The world portrayed in Ocean’s 11 is characterized by bachelorhood and obsession with money. I couldn’t help but think of cocky fraternity brothers who had never grown up when Frank Sinatra’s character (Danny Ocean) and Peter Lawford’s character (Jimmy Foster) were lounging in the posh room with unnammed beautiful performing massages. Ocean and Foster lacked the maturity which should have been expected for men of their age. The lack of deep conversation and the concern for adrenaline and reuniting with past military buddies isolated the men from the outside world and their responsibilities. The viewer got to have a glimpse of the former wives of Ocean as well as Tony Bergdorf who could not sustain their relationships with the men because they were too inconsiderate of how much they hurt their wives through their illicit activities. A common thread between all of the men was an interest in money. Several men had wives who they wanted to better support. Foster sought to obtain financial independence from his mother who had sheltered him and kept him close and dependent. Women, children, and their ordinary jobs seemed to be hindering the success of the men so they believed that an escape and adventure which could yield a massive amount of cash was the answer to their issues.
The film had very few female characters which contributed to the plotline. If they did contribute, they seemed to be forces which pushed the men to desire the financial reward from the robbery. Also, women contributed to the mobster, soon to be father in law of Foster, finding out who had been the culprits in the robbery of five large casinos. Women seemed to be hurting the men and the men ended up empty-handed at the end of the film. The only money which was stolen and retained was given to the son of a dead member who wanted to the money for his son to go to college. Females were in nearly every scene as props but they did not actively do anything. The combination of bachelorhood, drinking, the Las Vegas lifestyle and women made it seem like the men were playboys, however their lifestyles varied and all seemed to be lacking or shallow. They were acting as playboys as a sort of escapism.
