by M. Roca
The Big Lebowski is a great example of the power of cinema to transcend its original medium into the wider realm of pop culture and cult fandom. If you ever happen to walk down Thompson Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, you could bump into a store wholly dedicated to the Coen brothers late 90s film. Stocked with paraphernalia and merchandise devoted to the comedy, The Little Lebowski Shop offers a glimpse of the movie’s continuously enduring popularity over time. Once inside, a visitor is thrust into the Dude’s world, and you can get the T-shirt to prove it!! Keeping one’s johnson from deliberately peeing on the store’s rug would seem insurmountable. Along with the (now) 10 years of beautiful tradition that the Lebowski fests (held all over the country and beyond since 2002) offer enthusiasts and bowlers alike, you can plainly see how Lebowski’s legacy has quickly become a far-reaching cultural phenomenon.
The movie itself was a follow up to the Coens’ then biggest success Fargo. The reception was mixed and the box office, while not awful, barely grossed more than its actual budget during the initial theater run in the US. The plot was a jumbled, knotty puzzle that would have given Raymond Chandler a headache. Like many classic noirs filled with befuddling twists and turns (The Big Sleep, the second half of Out Of The Past, The Lady From Shanghai), one would need a Prezbo-and-Lester-Freamon bulletin board to keep track of all the characters and story details that occur in the 119 minutes. This, however, does not detract from the joys of The Big Lebowski. The destination is not as important as the journey and the gradual affinity we begin to feel for the main participants. The Dude, Walter, Donny, Maude, Jesus, Liam, Brandt, Jackie and the Pomeranian all vividly come across the screen as real corporeal (and comedic) characters. They inhabit a world we want to consider truly exists. The Coens’ script and dialogue is so expertly fine-tuned, that it ticks like a Swiss fucking watch of believability.
The Big Lebowski is a buddy film, first and foremost. And to give a plot synopsis would accomplish very little. The movie mainly revolves around two completely diametrically opposed protagonists: a burnout hippie with a severe lack of employment and the occasional acid flashback and a gun-loving Vietnam vet with a huge chip on his shoulder. The inspiration for The Dude supposedly came from two people the Coen brothers met in LA. One had a fondness for White Russians and marijuana; the other had actually found a 12-year-old’s homework in his stolen car. Walter Sobchak (portrayed with great relish by John Goodman) was partially based on director and screenwriter John Milius, whose Red Dawn and Conan The Barbarian proved he roundly rejected prior restraint and pacifism. The film is meant to highlight the witty banter these guys throw at each other above all else. The movie references are numerous and plentiful. Everything from Murder My Sweet—“darkness washed over The Dude—darker than a black steer’s tookus on a moonlight prairie night. There was no bottom”—to the bizarre Busby Berkeley Viking musical numbers. Anything is feasible…an ethos of unlimited possibilities guides the proceedings throughout the picture.
Overall, we get a giant helping of pornographers, nihilists, strong men who also cry, Kraftwerk err Autobahn, Saddam Hussein, vaginal art, embezzlement schemes, and tumbling tumbleweeds that contribute to the giant sprawling mosaic of early 90s LA that Lebowski calls home. Double (even triple and quadruple) crosses transpire. You attempt to look for the person who will benefit from all these happenings and find that nothing is made clear. It’s a place where Creedence holds dominion over The Eagles, and the cab driver’s opinion has been found faulty and illogical. Those who are bereaved are certainly not saps. Theodor Donald Kerabatsos (played by Steve Buscemi) checks out and finally remains silent, but gets a lovely sending off on a cliff over a peaceful beach. Everything is spoken in the parlance of our times, F-bombs included. A nine-toed woman must live with her decision for some ransom money, while Smokey rolls another frame… dreaming of peace and tranquility forevermore.
While references to past films are easy to decipher throughout by knowledgeable movie buffs, the biggest nod of all seems to be directly squared towards Ivan Passer’s film Cutter’s Way. That 1981 film also stars Jeff Bridges playing a (much younger and chiseled) slacker who drifts his way through life, while hanging out with agitated Vietnam vet Alex Cutter (played by John Heard). The movie, though, is no comedy, and is instead a very politically charged film calling on the poor and disenfranchised to rise up against wealthy elites by any means necessary. Bridges’ character, Richard Bone, has clear parallels with The Dude as both don’t seem to take life very seriously. You could imagine Bone occupying various administration buildings in college without ever committing himself to any worthwhile cause. There seems to be nothing beyond superficiality to the character of Bone. Whatever inner life was once present has perhaps been extinguished by the disillusionments many people felt with the slow death of the 60s ideals in the midst of the 70s. The Dude seems to be this very same person now fully immersed in his middle age quandaries or lack thereof.
