When an all-female remake of Ocean’s Eleven was announced in 2016, the public was left divided. Some saw it as a wonderful opportunity for a major all-female feature film, while others believed that remakes were pointless and rarely good and that writing original stories for women, by women, would be more feminist. In light of its release in theaters, there has been even more division between fans who found the movie too similar to the original trilogy, and those who found it compelling and funny.
Regardless, no one can deny the amazing dynamic brought to the screen by Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchet, nor the coolness of Rihanna’s character, nor the hilariousness of Elena Bonham Carter. So, if you loved Ocean’s 8, here are 10 other movies you would equally enjoy.
Thelma & Louise
Thelma & Louise became the template for other female-focused action movies. It took comedy, relationship issues, and violence and wrapped them together in a tight friendship. So tight, the duo went down fighting like a modern-day Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The Ridley Scott-directed starts innocently enough with two friends on a weekend getaway. Then, one of them murders a man. This leads the pair to rob a store, assault of a state trooper, and blow up a trucker’s vehicle. In other words, not a typical weekend for two women from Arkansas.
Ocean’s Eleven (Original)
Ocean’s 8 and the modern Ocean’s trilogy wouldn’t have been possible without the original 1960 film. A vehicle to profile members of the legendary Rat Pack, Ocean’s Eleven is a mixture of musical, comedy, caper, and drama. What makes the movie a classic is its cavalcade of stars.
Danny Ocean, is played by Frank Sinatra, is the man behind the scheme to steal tens of thousands of dollars from the Las Vegas casinos. The rest of the team includes stars like Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, and Norman Fell. Rounding out the cast are a pre-Joker Cesar Romero and Angie Dickinson. Unlike its 21st century remake, the original Ocean’s Eleven doesn’t have a happy ending.
Sneakers
Three decades later, Sneakers took the heist concept and modernized it for the technological world. Instead of stealing money from a casino, a group of computer and security gurus work to steal data.
The team is led by Martin Bishop, played by Robert Redford. The all-star cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Sidney Poitier, Mary McDonnell, and Ben Kingsley as the antagonist, Cosmo. James Earl Jones makes a cameo appearance as an NSA agent. Made with a light touch, Sneakers is a film that makes viewers laugh and grip their chair arms at the same time.
Miss Congeniality
This earlier Sandra Bullock film has a fish out of water theme heavy on comedy. In the movie, Bullock plays FBI Special Agent Grace Hart. To go undercover at a beauty pageant to prevent a terrorist attack, a makeover is required to show her feminine side.
It takes the enormous effort of Victor Melling, played by Michael Caine, to reconstruct Grace. While undercover, she becomes friends with several contestants and starts flirting with another agent, played by Benjamin Bratt. Though it’s without a heist, Miss Congeniality is still a fun movie.
Set It Off
Set It Off is an overlooked gem in the heist genre. Yet, when it premiered in 1996, it was both a box office and critical hit. While the main plot concerns a planned bank robbery by a quartet of janitorial service workers, it’s the characters’ lives that not only make the film intriguing but also relevant in the 2020s.
The stars of the film – Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise – were all young actresses at the time who went on to bigger things. Set It Off is a prime example of how talented they were even back then. Unlike others on this list, the movie shows a grittier side to life and the reasons some people turn to crime.
Bridesmaids
Ocean’s 8 may be about crime and theft, but it’s a comedy, and you can find a similar type of humor in Bridesmaids. The movie is pure comedy: the protagonist finds out that her best friend is getting married and assigning her to be the bridesmaids in charge of her bachelorette. Not only is she envious of her best friend’s engagement, but she grows overly jealous of her best friend’s new friend. This leads to drama, but most importantly, a lot of escapades and plans gone completely wrong.
A group of bridesmaids is just as fun to watch on screen as a group of female thieves - just not as organized.
Mr. And Mrs. Smith
Granted, most everyone has already seen this movie, but it’s always worth a rewatch. It has the perfect blend of comedy and action and, just like Ocean’s 8, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. And if there’s anyone that can match or even top Sandra Bullock’s level of coolness in Ocean’s 8, it’s Angelina Jolie.
Mr And Mrs Smith is forever known as the movie that birthed the infamous Hollywood couple of Angelina and Brad Pitt, but it remains iconic even after their separation. Their rivalry as a married couple who finds out that they are both spies is one of a kind.
