The Bling Ring

The Bling Ring (2011)

** (out of 4)

Made-for-TV drama about a group of bored teenagers who became known as "The Bling Ring" when they started to gain "fame" by breaking into the homes of various celebrities. I'll admit that I had never heard of this film until after seeing the Sofia Coppola version from 2013. I'm really not sure how fair it is to compare the two films but if you must then there's no question that the one from Coppola is the better one with her style completely taking over the subject and delivering a real gem. This film here will probably appeal to more people who just enjoy watching these Lifetime movies. With that said, this here isn't all that bad but at the same time there's just not too much energy or fun to be found here. I think one of the biggest problems is that the majority of the teenage characters are just downright annoying and rather stupid. Perhaps there's a point to this but it doesn't make them very entertaining to watch. I say this because the film really doesn't give you a good idea of what these kids were like outside of their stealing habits but I think the one section where this film does better than the 2013 version is during a few scenes where the addiction to fame is highlighted. The Natalie Kim character's inability to understand the trouble they're in because she just sees herself as being famous is something that is rather interesting and we needed more scenes like this. The most entertaining aspect of this picture is seeing the lead detective (Tom Irwin) working the case and trying to figure out who is doing what. I think the film would have been much better had they centered the entire film around him because of how good Irwin is in the part. Chang is also good in her role as is Austin Baker in the lead but the screenplay doesn't do much for their characters. THE BLING RING is mildly entertaining if you like these made-for-TV films but the 2013 is the way to go.

Quite an enjoyable true life movie about how a bunch of LA teens robbed houses of celebrities and sold their clothes jewelery etc.

It's hard to believe how naughty the kids were and how they got away with it for so long without gloves and masks.

The kids just walked into Paris Hilton's unlocked home and took things. The went into the homes of Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox, Lindsay Lohan too. Quite an interesting look at the celebrity obsessed culture of today and how too much personal information is available online like home addresses and travel schedules. It's lucky they were just after things and not some wackos wanting to hurt the celebrities.

The cast is quite good with Yin Chang from Gossip Girl and Austin Butler from Switched at Birth. Both are quite good in their roles. Jennifer Grey is quite good as a concerned mom - she's still a bit unrecognizable after her nose job.

Worth a watch.

The Bling ring is a 2011 crime drama film starring Austin Butler and Ying Chang. Unlike the 2013 film,this film is a bit different and shows more of the events that were based on a true story. The film tells the story of a few teens obsessed with fashion so they decide to break in to a celebrity's home and steal there expensive items. I really liked this film a lot especially for a Lifetime film. The film didn't come out to be famous at all,there were no actors that I recognized but they were very good and talented young actors. The film told more of the events as I said that occurred than in the 2013 film that grew to be very famous.

The Bling Ring(2011) is a very good Lifetime film based on the 2008-9 burglary's that occurred in Hollywood.