Alex Cutter echoes Walter Sobchak quite explicitly as well. Both are Vietnam vets equally embittered by their experiences abroad fighting in a hopeless war. More evidence: They also cling to this traumatic period in their lives as a way to feel some self-worth and sense of purpose (Cutter also uses it to get out of trouble when necessary) and impossible schemes are hatched and implemented in both movies with the hope of some financial reward as a final bonus. While The Big Lebowski comes across as being much less political than Cutter’s Way, it does allude to the fact that perhaps dangerous neo-cons, like Walter, and sniveling liars, like crippled Jeffrey Lebowski, are running our foreign policy and pulling the strings. Saddam Hussein also pops up menacingly several times, stressing the anxiety many felt about the Gulf War. Maybe the bums did lose as Jeffrey screams out to The Dude after their initial meeting, or perhaps it’s actually the other bums in charge that made the goddamn plane crash into the mountain.
The Coen Brothers’ follow-up to Fargo came out in my college years, which is precisely the perfect time to watch this movie. Back then, half my vocabulary consisted of dialogue directly from the picture. In fact, if my list was strictly based on the ratio of laughs garnered, Lebowski would be my #1 choice by far. It may also be my single most watched film ever (and it rightly deserves multiple viewings as often as possible). To anyone who has not yet seen The Big Lebowski, I highly suggest you grab your significant other and set aside some time to get intimately acquainted with the film.
“You got a date Wednesday, baby!!!”
How The Big Lebowski made the top 100:
#3 J.D. La France
#6 Samuel Wilson
#11 Maurizio Roca
#16 Pierre De Plume
#17 Dean Treadway
#18 Sachin Gandhi
#19 Dennis Polifroni
#21 James Uhler
#38 Bobby McCartney
#41 Steven Mullen
#44 Ed Howard
#60 Brandie Ashe
Tremendous little review here from Maurizio!
If you “know” the film you’ll be pleasantly surprized how the author slips many of the best lines from the movie into the text of review and meshes them together to create a bizarre tribute and to show how reaching this cult classic film has become.
As for the movie? I can only say that my love for this film is unwavering, agree with Maurizio that, pound for pound, it has more aching belly laughs per minute than any other film that has, or will, grace this count.
The plot and the maze-like twists of the film are derived from the great crime noir writers, this is true. However, I don’t think, and this is the only point I will not agree with the author on, they’re so cryptic and complicated to follow. Matter of fact, I actually think the plotting is really kinda nifty and serves as a perfect springboard for the comedy that results directly from it. It’s a laugh-a-minute, off-the-wall, yet realistic vision of ernest intention gone completely haywire in the hands of two men that have absolutely no business trying to solve a labrynthine puzzle. The screenplay (written by the director and the producer) has produced some of the most memorable and quotable dialogue in comedy of the past 40 years, but somehow manages to tell an engrossing (and, often times, gross) story that can double as both a great campfire tale (a suggested by the narration of the “stranger”) and an observation of the slacker culture that plaques every generation in some form or another.
The cast is uniformly perfect even down to the smallest role (recording star Amy Mann has a split second cameo appearance as an amputee and she’s pitch perfect in her line-reading and physical presence). However, the film is guided by two of the titan turns in modern American comedy films.
John Goodman is a veritable powder keg of pent-up emotion and confusion as Walter, the Viet-Nam vet who sometimes thinks he’s still tailing “Charlie” in the jungles. His penchant for violently verbal assaults and physical reaction are both the stuff of comic legend and dangerous psychopathy. In short, it’s the role that Goodman was both born to play and will be forever remembered for 20, 30, shit, 100 years down the line. I love how he can go from pasive observer as “Smokey” steps up to roll during a leaque tornament and all but splatters the poor guys brains all over the bowling alley floor with an automatic pistol when the question of whether or not the working class athlete may have poked a tow over the line.
But, if the movie belongs to one specific actor then THE BIG LEBOWSKI is a triumph for the ever-reliable Jeff Bridges. ANYONE who has ever taken a toke off a joint or dabbled in recreational drugs will tell you that Bridges turn as the “laziest man in Los Angeles County” is so spot on it makes you wonder if the actor was partaking in the actual substances while making the film. From his sleepy reactions to hard news and information that embroils him deeper and deeper into the mystery surrounding a botched kidnapping, to his clueless attitude towards the dangers that are rearing their heads towards him, Bridges knocks the character of Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski out of the park. While some would say the turn is way “over-the-top”, it only takes being in the company of a friend who is stoned and mildly drunk to know that the sincerity and turthfulness in Bridges performance is spot on. Frankly, the actor has never been given a role a good as Lebowski and it looks like Bridges knows this and gives it everything he’s got (how he didn’t procure an Oscar nomination for his turn still boggles my mind to this day).