Charlie’s Angels
There may have already been a remake of it, but the 2000 Charlie’s Angels movie remains iconic. The trio of Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu is unbeatable, and the mix of comedy, action and female power is irresistible. The three of them play secret agents who work for a mystery boss whom they’ve never actually met.
All three women are refreshingly unique: they may be strong, talented fighters, but they can be goofy, quirky and even embarrassing. That’s what makes the three protagonists and their dynamics as entertaining and lovable as the Ocean’s 8 team.
Logan Lucky
Logan Lucky is a crime comedy that follows two brothers who plan a robbery. But not any robbery: they want to steal from a racing circuit. To do this, they seek the advice and help of Daniel Craig’s odd, intimidating criminal character.
This movie is perfect for fans of partners in crime recruiting thieves for a big heist, and it will satisfy fans of car races, too. It doesn’t hurt that the movie is full of popular celebrity crushes, too; from Adam Driver and Channing Tatum to Sebastian Stan. All the acting fits the tone of the movie perfectly -
The Heat
If you loved Sandra Bullock in Ocean’s 8, you will love her in this movie as well. Her character is not as confident or firm, but she is just as badass in her own way. She teams up with the hilarious Melissa McCarthy and together they make a great good cop-bad cop duo.
The two cops may start off on the wrong foot, but being forced to work together brings the two closer. The Heatis irresistible and hilarious: one cop helps the other loosen up, while one helps the other’s family problems, and both find an unexpected friendship.
Bachelorette
To watch a bunch of women getting wild and crazy together, bachelorette-themed films are a go-to. Fittingly, Bachelorette is one of the best examples; it contains all kinds of fun characters, from the druggy bridesmaid to the over-worked best friend of the bride who’s in charge of everything and whose plan, unsurprisingly, goes south.
The premise of the movie is unbeatable: the group of bridesmaids accidentally ruin the bride’s dress and have only one day to fix it or find a new one. Kirsten Dunst shines as the lead actress, as always, while Rebel Wilson is adorable as the oblivious, excited bride-to-be.
Rough Night
In Rough Night, Scarlett Johansson is celebrating her bachelorette party with her friends, and everything goes horribly wrong when these women accidentally kill a man. Together, they have to figure out a plan to hide the body and, quite literally, get away with murder.
For fans of watching girls committing crimes together, this movie is perfect. The only difference between Ocean’s 8 is that these girls are complete amateurs and a lot of the comedy comes from their mistakes and freakouts, as opposed to the professional Debbie Ocean and her eight girls.
Tower Heist
Not only are Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in Tower Heist - something which guarantees great comedic acting - but the movie itself is a special kind of hilarious. The name is pretty self-explanatory: Ben Stiller teams up with some of his co-workers to steal a million dollars from an extremely wealthy businessman by whom they’ve been wrong, and the heist takes place in a tower. However, not everything goes according to plan, and pulling off the heist proves to be much trickier than intended.
There’s tension and action and mysteries, and just like in Ocean’s 8, we somehow find ourselves rooting for the thieves and hating the character who is supposed to be the victim of the heist.
Hustlers
The plot of Hustlers is simple: a group of women working at a strip club unite to scam their wealthy Wall Street clients. The movie is deemed a feminist movie because these clients are being scammed as payback for their disrespectful, misogynistic behavior and harassment, although the women do use questionable methods of vengeance.
This group is led by Jennifer Lopez, who is like a mentor for the other girls – just like Debbie Ocean is to her own team. Another similarity: both groups find devious ways to get revenge on disrespectful men and gain a lot of money, both of which are always exciting to watch on screen.
Ocean’s Eleven Trilogy
This trilogy is simply unavoidable. Not only is Ocean’s 8 a remake of the trilogy, but Ocean’s Eleven is simply a classic, perhaps the most famous heist comedy. George Clooney plays Debbie’s older brother who, just like her, assembles the perfect all-male team to rob Las Vegas casinos. These include Brad Pitt – who Lou in Ocean’s 8 is based on – Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Casey Affleck.
All the while, Danny Ocean desperately tries to win back his ex-wife, played by Julia Roberts. With a cast like that, perfect editing and subtle jokes, the movie is simply captivating from beginning to end.
