or something. This would have killed the sprit of the whole film for me, and taken attention from the women who made it incredible, thankfully that that didn’t happen.
The films upbeat and energetic soundtrack was a perfect choice and beautifully intertwined with its perfectly paced editing. There were absolutely no throw away scenes or moments worthy of pushing fast forward. The film forced me to think about a lot of important things, most importantly the way our society fetishizes social class, jewels and wealth. The Met Ball theme was all about jewels and centered on old British royalty, it showcased the different luxurious diamonds ruby’s and emeralds of the royals. The Jeanne Toussaint necklace had swat team looking security, so much importance was placed on these gems you would think they had a pulse. This is further shown with the way everyone drools over the necklace around Daphne’s neck, even her reaction upon wearing it was is if she become a bigger better type of person once it was on. There is something melancholy about this view of America, though, it is perfectly accurate. This film also fits into a new story trend, which is ‘ bored woman is so bored and under appreciated she turns to a life of crime’ at least that’s how I would pitch it. It follows suit of NBC’s “Good Girls”, which has this theme on a much smaller scale. I don’t mean to compete female stories against each other, rather point out story trends that seem obvious. I think this narrative is a reliable one, especially when you dig under surface layer. More than just reflections of females on our plane of existence think of characters you see in TV or in films as other dimensional beings in our screens rather than actors. They are bored! They are bored with what they are being assigned to do by the writers who control them and are ready to break out of their society norms. Rather than being on a steady rotation of husbands, kids, dinners and debt female characters are slowly (very slowly) starting to come in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and with different disorders, different motives, thoughts, coping mechanisms, evil tendencies, social standing, desires.
I truly hope this film shows the true power (I mean all kinds of power here but lets talk selling power, as that’s sadly what gets movies made) of a fully female cast and a well-written story with diverse characters. Maybe even next time, we will get a full female cast with an original story line, rather than a spin off. No matter how enjoyable they have been, there are so many stories wanting and needing to be made! Hopefully and happily, we set forth never to look back on the days of a stiff story and perspective benefiting its male audience alone.
