How Ocean's 8 succeeded where Ghostbusters went wrong

Ocean's 8 doesn't pretend to be original. That's a good thing.

The cast of Oceans 8.
(Image credit: Barry Wetcher)

One of the best moments in Ocean's 8, Gary Ross' gender-swapped update of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11 pictures, comes thanks to Tinder.

About halfway through the film and for no apparent reason, nimble-handed thief Constance (played by the rapper and comedian Awkwafina) decides to teach the demure jewelry maker Amita (Mindy Kaling) how to use the hook-up app. Ensconced in their crew's criminal lair, Constance and Amita take an abrupt break from fierce heist-planning to focus on romantic endeavors. They swipe left. They swipe right. They find a match — but not before Constance patiently explains the ins and outs of mobile matchmaking to the quite clueless Amita.

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Andy Crump

Bostonian culture journalist Andy Crump covers the movies, beer, music, and being a dad for way too many outlets, perhaps even yours: Paste Magazine, The Playlist, Mic, The Week, Hop Culture, and Inverse, plus others. You can follow him on Twitter and find his collected writing at his personal blog. He is composed of roughly 65 percent craft beer.