“THE BLING RING” My rating: B (Opens June 21 at the Alamo Drafthouse)
90 minutes | MPAA rating: R
The juvenile delinquents depicted in Sofia Coppola’s “The Bling Ring” are neither impoverished nor uneducated. They are the beautiful children of Southern California, privileged numbskulls who wear classy clothes, drive expensive cars and party hearty.
In 2008-09 a half dozen of these handsome young people went on a burgling spree, entering the homes of the famous people—Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton — whose lives they experienced vicariously through the Internet and TV’s ”TMZ” celebrity gossip show. On their nocturnal prowls they made off with more than $3 million in clothing and cash.
In Coppola’s hands their fictionalized story has become a deadpan comedy about really stupid kids (who consider themselves smart) whose sense of entitlement is so complete and moral compass so nonexistent that they assume the rules just don’t apply to them.
It’d make a hell of a double feature with “Spring Breakers,” though I doubt audiences are prepared for quite that much adolescent idiocy and arrogance.
We’re introduced to the Bling Ring through Marc (Israel Broussard), a baby-faced teen and a new student at Indian Hills High School (a sort of high-class dumping ground for rich kids who been booted from other schools). Marc is sweet and unassertive and totally bowled over when he’s befriended by the beautiful, catty Rebecca (Katie Chang).
It’s not about sex. Marc is pretty obviously gay. He thinks of Rebecca as his sister.
Emma Watson
But he’s so grateful for the attention that he reluctantly accompanies Rebecca on an exploration of a celeb’s home. The fearless and confident Rebecca is dismissive of Marc’s concerns about being caught. And before long she’s got him doing online research to find out which famous Los Angelinos are filming out of town or have been spotted cavorting abroad.
Before long they are joined by beautiful blonde Chloe (Claire Julien), beautiful brunette Nicki (Emma Watson of “Harry Potter” fame) and Nicki’s adopted sister Sam (Taissa Farmiga).
As criminals they’re something less than brilliant. They post photos of themselves posing in stolen clothing on Facebook.
But then their victims are just as dumb. The celebrities leave their doors unlocked or keep a key under the mat. And they’ve got so much stuff that it takes months before they realize anything is missing.
Astounding factoid: Paris Hilton, one of the real-life victims of the Bling Ring, makes a brief appearance in the film and even allowed Coppola to shoot in her home. This suggests two things. First, wealth cannot buy taste (the walls of Hilton’s joint are laughably covered with portraits of herself). And second, even once they’ve become a household name, some people still have a desperate need for recognition, even if it means appearing in a movie that makes them look moronic.
Leslie Mann
Though most of the characters are vain, demanding little shits (okay, you feel kinda sorry for the malleable Marc), “The Bling Ring” is a tremendously likable movie thanks to Coppola’s devastating take on the empty-headed California La-La mentality.
A prime example is Nicki’s mom (the ever-reliable Leslie Mann), a vacant-headed New Age convert whose religion is based on the woo-woo best seller The Secret. She makes her children take part in nonsectarian prayer sessions and consciousness-raising sessions. The kids roll their eyes.
Meanwhile those of us in the audience are busting a gut.
| Robert W. Butler
Butler's Cinema Scene 
Leslie Mann is so spot on in this movie, a small part with a big, funny impact. On the whole, I appreciate Sofia Coppola’s vision in keeping the movie intentionally superficial, but it also kept me from being engaged.
Very astute. That’s why I gave it three stars rather than 3 1/2. Some of my fellow critics are going all four-star with “Bling Ring”…I’m not quite that enthusiastic.