Ocean’s 8 Parent Guide
ecycling past templates into This franchise reboot feels like a girl power party that exudes more marketing strategy than it does heist intrigue.
Parent Movie Review
Working the gender reversal theme, Ocean’s 8 attempts to make everything old new again by recycling past templates into a girl power party that exudes more marketing strategy than it does heist intrigue.
Remember Danny Ocean? He’s the kingpin of the original movie Ocean’s 11, played by Dean Martin and later George Clooney (Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 12 and Ocean’s 13). In this franchise sequel we meet his estranged sister, Debbie (Sandra Bullock), who is going to prove she has robbery – and revenge – in her genes.
Released from a roughly five year jail sentence, Debbie Ocean schmoozes her way through the parole interview saying she regrets her previous crime, was stupid to get involved with a con artist (Richard Armitage) and just wants to go home and pay her bills. But, on the way “home”, she shoplifts a wardrobe and fakes her way into a posh hotel for the night. The next day, she’s putting together a plan to steal a $150 million Cartier necklace off the neck of celebrity Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) at the uber-swanky annual Met Gala in New York City.
Turns out, she was making big plans during her jail time.
Her partner in crime is Lou (Cate Blanchett), who, assuming she really does have the chops to pull off a complicated theft, seems highly underemployed as a con watering down bottles of vodka while waiting for Ocean to show up in her life.
Now they need a team, and it’s here where we work through the usual checklist. Security cameras require a computer hacker: Nine Ball (Rihanna). Check! Someone needs to get close to Kluger… how about a fashion designer (Helena Bonham Carter). Check! Who has light enough fingers to nick the necklace? Pickpocketing skateboarder Constance (Awkwafina). Check! And how do we get the diamonds off the necklace and smuggled out from intense security detection? Gem cutter Amita (Mindy Kaling) joins the fray, along with a suburban mom named Tammy (Sarah Paulson) who has past experience fencing stolen goods. Check and double-check!
And yes, that only adds up to seven but trust me… there will be eight.
In case any teens are intrigued with this story of women swimming in a script replete with luxury brand product placements and way too much concern about nit-picky details, parents will want to note a few other issues—aside from the fact stealing jewels could have serious life consequences (none of which are portrayed in this movie). The fantastical story depicts a character smoking marijuana (an increasing trend in PG-13 movies), along with some verbal nods to pot use. There are profanities throughout, including a single and partial sexual expletive. And a brief sexual scene veers toward a Fifty Shades theme but, fortunately, ends quickly.
Offering some comedic moments, Ocean’s 8 flounders as an engaging and entertaining experience. The one “bad guy” isn’t really a focus for much of the movie. Half of the cast end up sitting around in a typical plan-the-job warehouse while the main players cook up the robbery. And just about when you think the film is coming to a rather early conclusion, James Corden appears as an insurance detective in what feels like an appendix bolted on to extend the run time.
Unlike the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, which featured intelligent women who didn’t have to act like men to prove their point, this franchise’s female redo attempts to demonstrate the “Anything he can do, she can do better” cliché. Such rhetoric hardly justifies their actions, nor does it add any depth to this amply-explored movie genre.
Directed by Gary Ross. Starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway. Running time: 110 minutes. Theatrical release June 8, 2018. Updated September 11, 2018
Ocean’s 8
Rating & Content Info
Why is Ocean’s 8 rated PG-13? Ocean’s 8 is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for language, drug use, and some suggestive content.
Violence:
Crime is glamorized throughout this movie, which is centered around a high stakes jewel heist. The theft is depicted in great detail. Other illegal activities depicted include conning and hustling, smuggling, lying, shoplifting, computer hacking, fencing stolen goods and framing an innocent person. A character threatens another with a knife and seeks revenge for past wrongs.
Sexual Content:
Female friends kiss and embrace. A couple is shown kissing passionately. A women in lingerie attempts to seduce a man: she is seen kissing him, straddling him and handcuffing him to the bed. Sexual relations between unmarried men and women are implied.
Artistic work depicts nudity. Some mild sexual references and innuendo are heard.
Profanity:
A sexual expletive is heard once, and implied in a text message. Scatological slang, mild profanity and terms of deity are used frequently. Racial slurs and anatomical slang are used infrequently.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Drinking is seen in a nightclub/bar, as well as in social and private settings. A character makes a toast. A woman smokes a joint (cannabis/marijuana), and other characters make references to possessing and using weed. A group of women add water to vodka, and one of them tastes the liquor.
Page last updated September 11, 2018
Ocean’s 8 Parents' Guide
Debbie comes from of family full of career criminals. She also believes that planning robberies is what she does best. Are these good reasons for her to continue to pursue illegal activities? Do you think there is any chance she will reform her behavior? Why does she reject the idea that just plotting the heist should be reward enough -- she doesn't really need to carry out the theft in order to feel satisfied?
Why do films about these kinds of illegal activities have such appeal to viewers? How does the script work to make these crooks feel like the good guys? How does it make them look clever? Why does their crime appear to hurt no one, except perhaps those who can afford the loss or deserve the pain? And in this particular case, how does having a female cast add sympathy to their actions?
Debbie manages to conscript a crew of accomplices without much difficulty. What vulnerabilities does she take advantage of in each of the other characters? How does greed, self-image and the promise of a quick solution to longtime problems motivate their cooperation? They gang also makes the observation that most women go unnoticed. How does this help their plan? Do you think the statement is true?
News About "Ocean’s 8"
Ocean's 8 stars Sandra Bullock, Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, and Awkwafina.
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Ocean’s 8 movie is September 11, 2018. Here are some details…
Special Features: A Heist in Heels - FeaturuetteOcean’s Team 3.0 - FeaturetteReimagining the Met Gala - FetauretteDeleted Scenes