Ocean's Eleven (2001) * * * *

Directed by:  Steven Soderbergh

Starring:  George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Scott Caan, Andy Garcia

Ocean's Eleven is one of the preposterous movies I've ever seen, but I'll be damned if it isn't smart, fun, and very, very entertaining.    Not much would hold up under scrutiny, mind you, but Ocean's Eleven is such a blast that we don't care.   

The Ocean of the title is Danny Ocean (Clooney), a career thief recently paroled after serving a five-year prison sentence.   His wife, Tess (Roberts) divorced him and has taken up with powerful Las Vegas casino owner Terry Benedict (Garcia).   Benedict is cold and ruthless, as Ocean's business associate Reuben Tischkoff (Elliot Gould) attests: "One guy tried to rip him off.  He not only put the guy in jail; he bankrupted his brother's car dealership.  He'll not only go after you, he'll go after everyone you've ever met."   Ocean has a plan which involves he and his crew robbing the three Las Vegas casinos Benedict owns on a fight night, when the vault is filled with $150 million in cash.  It won't be easy.   "This place has a security system that rivals most nuclear missile silos,"  Danny says as he shows the computerized layout of the vault to his cohorts.   

Ocean's right-hand man is Rusty Ryan (Pitt), who is rarely seen not eating something.   Other members of the "eleven" are Reuben, nervous computer hacker Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), bomb expert Basher Tarr (Cheadle-complete with a British accent), Virgil and Turk Malloy (Caan and Affleck), blackjack dealer Frank (Mac), pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Damon) and the ageless Carl Reiner as Saul, impersonating a powerful German arms dealer who infiltrates Benedict's control room and setting the plan in motion.

Danny's motives aren't completely about the money.    He still loves his ex-wife and wants her back.   He believes that if Benedict was forced to choose between getting his money back and her, he would choose the money.     Clooney is polished, smooth, and doesn't get ruffled at the first sign of trouble.   He has a tendency to act as if setbacks are part of the plan.   Maybe they are.    He and Rusty have contingency plan on top of contingency plan, covering all the possible angles.    Is this ridiculous?  Certainly, but Ocean's Eleven is crafted by Soderbergh so we are never puzzled by the events as they unfold.   Suspense is created because one false move could cause the whole plot to come crashing down.   As Benedict, Garcia is no pushover for Ocean's gang.   He is savvy and suspicious.   "I know what goes on in all my hotels," he tells Danny as he kisses Tess' hand, trying to upset Danny.

It's difficult not to walk away from Ocean's Eleven smiling as Danny's crew thwart one crisis after another in pursuit of the $150 million.   Clooney and company are having a ball with the material and that energy permeates the entire movie.   Future sequels Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen follow the same formula, which is good actors not taking themselves too seriously with plots that are absurd.   We wouldn't have it any other way.