Of course, this should not overshadow the superlative editing and production design that has become part of the legend that is THE BIG LEBOWSKI (I loved the inclusion of the photo of Nixon bowling that sits over The Dudes wet bar at home) and everything, from the choice of music in the background (big kudos have to go to the inclusion of a swinging Spanish rendition of HOTEL CALIFORNIA during the pseudo musical number that introduces John Turturro’s villanous bowler “Jesus”) to the costume design (my favorite is the Dudes combo of white unfdershirt, boxer shorts, clear plastic sandles, sunglasses and a bathrobe to bowl in) just adds to the fabric and flavor of this one-of-a-kind comic masterpiece.
The Coen’s have made their fair share of terrific movies (FARGO, MILLERS CROSSING, BLOOD SIMPLE, TRUE GRIT and their Oscar winning NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN immediately come to mind), but no other film from their rather impressive canon was as warm, unpredictable and beloved as this one.
A wonderful, bizarre film and one of the funniest movies EVER made.
Remember Dennis we’ve seen the film a bunch of times. Watching The Big Lebowski now makes perfect sense as the Coen brothers’ certainly tie up all the loose ends by the finish line. Viewing it with someone for the first time though always leads to the same reaction… confusion. It’s best to take the comedic journey with our gang of bowlers, then actually trying to literally follow the plot first time around.
Speak for yourself on that. I saw this film theatrically (and stoned) when it first premiered and caught onto the the plot and it’s twists the very first time out the gate. Yes, some CAN get so caught up in it’s hilarity that they may forego even worrying about the plot. But, those seasoned to film, or just good with puzzles, shouldn’t have too much of a problem.
I question the potency lol.
Overall, we get a giant helping of pornographers, nihilists, strong men who also cry, Kraftwerk err Autobahn, Saddam Hussein, vaginal art, embezzlement schemes, and tumbling tumbleweeds that contribute to the giant sprawling mosaic of early 90s LA that Lebowski calls home.
That’s quite a mouthful Maurizio, and what a stupendous essay you have written for this much-adored film. Oddly enough I was never a fan of the film, and I’ve taken a lot of heat from friends and people I respect for that conviction. I saw it in the theatre, then again on video and then gave up. Of course I like the Coens (A SERIOUS MAN, FARGO and NO COUNTRY are the Big Three for me) and quite understand this is the ultimate stoner film and in ways the originator, but I was never imersed in the hilarity. The telling sign for you of course is the repetition of much of the dialogue between friends (I am that way with FULL METAL, JACKET, DO THE RIGHT THING, ATLANTIC CITY and BEING THERE) which builds a further bonding with the film. I can see why this would bring the college years into resonating focus. Your great work here and Dennis’ excellent follow-up comment make a case of urgency for another viewing.
I would give you heat as well Sam. I guess Lebowski is an acquired taste overall. You also don’t need to be stoned to appreciate everything going on IMO. I would argue the film has a grade A screenplay regardless of personal lack of humor by some lol.
It does grow on you – all the Coens’ films do, I think, but this one more than most. I suppose some of it is just sorting out the plot, and the film references, and the jokes being made of them… but a lot of it is seeing the characters come into sharper relief, and seeing the relationships between them building. Watch it a couple times, then try to get past Donnie’s end without breaking…
My favorite bit with Donnie is the Jesus set piece accompanied by Hotel California. After Jesus bowls a strike, he slowly swaggers over to Lebowski and Co in slow motion and blows a kiss. Donnie’s reaction is priceless as he blinks his eyes and basically says… who me???
LOL, yup, I love that moment as well. That the Coen’s saw fit to include a pseudo musical number and then topped it all off with that slow-mo kiss told me right then and there that the writing/directing team were taking no prisoners, didn’t care what WE thought and just went all out with it.
SAM really needs to re-investigate this one again. The more I think of, and re-see, this film, the more I am convinced that its up there with NO COUNTRY and FARGO as the Coen’s very best film…
“You find the person who’ll benefit and, well… Ya know? Well. Ya Know?”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Dude?”
