The Big Lebowski (1998)

Truly Dreadful Film

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This is probably my favorite movie of all time. I can sit on my couch and watch this movie with the beer like talking to an old friend. The comedy is timeless and the characters in this movie are the best I've ever seen. So many great quotes from this movie that only Lebowski lovers will repeat over and over again till the end of time. John Goodman, Jeff Bridges, Steve Buchemi And many more filled the screen in this Coen Masterpiece.

The Coen's most endearing film perhaps, the Big Lebowski was unappreciated upon release but since has garnered a massive following. Jeff Bridges plays the ultimate slacker- Dude whose sole purpose in life is to laze around in his room smoking pot or go bowling with his strange friends- a militant gun lover played by John Goodman and a meek fellow portrayed by Steve Buscemi. One day he is mistaken for another man (a very wealthy man) with the same name by a batch of inept crooks who take his rug forcefully. What follows is a bizarre, offbeat tale of mistaken identity and revenge. This is a typical offbeat Coen's film ably supported by Julianne Moore who, for once, chooses to tackle a funny role (and has a hilariously surreal dance sequence with Bridges).

This movie has a big personality, and I could have given it a 10, but I felt that a 9 was more appropriate. This is basically a post-modern tale that anyone growing up in the 90's will understand. Everyone should find this entertaining, especially on re-runs on all the networks. It requires attention span as the story is rather complicated. It also has a great number of characters to introduce. But the filmmakers do it so well that it doesn't lose any points. I didn't give it a 10 because it is so outlandish and over-the-top that even the most gullible will want to walk away from it at times. There is a character, played by John Turturro, who is a registered sex offender, who plays bowling alongside the three main characters in league bowling, and they felt the need to do a cut-scene to tell his story, even though he is only in one scene. Also, there is the guy who is a stage actor, who wants the Dude to go to his performance, and the dude nearly forgets - this character has nothing at all to do with this movie, so the scenes changed about every 2 minutes!!! Also, John Goodman's character getting away with threatening to shoot someone in public, and the cops show up and somehow miss him!! Way too over-the-top. It felt at times like a pornographic display of garishness.

Intruders break into the modest Los Angeles apartment of Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski. He is roughed up, money is demanded of him that he does not have, his head is unceremoniously swirled in the toilet and the toughs threaten to return, but they have the wrong Lebowski! This simple case of mistaken identity leads to a comedy of errors involving a kidnapping, a million-dollar ransom, Jesus in a purple bowling suit, a duffel bag full of dirty undies, an attack ferret and even a spicy bowling themed dream sequence. The Dude is inept, lazy and hopeless, but there is a time and place for everyone. He is in way over his head, yet so is everyone else. 20 years after its release and the film still one of my all-time favorites. It was my first Coen brothers film. Their brilliance and originality is instantly recognizable. The story and characters are full of delightful depth and details, the writing is witty and consistently dazzling, there is never a dull moment, and on top of everything it is really, really funny. At times I could hardly breath I was laughing so hard. Among such moments is the confrontation with the ferret, the parking lot skirmish heart attack and the bowling rants and taunts of Jesus. Finding balance is one thing the Coen brothers excel at. Each character has offsetting strengths and weaknesses, every setting is shown in wondrous light as well as the shadows, and nothing is beyond reproach. No one and nothing is put on a pedestal, or trashed without a fair fight. The casting of Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Turturro is brilliant. The Coens have such amazing insight into the American character; rich and poor, country and city, women and men, and cultured or not. They cut across boundaries, religions, philosophies, regions and political persuasions, and they do it seamlessly and randomly as a tumbling tumbleweed and as unlikely as a bowling alley prophet!