STEAL MAGNOLIAS

‘Ocean’s 8’ a lively & cool equal heists amendment

THIS CAPER’S a keeper. On a scale of one to 10, “Ocean’s 8” scores a 9. Both charmingly retro (dig that swingin’ score!) and confidently modern (girls run the world!), it’s a hip heist movie with a few laughs and some lovely fun.

George Clooney doesn’t know what he’s missing.

Or, at least, Danny Ocean doesn’t — the movie begins with that character dead, and buried. But kid sister Debbie doesn’t have time to mourn. Just out of prison, this cute con has to find a job. Which, being an Ocean, means pulling a job.

She already has plans for the perfect heist. But before she can pull it off, she needs a crew.

The movie itself has a great one, starting with its co-stars. Sandra Bullock is refreshingly hard-edged as Debbie, a close-toher-vest schemer who never saw a corner she couldn’t cut. And Cate Blanchett’s Lou, a cool, chiseled chiseler, is her perfectly polished partner. What kind of partner, though? The movie’s a little coy about their relationship, although maybe steamier details got left on the cuttingroom floor. (If so, they’d be joining once promised, apparently scissored cameos from a few original “Ocean’s” stars.) But there are still plenty of terrific characters here, from Rihanna’s pothead hacker to Awkwafina’s streety pickpocket. As two not-so-innocent bystanders, Anne Hathaway is broadly comic as an annoyingly pleased with-herself diva while Helena Bonham Carter delivers high camp as an extravagantly eccentric dress designer.

The fact that a few of these women are gently acknowledging, and mocking, their own images makes it even more delicious.

There are other bonuses. The heist takes place during the annual Met Costume Institute Gala — an opportunity for the film to fill the screen with outrageous gowns, various Kardashians and a nearly lifelike Anna Wintour.

And the starts still find ways to surprise us. Bullock marshals a steeliness that’s very different from her usual eager amiability while Blanchett delivers tough blond swagger. (She may soon be giving Ellen Barkin competition for the label of the Next Angie Dickinson.)

Occasionally, like many heist movies, the script pushes plausibility to the breaking point. And, unfortunately, like most female centered movies, it clearly found trouble finding top-notch male stars. Richard Armitage, as an old ex of Debbie’s, is more negligible than nemesis.

The movie would be stronger if his character were — just as the heist would be more satisfying if the thieves were outwitting an actual person, rather than some highly insured museum. What helped make Clooney’s “Ocean’s” flicks fun was that they were personal.

But this is still an old-fashioned romp, right down to the late-’60s editing that connects the scenes and the spy-movie percussion that punctuates the soundtrack. Feel like going to the movies is a gamble these days? This one’s a safe bet. Join these ladies and go all in.