Ocean's 12 (2004)
Note: Spoilers galore.
If the first film, 2001's "Ocean's
11," was mainly a film about stylized cool, then this
sequel is a film about stylized cool with a shitload
of fun thrown in. It's hard not to be delighted by
a film that just wants to have a ton of fun and include
the audience on it. Of course, if you're not into
pop culture, then there may be very little to like
here.
A knowledge of the first film is
quite helpful as the piece picks three years after
the original in which the plethora of stars that abound
here have, as highly trained criminals, rob three
casinos of 160 million dollars. In this film, the
owner of the casinos, played by Andy Garcia who, thankfully,
has a lesser role here, comes after the thieves and
expects his money to be returned. What ensues is an
elaborate cat and mouse game that frankly makes very
little sense, but who cares, we are here to have fun.
And fun we have. With George Clooney,
Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan,
Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould,
Julia Roberts, and Catherine Zeta- Jones in a film,
it's hard not to imagine having someone or something
to enjoy. Watching this glittering star power goof
off and enjoy playing in front of Steven Soderbergh's
camera would be enjoyable for hours.
But Soderbergh ups the ante by including
so many cameos that eventually college film students
will somehow figure out a way to make a drinking game
out of it. There's Jared Harris, Robbie Coltrane,
Eddie Izzard, Jeroen Krabbe, Vincent Cassel, Cherry
Jones, Albert Finney, and two of the most amusing
appearances by actors playing themselves that you
can imagine.
First is Topher Grace who has what
amounts to a cameo that is so fucking funny one almost
can't believe the actor was willing to do it. Grace
wears a t-shirt that says "Your Boyfriend Wants Me"
which only makes the surreal and in-joke cameo even
more mind-blowing. Then there is Bruce Willis. In
the film for several minutes and poking so much fun
at "The Sixth Sense" one gains even more respect for
the actor. His ability to make fun of his own persona,
like Grace, is simply wonderful. But no more wonderful
that Julia Roberts who allows her persona to be used
here as an integral piece of the film's plot. Only
Soderbergh could make this happen. And he does. He
doesn't do it to be smug or to show-off his celebrity
connections but rather to allow us, the audience,
these actors fans, to be in on a joke with them. It's
like going to a big Hollywood party and hobnobbing
with Julia and Bruce and Topher and finding out their
really cool people who don't take themselves seriously.
It's more fun than we could ever hope for.
Sure the plot here is silly. Sure
this is just a parade of celebrities for our amusement,
but it doesn't matter. Film geeks will cum in their
pants to the cool visuals and images. (Yes, I needed
a towel). Soderbergh is so original and creative.
His uses of text to announce A-M-S-T-E-R-D-A-M as
the location of a scene is so fresh and new it is
hard not to be blown away. And if all of this fun
and coolness wasn't enough to win us over, then the
ultra-hip score by David Holmes will surely push us
over the edge.
If you don't love "Ocean's 12" for
the fun film that it is, then you just ain't hip man...
you just ain't hip.
Notes:
In English with a few European languages
spoken at times.
The script is by George Nolfi. The
original 1960 "Ocean's 11," which served as a blueprint
for the first in this series, did not have a sequel.
"Kashmir" by Led Zepplin is quoted
and a cell phone plays the tune to the Psychedelic
Furs "Pretty in Pink."
Filmed in Illinois, California,
Nevada, the Netherlands, Italy, and France.
Viewed in Austin in December 2004.