Alienation and apathy southern California style. The Dude is a character who represents a sub-culture. Nobody escapes in this scathing satire. M. Roca has authored a terrific essay bringing all the memories back. I guess I fall between M. Roca/Dennis and Sam. I like the film, but I can’t say I love it.
Thanks Frank.
Goodman makes this film for me, though the whole ensemble is hilarious. It’s like having Gleason as Art Carney’s sidekick rather than the usual vice versa, and the buddy aspect will keep the film timeless, I think, after the historical context — the parody of the Kuwait war and the “this will not stand” mentality — is more completely forgotten. Some parts clunk for me, especially the business with Dan Hedaya as the dancing landlord, but the rest is gold.
Goodman has always been my favorite main character as well. I would love to see a Jesus and Liam spin-off.
The “dancing landlord”????
No, no, no! Marty is one of my favorite side-wall, odd-ball characters in the film. That he even mentions having The Dude come out to see his “dance quintet”, and then follows through and goes, gave me one of the biggest belly-laughs in the entire film…
It’s side characters like Marty, Smokey, the ever silent Liam and the english butchering Pilar (who used to play a version of the character on FRASIER as Maris’s loyal maid) that bring a real texture to the off-the-wall fabric of LEBOWSKI. I wouldn’t trade little moments like that, or like the door-and-chair gag, for the world.
I like the dancing Landlord bit as well.
Excellent review that taps into the college experience when the film make its strongest impression. Not sure why I forgot to vote for it. The film is whimsical and surreal, and the dude is a flawed hero. The dream sequences is one of the most brilliant ever filmed. And the narration is very effective.
Thanks Peter. 12 out of 32 votes isn’t bad overall.
Hey Maurizio very nice review and you know this film really well. I honestly am going to plead ignorance on this one. I’ve seen it once, and honestly remember nothing about it. I like the Coens, but whenever I think of this one, I just have nothing to say because I think I just paid no attention to it when I watched it. Maybe I was giving it short shrift. I will have to re-watch this one. I am certainly aware of the cult status of this one among many people.
Thanks Jon. I would recommend you watch it again. Give it another shot .
Possibly my favorite comedy of all time, and the review does a good job capturing the flavor of the humor as well as making astute connections. (I’ve wanted to see Cutter’s Way for a while but had no idea it corresponded so closely with this movie. I’ve just added it to my instant queue and will watch it soon.)
It’s astounding how hilarious the film is – how hard and audibly it makes you laugh – and yet how fundamentally brilliant it is as well, in formal terms, in the clever structure of its narrative, in the wittiness of its allusions, and in the way its dialogue and events feed into one another and weave a web of almost subliminal connections across the movie. Like most people, I saw it for the first time under the influence (in my case, drunk rather than high) and though it was just an uproarious non sequitur. Only later did I realize just how intelligently the seemingly random and laid-back strings were being pulled.
So few films do one thing well. Lebowski does at least half-a-dozen with stone-cold genius. The Coens’ masterpiece.
Our age group/generation seems to be well represented in the polling results Joel. And check out Cutter’s Way when you get a chance. In terms of tone they are very far apart with Passer’s film striking a very solemn note. Still the connection is obvious especially when you consider the filmmakers behind Lebowski.
Read the novel Cutter and Bone before I saw the Passer movie and even with the novel being somewhat less comical in tone the resemblance to Lebowski in the core relationship was definitely there.
OK, I’ll give ‘Lebowski’ another whirl. First time I found it unwatchable after the relative restraint of ‘Fargo’.
Go for it!!!
Finally had the time to read this piece, and it reminded me why I consider it to be a great movie, but not a really good comedy. It’s complicated plot, twist, turns and characters make it entertaining and stupendous, a class on good filmmaking, but when it comes to the jokes… well, I remember laughing more with any other Coen comedy more than with this one. Now, to me, that doesn’t mean that this is a bad film, or a bad comedy, it is a comedy that happens to have no working jokes for me, the classic quotes still work, but overall I find it hard watching it again for fun, but because of the plot. I still listed it number 78 in my top 100 comedies… more because it’s a great film that happens to be a comedy.
Is Jaime smoking from that Bowling pin pipe left in the ashtray at The Dude’s place? Fact is, I don’t know how you can love the “quotable lines” and the set pieces, the plot and the characters and NOT know this is a GREAT comedy. You name all the elements that make it one of the premiere comedies of the past 40 odd years and then you stop short from giving it it’s due…
“Dude. Dude. You’re being very un-Dude here.”
I don’t get it either. Not sure how Lebowski could be a great movie without being a great comedy (scratching head in confusion).