What: A pitch-perfect send-up of perhaps the most beloved and fun scene in any heist movie.
Who: Director Luke Harris, and writers Kevin Tenglin and Dafna Garber.
Why we care: Every now and then, a cliche gets obliterated so thoroughly by a parody that it can never be used again. When it comes to the “assembling the team” cliche, many thought it was done for after that scene in MacGruber. Although not a heist movie, per se, MacGruber found its hero putting together an elite crew of specialists, only to (seven-years-late spoiler alert) immediately explode them all by accident. Lo and behold, though, this cliche is still alive and kicking, perhaps most egregiously across the first 45 minutes or so of Suicide Squad. It will be even more difficult for a filmmaker to attempt a new spin on this scene, though, after watching The Heist.
Over four funny minutes, this short film renders all Ocean’s 11-esque excess completely moot. When an obvious Elliott Gould stand-in asks two Clooney and Pitt knock-offs how they will achieve their daring heist, they begin rattling off necessary team members. The list begins with obvious staples like a wheelman, and quickly escalates to include cliches from other genres–like the white coach of a struggling urban sports team. With snappy editing and a jazzy soundtrack reminiscent of the David Holmes’s Ocean’s 11 score, it’s a breezy watch that, like any good thief, does not outstay its welcome.
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