Now I know that I seemed to have given this film a death warrant without much more than the lack of personal interest, but I assure you I take this writing very seriously and can look beyond the pettiness of labels and into the heart and soul of a film.
Not that kind of death warrant, uhhh.
Well for Bling Ring I can safely say that I was intrigued by the fact that this film was based on reality, meaning these things actually happened. Every scene and circumstance literally left me speechless. I just could not wrap my head around the fact that these teenagers had the gall to simply walk into someones home, wear their possessions and walk out with some souvenirs. They acted as though they were entitled to these items, as if they purchased the pants, shoes, purses, etc. themselves. Who does this? That behavior seemed to be out of left field making me want to know what major malfunction happened to these young people that lead them into thinking this was acceptable. I mean to hear that someone famous, like Paris Hilton lol, was out of town and your first inclination was to find her address and trespass to steal her stuff? Psshh please.
Who wants to party on this?
To top it off, these dumb dumb's would take photos of themselves within the homes of their "victims" and post them online as well as tell their peers about their latest trip to Rachel Bilson's or flash the Louboutin's they swiped out of someones closet. I'm no expert, but I believe that's about the most insane incriminating behavior. It would be like filming yourself dealing drugs and then posting it online. Seems to me that this is pretty damning evidence against you.
As for the entirety of the story I must admit that this film was not the most entertaining. Literally everything was about going to so and so's home and stealing stuff; another repetitious film for the books. I guess a lot of this repeated behavior stemmed from these teenagers sheer boredom and their over-privileged upbringings, but still nothing more ever happened. You would see them driving someones Porsche and wearing the clothes of their idols and then the cycle would repeat itself. Talk about a film hugging that one dimensional parameter. I think this could have made a better 1 hour special on CNN or a 60 minutes segment, but to make this into a feature was not exactly the most understandable thing to do.
What's bizarre is that this film was written and directed by Sophia Coppola, the same person who wrote and directed Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette. She even won an Oscar for Best Writing, as well as being nominated for Best Director, for Lost in Translation. Here we have a proven writer/director, one with the right hardware, who put together a film so flat it seems as though it's from a different person all together. Now I know Sophia Coppola has a niche for creating artsy films with non-typical characters and stories, so I can see why this real-life escapade attracted her, but The Bling Ring seems as though it's a completely different animal all together.
Why you looking at me?
Another weird aspect to this film, is that the acting is actually pretty good. Weird you say? I say yes. Normally when the acting is good, the film usually earns itself more credit in my review process. However, with a story so odd and plot so twisted and seemingly unprovoked, this acting seems misplaced and improperly utilized. The only name and face I recognized in the main group of felons was Emma Watson. I know it sounds weird to think that Emma hung up her witching garb and donned some stolen duds, but this attraction to non-typecast roles has become a big thing today amongst the youth in Hollywood. It's like those Disney girls leaving the security of Uncle Walt in search of some spring break festivities. I know it must be tough being "trapped" in one role or type, but come on! Not cool.
Final Words: Small Popcorn
Even though my rant went on and on about the badness that was this film, those few things which I thought were admirable actually swayed my scoring of this just barely into the Popcorn realm. It's always a gamble making a film about a real life story, and in the case of The Bling Ring, that gamble just paid off. Wait for this one to grace your cable channels.
Even though my rant went on and on about the badness that was this film, those few things which I thought were admirable actually swayed my scoring of this just barely into the Popcorn realm. It's always a gamble making a film about a real life story, and in the case of The Bling Ring, that gamble just paid off. Wait for this one to grace your cable channels.
Until next time, happy viewing!
Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large;
films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz
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