The Big Lebowski
- Jun 3
- 2 min read
If you love movies made by the Coen brothers—as I do—no doubt you have your favorites. Blood Simple, Fargo, Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men—their filmography as writers and directors is astounding. But perhaps none of their movies are quite as popular as The Big Lebowski. Made in 1998 and starring Jeff Bridges and a stellar supporting cast, the comedy is a true classic, so much so that annual Big Lebowski festivals are held all over the world where fans gather, dressed as characters from the film. Go online and you can find plenty of Lebowski-themed paraphernalia to buy.
So, what is it about The Big Lebowski that makes it such a cultural phenomenon? inspired by Raymond’s Chandler’s noir detective novel The Big Sleep—the plot concerns a lazy, pot smoking slacker named Jeff Lebowski who goes by the nickname The Dude. His life pretty much consists entirely of bowling with his buddies, smoking pot, and drinking White Russians—lots of White Russians. But life suddenly spins out of control for The Dude when two tough guys show up, mistaking him for a reclusive millionaire who also happens to be named Lebowski. The tough guys are there to collect on a debt, but, of course, The Dude knows nothing about this, and the tough guys take revenge on him by beating him up and urinating on his prized Oriental rug, which upsets The Dude because the rug really tied the room together.
...the rug really tied the room together.
So, The Dude decides that his only recourse is to go see the millionaire Lebowski and ask to be compensated for his ruined rug. Bad idea because—before long—The Dude finds himself enmeshed in a confusing kidnapping plot involving pornography and a colorful cast of quirky characters.
As film critic Roger Ebert observed, The Big Lebowski is less about its stoner detective plot and more about attitude and dialogue. The scenes where The Dude hangs out at a bowling alley with his oddball friends and banters with them are wonderful and endlessly quotable. The friends are played by John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, and they have never been better. And John Turturro is unforgettable as a rival bowler named Jesus, who dresses in a hot purple jumpsuit and likes to lick his bowling ball before rolling it.
The Big Lebowski is carefree and entertaining. Some fans of the movie have so embraced The Dude as a hero to be emulated that they’ve created and joined an organized religion called Dudeism, where members celebrate a holy Day of the Dude and advocate dealing with life’s problems by “going with the flow” and “taking it easy”, just as The Dude would do.
The Big Lebowski is a modern comedy classic, Coen brothers-style. I give it four out of four White Russians.
