The Hollywood spin machine is moving at a steady hum for Ocean's Eleven, the new film from Steven Soderbergh (director of Erin Brockovich and Traffic). Warner Bros. Studios has taken the stance that not only is this a great movie, but that the original 1960 version of it was ... well, not so great. During their publicity tours, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts all visited talk show after talk show berating the Rat Pack classic.
The irony here is that this remake (or re-invention or re-imagining) is both completely unlike and remarkably similar to its 40-year-old twin. Plot-wise, the films parallel each other only in the broadest strokes: 11 guys come together to rob several Las Vegas casinos in one night. Outside of that, nearly every twist and turn of the plot is different.
But both feature a charismatic icon in the title role of Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra and George Clooney), both are intended to be fun flicks rather than serious cinema, and both manage to perfectly capture the essence of what it means to be cool at the birth of a new and complicated decade. To fight the spin machine, I present a blow-by-blow comparison of how that essence of cool is captured.
THE SIDEKICK
George Clooney's No. 2 guy in the remake is Dusty Ryan, played by perennial heartthrob Brad Pitt. Pitt is an actor of underrated skill, who has shown extraordinary intensity and dramatic flair in films such as "Seven" and "Twelve Monkeys." Here, he coasts on auto-pilot, turning in a competent but unremarkable performance.
In the original, Dean Martin cut a wide swath of cockiness, charisma, swagger and style, creating a memorable performance that was equal parts sincerity and self-parody. Along the way, he managed to do the extraordinary: He made Sinatra look like a square by comparison.
Advantage: Original
THE BROAD
As Sinatra's girl, Angie Dickinson flitters on and off the screen as the plot requires, putting in a strong performance but an unnecessary one. Clooney's gal (Julia Roberts) is a toughminded art expert who thinks she's doing her best with the hand she was dealt, but soon discovers she couldn't see all the cards.
Advantage: Remake
THE FUNDER
Both films feature a charismatic criminal who puts up the starting money for the boys' big heist, and both films use him for comic relief. In the original, a large, friendly Russian worries like a mother that Sinatra and Dino will never get down to business. In the remake, Elliot Gould portrays a Jewish gangster of what is politely referred to as the "flamboyant" persuasion. It is a hysterical role and one that will someday be entered into the caricature hall of fame.
Advantage: Remake
THE BRITISH ACCENT
Rat Packer Peter Lawford's clipped British accent sent a swoon of delight through women across America, and captured the heart of a Kennedy. In the 2001 version Don Cheadle's fake Cockney accent is funny at first, then grating, then funny again, for all the wrong reasons.
Advantage: Original
THE CAMEO
In the original Ocean's Eleven, Shirley MacLaine shows up as a drunken party girl who throws a wrench in the Rat Pack's plans. It's a great cameo, but no match for the remake, which features a gaggle of Generation Y heart-throbs, including "That 70's Show's" Topher Grace and "Dawson's Creek's" Joshua Jackson, playing themselves as bumbling idiots. The young stars pay Brad Pitt's character to teach them how to play poker and (more importantly) how to be cool.
Advantage: Remake
The new Ocean's Eleven features a jazzy, funky score similar to that of Soderbergh's "Out of Sight." It does its job, then fades from consciousness as the end credits roll. The 1960 film had Dino at the piano, and Sammy Davis, Jr. belting into song whenever the spirit moved him. THE CINEMATOGRAPHY Lewis Milestone, the 1960 director, simply set his camera up, rolled film and let the Rat Pack do its thing. Soderbergh is one of the most fiercely innovative visual stylists working today, and this film is another notch for his growing belt. THE ENDING It is in the final reel that the two films differ most. The 1960 film ended on a sour note, with a kick-in-the-groin, it's-a-hard-knock-life twist of fate that any working-class hero would appreciate. After all their carefully laid plans, the Rat Pack's dreams went up in flames , literally. The new version features a happily-ever-after ending that's a little too sappy for its own good Despite this last-moment misstep, the new Ocean's Eleven is a kinetic and enjoyable two hours of filmmaking. Those who see themselves as "serious" (and pretentious) filmgoers should not be swayed by the film's lack of high ideals. This is not the typical dumb fare that is currently clogging a multiplex near you. A cerebral and dedicated director, Soderbergh has created something that is woefully rare in modern-day Hollywood: A fun movie that doesn't insult your intelligence.
Advantage: Original
Advantage: Remake
Advantage: Original
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