Premiering tonight at 9 pm ET on Lifetime is THE BLING RING, a movie inspired by real events. The Bling Ring tells the story of a group of teenagers brought together by their various wrongdoings in an alternative school in Hollywood. Natalie (Yin Chang) is the cool, fashion obsessed “leader” of the kids and she quickly befriends Zack (Austin Butle or Jones from Life Unexpected), the new kid with major anxiety issues and whom she believes to have a door into the celebity world. Although Zack is not as connected as Natalie first believes, together they discover that it is easy enough for the two of them to find their own way into that world, through actor’s houses. They successfully start stealing clothes and other personal items directly from celebrities’ homes. Their crime duo quickly grows into a threesome and beyond and the group, fondly known as “The Bling Ring” quickly gains notoriety, although they would prefer to call it fame. The movie chronicles their entire ride and their ultimate crash and discovery. The movie also stars Jennifer Grey as Zack’s mother.
Although it seems that every Lifetime movie is “inspired by true events,” I was pleasantly surprised to find that this one actually was. In fact, if you read about The Bling Ring, this movie is quite historically accurate even down to Zack having ADHD/anxiety issues. There were some creative liberties taken, of course. However, I will leave those for your viewing pleasure.
This movie is not bad. It kind of felt like following a bunch of high schoolers around. There was very few parent interaction aside from the misunderstanding father and the nagging mother. Although highly improbable, it was rather fun watching the kids practically walk into the rich and famous homes and do whatever they want, from trying on clothes to taking money, to almost run into one of their marks. Also, while smiliarly unlikely, the club scenes were somewhat intoxicating.
As for the acting, Jennifer Grey is good as always. At times I could almost hear Baby’s voice coming out of her even though she does not really look like her anymore. Detective Archie Fishman (Tom Irwin of My So Called Life) plays the fish out of water detective that eventually breaks the case. The rest of the cast are mostly unknowns, but not horrible by any means.
This movie will probably not win any awards or reach cult status by any means, but it is a bit of fun if you can spare the two hours. Tune in tonight to The Bling Ring on Lifetime at 9 pm ET and then come back here and tell me what you thought. More fluff than substance or a nice bit of fun? Let me know down below.
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