Ocean’s Eleven Parent Guide

Parent Movie Review
by Kerry Bennett

In the original 1960s Ocean’s Eleven, Frank Sinatra heads a group of former World War II squadron buddies on a New Year’s Eve raid of five Las Vegas casinos. Forty years later, George Clooney retools Sinatra’s role as Danny Ocean and once again heads for the bright lights of the Nevada hotspot. Fresh out of prison, he skips his parole order to stay in New Jersey, and hops across the country soliciting some skillful con artists to help him pilfer an easy 100 million plus. In this version, the aim is the highly secured underground vault of casino owner Harry Benedict (Andy Garcia), where the cash from his three profitable betting establishments is carefully tucked away.

With two weeks to perfect their plan, Ocean and his eleven accomplices swoop down on the unsuspecting desert town and begin rehearsing for their big event.

However, the plot becomes more complicated when Ocean’s ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts) shows up on the arm of the targeted gambling operator. Eager to win her back, Ocean plays a fine line between rekindling the romance and putting the entire heist (and his fellow felons) in jeopardy.

Like the first film that showcased actors Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford, this remake has netted a slew of big Hollywood names. Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle join the cast along with veteran actors Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner. While the star-studded cast may pull moviegoers into theaters, the basic movie premise remains the same—common crooks trying to stack the odds in their favor.

Clooney and his famous-faced gang may have hastened the pace, cut out the singing, and upped the ante in this high-tech re-creation of Sinatra’s film, but parents may be concerned with the heavy use of alcohol, two extreme sexual profanities, an obscene hand gesture and a pornographic picture. Less obvious, but equally troubling is the unrepentant attitude of the main character, and the light-fingered habits of his conspirators. Families wary of glorified thieves and liars may still want to steer clear of sailing on this ocean adventure.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts. Running time: 116 minutes. Theatrical release December 7, 2001. Updated August 17, 2017

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.

Ocean’s Eleven
Rating & Content Info

Why is Ocean’s Eleven rated PG-13? Ocean’s Eleven is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some language and sexual content.

Overall: C-

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia head the cast of “A” list actors in this remake of the 1960’s film, Ocean’s Eleven. While the times may have changed, the common theme of glorified thievery and heavy social drinking has not. The use of extreme sexual profanities is also included.

Violence: C-

Comments made about man’s past crimes. Character lies about drinking and disobeys parole orders. Characters discuss unlawful exchange of money. Characters steal items from office. Man smashes character’s toy. Characters discuss plans for armed robbery. Men argue briefly on several occasions. Character forcefully squeezes another’s hand. Man threatened. Couple argues briefly in public. Scene of building being demolished shown on TV screen. Characters steal items from people and buildings on numerous occasions. Man’s hand slammed in van door. Character punched in face. Characters fall several feet onto cement floor. Woman pushed roughly and knocked down. Commotion takes place at sporting event and in casino. Fight heard but not seen. Characters use explosives—explosions depicted in several scenes. Men knocked out and tied up. Character’s hand caught in hole near explosives. Character appears to die from heart attack. Gunfire and yelling heard. Armed men surround vehicle and fire shots.

Sexual Content: C-

Woman shown in low cut T-shirt. Strippers dance lewdly in background of some scenes. Man shown with bare chest, boxers and robe. Man comments on dating dead man’s widow. Frontal nudity of female statue shown briefly. Waitress shown in flimsy transparent outfit (with black tape across breasts). To incite jealousy, character flirts with woman and strokes her hand. Man pecks woman on cheek. Man covers genital area with hand during explosion. Picture shown of nude woman with hands covering part of her breasts.

Language: D

At least: 2 extreme sexual profanities, 1 obscene sexual hand gesture, 1 crude sexual term, 10 moderate profanities, 12 mild profanities, and 11 terms of Deity used as expletives. Name-calling and some racial comments also used.

Alcohol / Drug Use: C

Throughout film, characters shown drinking in bars, homes, hotel rooms, and at social gatherings. Character drinks after argument. Large assortment of liquor shown at house party. Man references vodka. Several characters smoke repeatedly. At least two characters shown smoking cigars.

Miscellaneous:

Character covered in what appears to be raw sewage.

Page last updated August 17, 2017