Film review: The Big Lebowski (1998), directed by Joel Coen and Etan Coen
The Dude abides … at #133 on IMDb’s Top 250 list, in a Coen Brothers story about a very laid back man known to everyone as “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges), real name Jeffrey Lebowski, whose rug gets stolen when he’s mistaken for another Jeffrey “The Big” Lebowski (David Huddleston), a millionaire.
The Dude tries to get his beloved rug back (because “it really tied the room together”) and gets drawn into a kidnapping plot. Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid), Big Lebowski’s considerably younger wife, has been kidnapped and maybe the Dude can help get her back.
Maybe he can, if he can fit it in between his White Russian drinks and bowling with pals: the unassuming Donny (Steve Buscemi) and tough guy Vietnam veteran Walter Sobchak (John Goodman); and bowling arch enemy Jesus (John Turturro) … and if Big Lebowski’s daughter Maude (Julianne Moore) will let him …
Also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Big Lebowski’s assistant Brandt, Sam Elliott as “the Stranger” (the enigmatic narrator), my fellow Swede Peter Stormare as Uli Kunkel or “Karl Hungus”, and David Thewlis as Maude Lebowski’s camp aide Knox Harrington.
It’s a bizarre mix of characters – from porn directors to German electropop Nihilists, stoners and pederasts, and ultrafeminists. And the even stranger thing is that it really darn well works. It’s bizarre and absurd, yes, but not in a way that makes you scratch your head and wonder why the hell you’re wasting your time watching it. It’s actually pretty funny, and it does have a plot.
Whether or not you agree with the laid-back attitude of the Dude doesn’t really matter. We’re in for a peculiar ride of nonsense, and being amused by it. I like this film, I really do. It’s full of screwball surprises, and a good dose of black humour, as well – the “ash scene” (if you’ve seen it, you know the one) is particularly brilliant.
The Big Lebowski is a cult film I can watch many times and not get tired of.
4 out of 5 Nihilists.
I hadn’t seen this till about two years ago when my TA made me watch it. I’m glad he did, but it’s not anything I’d watch twice. I love the Coen Bros, esp. Fargo and A Serious Man, but this left me nothing more than amused.
It is an oddball movie which has more going on than meets the eye. I enjoyed watching it the first time, and wouldn’t mind a rewatch. It is a definite favourite of my nephew.
Don’t think I’ve seen A Serious Man, or even heard of it. Seen Fargo, though. “Kinda funny-lookin’.” 🙂
I was really surprised to learn that the film has a cult following. Not just fans, but people who dress up as characters and meet and things. Don’t think I’d go to one, though. You’d need to be a very big fan for that.