Ocean’s Eleven oozes style, even if it can be hard to understand what the characters are talking about sometimes. Thanks to its brilliant ensemble cast and its energetic pace, Ocean’s Eleven is often cited as one of the best heist movies ever. It’s also one of the most stylish, evoking the days of Gambit, The Thomas Crown Affair and How to Steal a Million, rather than the darker and more violent heist movies that soon became the norm for the genre. It’s a remake of a Rat Pack movie, but Ocean’s Eleven is even cooler, with George Clooney and Brad Pitt responsible for a big part of this.
The relationship between Danny Ocean and Rusty is key to Ocean’s Eleven. There are a few important scenes that set up their dynamic in the first act, including one where Danny reveals his ambitious plan and Rusty responds by offering his cursory guidance on what the job would entail. He seems to speak in some sort of code, which suggests that he and Danny have a shared history together and a joint understanding of many different cons and heist tactics. Danny understands perfectly, even if the audience likely has no clue what Rusty is talking about.
“Off the top of my head, I’d say you’re looking at a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever.” – Rusty
What Rusty’s “2 Jethros, A Leon Spinks & An Ella Fitzgerald” Line Actually Means In Ocean’s Eleven
Rusty Uses Cultural References To Break Down The Heist
At first, Rusty’s response to Danny sounds like meaningless noise, intended to dazzle the audience and give the impression that the two men are highly intelligent professionals. However, breaking the phrase down and analyzing smaller pieces reveals that Rusty is actually using cultural references to describe the techniques that he and Danny will need to use if they want to pull off their impossible job. Essentially, Rusty gives Danny the plan long before the audience gets a chance to see it, and it’s fun to try and piece it all together on a rewatch.
At first, Rusty’s response to Danny sounds like meaningless noise, intended to dazzle the audience and give the impression that the two men are highly intelligent professionals.
When Rusty says that they’ll need a “Boesky“, he’s referring to Jim Boesky, a Wall Street trader convicted of insider trading in the 1980s. In the criminal slang that he shares with Danny, this means they needed someone wealthy and dodgy enough to bankroll their operation, which is where Saul comes in. “Jim Brown” refers to football legend Jim Brown, which basically means the gang needs a tough, combative figure, and Frank Catton fills this role. “Miss Daisy” alludes to the film Driving Miss Daisy, This is the gang’s getaway vehicle, although the SWAT van ultimately serves as a distraction.
“Two Jethros” is a reference to the famously incompetent but lovable character of Jethro Bodine from The Beverly Hillbillies. This hints at the involvement of the Malloy brothers, who are used in various ways throughout the heist, and they also provide comic relief like Jethro. “Leon Spinks” is a teaser for the chaos at the boxing match, since Spinks is famous for his upset over Muhammad Ali. The final flourish is “the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever“, slang for the tactic of showing Benedict a staged video of his vault. This con gets its name from an old commercial for Memorex, which advertised its music recording technology by suggesting that it could fool people into thinking they were listening to Fitzgerald singing live.
Rusty’s Jargon Sums Up Ocean’s Eleven’s Style
Rusty’s Slang Reveals A Lot About Himself And Danny, Even If Audiences Aren’t Expected To Understand It
The Ocean’s franchise has a distinct sense of style. It’s no surprise that it was soon followed by scores of imitators throughout the 2000s and 2010s, but it’s hard to bottle this infectious swagger. The dialogue helps draw the audience in, with Danny, Rusty and the rest of the gang often speaking in a way that suggests they’re insiders in a complex and fully lived-in criminal world. Rusty’s heist jargon adds to the aspirational side of Ocean’s Eleven. Of course, anyone would want the score at the end of the movie, but Ocean’s Eleven also makes people want to be part of the crew, just for the sheer fun of it.
This criminal slang is reminiscent of thieves’ cant, a now-obsolete British argot which was used to talk about crime without raising suspicion or giving away details to eavesdroppers. Similar to Cockney rhyming slang, Rusty’s long list of cons is a language that’s designed to signal a belonging to the in-crowd. It’s worth mentioning that these slang terms are all completely fabricated, however. Ocean’s Eleven doesn’t pretend to be realistic, though, so it gets away with this inventive worldbuilding. It’s a criminal fantasy, so it’s more important to be sleek and entertaining than accurate.
