I knew I had gone too long without seeing The Big Lebowski when I got to college and random references to “the Dude” and “abiding” started popping up left and right. Also, after seeing two previous Coen brothers’ films, Miller’s Crossing (1990) and No Country For Old Men (2007) in the past year, I knew it was time for me to see IMDb #130.
The story follows the Jeffrey Lebowski, known as the Dude (Jeff Bridges), who is mistaken for the millionaire by the same name. Some thugs come to the Dude’s house, beat him up saying that his wife owes their boss money, pee on his rug, and leave. The Dude goes to the real Jeffrey Lebowski’s house and claims that he owes the Dude a new rug. Later, when Mr. Lebowski’s wife is kidnapped and being ransomed for $1 million, he hires the Dude to deliver the million to her kidnappers and get her back. That fails, and the Dude slowly uncovers a bigger mystery involving scandal, embezzlement, and the cutting off of a poor woman’s pinky toe.
Now that I’ve seen three Coen brothers’ films, I have a strong sense of their writing style and directorial choices. The Coen brothers obviously love old films, as Miller’s Crossing was based on a Dashiell Hammett crime story, and No Country For Old Men is an homage to the western genre. The Big Lebowski can be read as both of these genres together. There is the problem of a man caught up in a scandal of warring factions (in this case Mr. Lebowski and his wife’s kidnappers), and must outwit everyone above him in order to survive. The Coen brothers even stated that the film is loosely inspired by Raymond Chandler stories, known for his complex crime novels. On the other hand, it involves a man rising up, going on an adventure, and becoming a hero in order to keep the peace and return back to his world of solitude. Not to mention it’s narrated by famous Western star, Sam Elliott.
In any sense, the film is a nonstop hilarious adventure story, and has achieved a cult-like status over the past decade. Most attribute this to its use of zany-dream sequences (shown above), and the stoner attitude of the main character, the Dude. Probably one of the funniest parts of the film is the Dude and his friend’s obsession with bowling. Even when faced with death, several of the most dramatic scenes are intercut with scenes of the Dude and his friends competing in their bowling tournament. John Goodman (Monsters Inc., Argo) plays the Dude’s best friend Walter Sobchak, a Vietnam war veteran who takes the Sabbath very seriously, even though he only converted to Judaism for his now ex-wife. Here Walter ironically points a gun at their bowling adversary for insisting that he did not step over the line during his roll.
This gif is also the source of the famous “Am I the only one who…” meme. Overall, I thought everything about the movie was great, and I was blown away by how many people I loved were in the movie, including some Miller’s Crossing cast-members (Steve Buscemi). I love John Goodman and Jeff Bridges, but I think I was happiest seeing Julianne Moore in her role as Maude Lebowski.
She was British and amazing. This is also my new favorite gif. But aside from Maude, the Dude is the most enjoyable character in the movie. He even loves two of my favorite things, bowling and White Russians. Watching him lazily try to skim the surface was the main source of comedy, and Jeff Bridges did a great job in portraying that pitiful sloth-like sense of not caring about anything.
I highly recommend the film to anyone who enjoys a high-stakes adventure and a hilarious comedy in one.
No comments:
Post a Comment