A GOOD movie should make you think, laugh or at least channel some repressed emotions in the safety of darkness.
However a cinema trip this week left me questioning my moral compass.
The Bling Ring, pictured, charts the quite incredible story of a group of fame-obsessed teens from California, who burgled the homes of celebrities dozens of times before they were caught.
In total, the gang pilfered a cool $3 million in designer frocks, jewellery, artwork, and hard cash, most of it from the "socialite" Paris Hilton.
They even posted "selfies" of themselves on Facebook in their ill-gotten gear.
It's only a few years since the story rocked Hollywood and I'm sure like most people I was shocked at the simple invasion of privacy.
However, while I'm certainly not advocating breaking one of Moses's big ten, watching the movie didn't elicit the same reaction.
Was it the fact that Paris Hilton has such a stupid amount of money, she didn't even notice her home was missing several pairs of Louboutins, average price $800?
Or perhaps the blasé attitude of those whose income is so disposable they left their house keys under mats, patio doors and cars unlocked.
While I didn't agree with my friend's opinion that "it's fair game", I left feeling nothing for the victims of the thefts, simply hoping the real victims had moved on to a life with more substance, and not the illegal sort.
The Bling Ring has been criticised for failing to delve beneath the surface of the crimes, and those involved, but I'm pretty sure that was writer and director Sophia Coppola's intention.
You can cover the facts in glitter and gloss but it's hard to dress up the banality of an existence where someone has so little to say they must let their flashy possessions do the talking. Or the fact anyone would want to emulate that.
It also put me in mind of a woman I read about quite recently who has streamlined her life to a suitcase worth of clothes. I've been trying to emulate her.
It's a need – for fewer, but more durable, possessions – that probably comes with age.
The story, at least, has a happy ending. All five have left their crimes of fashion behind to become counsellors, college students and parents.
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