Dumb can be fun

I know I should be watching the news to catch up on the terrorist/JFK plot. Or whether or not our state will ever have an approved budget. Or if Carlos Zambrano has hit anyone else lately.

But I'm watching the original Ocean's 11.

It's hypnotically kitschy/campy/cool. Frank and the boys (including Mr. Roper himself, Normal Fell) are taking down glitzy old-time casinos like the Sands and the Desert Inn and the Sahara. With Brylcreamed hair, skinny ties, the ice in their glasses tinkling and cigarettes dangling from their lips, they spout "ring-a-ling dialog" and slip their room keys into the cleavage of willing, nameless women.

Interestingly, some of the best lines belong to the ladies. Watch for Shirley MacLaine and Dean Martin flirting in the parking lot when she says, "I'm so drunk, I don't think I lie down without holding on." Or Angie Dickinson telling soon-to-ex-husband Frank, "I'll consider mistress, plaything, toy for a night, but I refuse to be your mother. That's out!"

I saw the Clooney Ocean's 11 and will probably see Ocean's 13. Those movies are like a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition for women. And I'll wonder if, in 45 years, those movies will seem as kitschy/campy/cool to another generation.