The Big Lebowski

When I first saw this film almost a decade ago I honestly didn’t like it very much. All I remember taking away from it was that there was like 500 f-bombs throughout it. A couple years back I revisited it to see if it left a different taste in my mouth. And good thing I re-watched it, because I loved it! It’s definitely an acquired taste kind of film. If you liked NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, ABOUT SCHMIDT, or LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE then you’ll love this film because it taps into a similar off-tilt comedic vein. I won’t even discuss anything about the story because it is definitely NOT the feature of the film that makes it so entertaining. We basically follow Jeff Bridge’s character “Jeff Lebowski aka “The Dude” as he goes about his days bowling, delivering ransom money, and helping Julianne Moore’s hilarious character conceive a child. Sounds absurd, right? Well that’s the point.

The Big Lebowski Trailer

The supporting actors in this film truly help it to shine. My favorite is John Goodman’s character. I love he consistently rags on Donny: “Life does not stop and start and your convenience you POS”, “Donny shut the… when do we play?”, “Hell, I can get you a toe by 3 o’clock this afternoon:, and “You’re out of your element!” - Just hilarity at its best. Philip Seymour Hoffman is also another hilarious supporting character. Even Steve Buscemi is perfect in his role. And John Turturro is so good as Jesus the bowler. That sequence where we are introduced to him is probably my favorite scene in the film. Right behind the dream sequence the dude has. During which they play the perfect piece of music – “I just Dropped in to See What Condition my Condition was in” by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. It is apparent that the Coen Brothers have a true love for music and cinema alike.

This film is full of those memorable lines that can be quoted over and over again at the perfect times. I have a friend who lives to quote movies, not just little one liners, but full blown stands of dialogue from films that no one should be caught regurgitating. I wonder if he’s seen TBL? If not, he should. Also, it is jam=packed with moments of high viewing repeatability; when John Goodman draws a gun on smokey for crossing the line, when the pornographers throw the ferret into the bathtub, and especially when they smash the guys car towards the end of the film.

I love the Coen Brothers direction style and film choice rotations. They’ll direct a serious academy award winning drama and then follow it up with a comedy piece. For example: FARGO > THE BIG LEBOWSKI and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN > BURN AFTER READING. All films that are very worthwhile to see. Probably the only Coen Brothers film that I didn’t enjoy immensely was INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, other than that they are all solid. But my favorite C-Brothers film has to be hands down BLOOD SIMPLE. Their first film from 1985 but also their strongest I believe. I will revisit it sometime soon and write a little something on it. All of their films always contain well-drawn characters and a storyline that keeps viewers entertained the entire time.

Rating: 9.75/10