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I'm a little lost on what happened in this scene in Ocean's Twelve (2004), other than Rusty and Danny were pranking Linus (Matt Damon) with the help of Matsui.

I'm thinking it's a prank because later in this movie (or maybe it was Ocean's Thirteen (2007), I don't remember), I seem to remember another scene/cut scene where it appears Linus realized they pranked him on another occasion.

Dialogue from IMDb:

Matsui: When I was four years old, I watched my mother kill a spider... with a teacosy. Years later, I realised it was not a spider - it was my Uncle Harold.
Linus Caldwell: [All eyes turn to him, expectantly] Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, stars fill my dreams.
[Ryan claps hand across eyes]
Linus Caldwell: I am a traveler in both time and space, to be where I have been.
[Blank, yet stern, looks from everyone]
Linus Caldwell: [Outside, Ryan and Ocean join Caldwell in the street] Is he alright? Are we alright?
Rusty Ryan: Kashmir?
Danny Ocean: Is that your idea of making a contribution?
Rusty Ryan: We hadn't even started. We ain't even got to the terms yet.
Danny Ocean: We came this close to losing that.
Linus Caldwell: Hey, I don't even understand what happened in there. What did I say?
Danny Ocean: You called his niece a whore.
Rusty Ryan: A very cheap one.

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  • There's no need to put the films title into the question title. You can do it, but only as long as it doesn't make the title clunky. If you really need to have the film title in the question title, please do so in a natural way. For more information, see the corresponding meta discussion.
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Feb 27, 2017 at 20:09

4 Answers 4

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This was definitely a prank. Danny and Rusty didn't want Linus in on every meeting, but Linus insisted he be involved. So they pre-arranged with Matsui to start a Zen-type discussion about, basically, nothing. At the end, they were to make it look as if Linus' ramblings almost cost them a job, in the hopes that Linus would back away from his desire to be involved with these types of meetings.

You may recall at the end of the movie, Linus discusses this meeting with his mom, who refers to it as the "Lost In Translation" gag.

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  • @johnnybones, ah, I dont' remember. I'll need to re-watch this to see. I caught Ocean's 11 on tv the other night and it made me think of this scene
    – Classified
    May 21, 2015 at 1:02
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I agree with one of the other comments, the whole conversation was nonsense, the real meeting occurred at another time without Linus.

However, what I don't get is how Linus, who is supposedly a master thief and very smart, didn't pick up on this immediately. Why would he even try to quote poetry if he realized the conversation had no apparent meaning?

I think the scene was simply written for humor, with no real reasoning behind it, either for Linus or anyone else.

The number one reason I can think of: Rusty and Daniel just enjoy screwing with Linus, just like their fake fight during Ocean's 11 where they pretend to boot Daniel out of the entire heist.

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    Linus is an expert pickpocket and, although it is explained he has the potential to become a great thief, it is implied that he is still a noob, living in the shadow of his parents' reputation. This is explained when the gang hangs out at Rubein's house in the first movie. We also see his mother saving the gang's ass in the second movie, and I think we see his dad in the third movie. He is also shown to be quite lonely. The joke works on him because it is well-known that criminals use codes and slangs in their conversation but Linus being an outsider, he does not their talk is meaningless.
    – Taladris
    Dec 1, 2019 at 11:35
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It has a meaning, Danny and Rusty told Matsui about their plan. I'll quote it:

"A doctor who specializes in skin diseases...will dream he has fallen asleep in front of the television. Later, he will wake up in front of television...but not remember his dream.", said Rusty.

  • The Doctor he meant is the Night Fox, the plan is to deceive Night Fox, to make him think that everything he does is according to his plan, to make the illusion that the Night Fox has control on Ocean's, where actually has not.

"If all the animals along the equator were capable of flattery...then Thanksgiving and Halloween...would fall on the same date.", said Danny.

  • The animals here are Danny and his friends, they will try to pretend that they are a bunch of losers and the Night Fox is a lot better than them. If that works, then when they're captured by the police that is also when they have the chance to run away from the law, their exit strategy.

I don't know what Matsui said about her uncle though, that's why I'm here.

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  • This is reaching a bit, I think. I'm curious; how would you explain the dialogue I referenced in my answer between Linus and his mom at the end of the movie? Why would she refer to it as a gag with a specific name, if this conversation actually had meaning?
    – Johnny Bones
    Nov 22, 2017 at 13:59
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Young Matsui would be Night Fox, who thought Danny and his friends messed up the plan (killed the spider), but instead they stole the original egg (killed the man).

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