|
Directed by: Joel Coen
Written By: Ethan Coen and
Joel Coen
Starring:
Jeff Bridges,
John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, Phillip Seymour
Hoffman, Tara Reid, and John Turturro
Rated: R, for pervasive
strong language, drug content, sexuality and brief violence.
Theatrical Release: March
6th, 1998
|
|
“Sometimes there’s a man, and I’m talkin’
‘bout the Dude, here…sometimes there’s a man…uh…he’s the man for his time
and place.”
The Big Lebowski is one of the
most incredible movies the Coen Brothers have ever made, hands down. It’s
the story of one Jeffrey Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), or as he prefers, ‘Dude’
(“…or Duder, or El Dudorino if your not into the whole brevity thing.”). The
Dude is a lazy, aging, hipster who passes time bowling, smoking weed,
drinking White Russians, and of course…bowling. His stalwart friends Walter
(John Goodman), who has never quite let go of Vietnam and still dog sits his
ex-wife’s Pomeranian, and slightly dim-witted Donny (Steve Buscemi) who
can’t keep up with the conversation.
When The Dude is mistakenly assumed to be
another, much richer, Jeffrey Lebowski by hoodlum debt collectors, he is
unwittingly thrown into the fray of a convoluted plot of kidnapping and
extortion involving a bellowing rich man, a fornicating trophy wife named
Bunny, inept ferret-owning Nihilist kidnappers, a feminist artist who paints
while flying through the air nude, and a pornography king who likes to
doodle genitals while on the phone. By this assorted cast of characters it
is obvious to see that the only way to make The Dude a viable protagonist in
this story is to make all the characters he comes in contact with even more
unbelievable and outrageous than he is. Ultimately things go from bad to
worse when Walter thrusts himself in the middle of plot in an attempt to
help the Dude.
The Big Lebowski is either the end
result of brilliant script writing and directing, or amazing character
acting; probably both. Great acting and directing is apparent because
within seconds of a character appearing on screen you immediately understand
that character, and characterization is hard to convey in print and on
screen. However, the “ins and outs, and what-have-yous” of the script and
story can only be attributed to incredible script writing. While this is one
of my favorite films of all time, it does have one tiny drawback: language.
The unending barrage of four letter expletives may make this movie difficult
to watch for some, yet others may say it further enhances the film’s
characterization. Aside from language, this is an absolutely hilarious
film, better than Intolerable Cruelty, O Brother, Where
Art Thou?, and Fargo all combined.
Now, some people may say this is a guy
film. I don’t believe in that or “chick flicks”. It’s a bad idea to limit
range of taste by gender. So if you like hilariously random, idiosyncratic
characters, a convoluted mystery, and don’t mind the language, The Big
Lebowski is for you.
|
