1998’s The Big
Lebowski, written and directed by the Coen Brothers.
Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, David
Huddleston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Peter
Stomare, Flea, Jon Polito, Ben Gazzara, David Thewlis, Tara Reid, and Sam
Elliot.
What is it about?
The Big Lebowski
is shaggy dog comedy starring Jeff Bridges as a burnout hanging out in 1990’s Los
Angeles. Bridges, who’s character is named Jeffrey Lebowski but goes by the more
informal, “The Dude”, is wrongly accosted for money that a different Jeffrey
Lebowski owes. The real problem, is that the misinformed thugs who are looking
for cash- urinate on his rug. Over the next (almost) 2 hours, the Dude ventures
on an odyssey to replace said rug- as it really tied the room together. Aided
by his trusty bowling associates, Vietnam vet Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) and
perpetually confused Donny (Steve Buscemi), The Dude gets pulled into a series
of misadventures that involve kidnapping, porn magnates, German nihilists, questions
into whether the Eagles are a decent band, performance artists, car thefts, and
a lot of bowling. Will The Dude be successful in his quest to replace his rug,
or it will all be for a thread count of naught?
Why is it worth seeing?
Not to sound like a real reactionary, but The Big Lebowski is not the best film
in the Coen Brothers filmography- just their most re-watchable. Hysterical but
drum tight in its ramblings, it’s a hashish soaked journey whose side trips and
digressions are the journey itself. In
a world where everybody is constantly trying to figure out how to communicate
and understand WTF is going on, even the narrator loses track of where he’s at.
When Lebowski was released, the Coen
brothers had won an Academy Award for their screenplay in 1996’s Fargo (and since have been nominated and
won several more times), but Lebowski
could be their most impressive feat of writing. It takes some serious mojo to
make such a stupid project be so entertaining, so vulgar, so borderline profound, and so endearing. In all seriousness, its script is
pitch perfect, a free flowing stream of consciousness that when examined has a
perfect circularity to it. Phrases often are repeated as the characters sputter
into hilarious nirvana-like nothingness amongst their chaotic environments.
Immersed in dopey silliness that’s grad school level Cheech and Chong, what makes the film
worth caring about, are the portrayals and chemistry of the characters. While at
times they’re ridiculous, they’re real people. Bridges and Goodman have never
been better, as unlikely friends (one who protested against the Vietnam war,
and one who fought in it) who bowl and constantly bicker (alongside poor
Buscemi). They are friends who constantly argue- but are there for each other
should they be attacked by desperate sword carrying German nihilists. They
exist in a world jammed full of capitalist fat cats, porn magnates, pedophilic
bowlers, pretentious artists, desperate private eyes, and sycophantic butlers-
it’s a fool’s errand to pick one’s favourite performance from the cast’s
embarrassment of riches. But it always comes back to Bridges’ The Dude- he
abides like no other.
The Coen brothers continue to flex their immense talents,
proving themselves some of America’s greatest film makers. In the middle of a
trojan horse stoner comedy, they conjure amusing fantasy sequences that are far
better than they need to be. Aided by yet another killer soundtrack compiled by
T-Bone Burnett, The Big Lebowski is a
cult classic near masterpiece that if you don’t like, well, that’s just like,
your opinion man.
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