With some movies, it takes me a while before I finally watch them even after hearing that they are good.  The Big Lebowski is one of those movies.

Jeffrey Lebowski, who calls himself The Dude, is very laid back, spending most of his time bowling with his friends Walter and Donnie and drinking White Russians.  Things quickly get more complicated for him when two thugs rough him up over money they say his wife Bunny owes.  By the time The Dude is able to tell them that they have the wrong guy - he has no wife - one of them has already used his rug for a toilet.  

The Dude is most upset about his rug since it really tied the room together.  After telling Walter and Donnie, The Dude is convinced to seek out the other Jeffrey Lebowski, who happens to be a millionaire.  By Walter and The Dude's logic, it is all the other Lebowski's fault, so he should pay for the ruined rug.  The meeting doesn't go well, but it isn't long before Jeffrey contacts The Dude.  Bunny, Jeffrey's much younger wife, has been kidnaped and Jeffrey decides that The Dude should handle the ransom exchange.  Walter talks his way into going along, and things don't go well.  The Dude then has to deal with Jeffrey, three nihilists who use a ferret as a threat, and Maude Lebowski, Jeffrey's daughter.

The plot for The Big Lebowski is kind of senseless with how things just sort of happen while The Dude meanders along trying to deal with various situations.  I don't really think the movie is complicated, but it can be confusing because of how things happen.  It does seem like a lot of unimportant or unrelated things are going on, but as the movie progress, they are more connected.  There is a conclusion to some of what happens while a few other things are left unresolved.  I do think the story works and ends up making a very entertaining movie.  It just won't appeal to everyone.

There is mystery to what is going on in The Big Lebowski.  Within the first few minutes, men are beating up The Dude, demanding he turn over money and soiling his precious rug.  It is figured out pretty quick that the thugs have mistaken The Dude for the other Jeffrey Lebowski.  Not much time passes before Jeffrey pulls The Dude into dealing with the kidnaping of Bunny.  What should be fairly straightforward quickly spirals into a huge, somewhat complicated mess with all sorts of things going wrong.  The way things go wrong does add some surprises to what is going on and helps to keep things interesting.  Some of what happens is downright bizarre, but it works for the movie.  The way things work out sort of makes sense for the most part, though a few things that happen still seem pointless by the end of the movie.  I don't think anything that happens is predictable and I was surprised by several things.

Violence does turn up in a few scenes of The Big Lebowski, starting with one of the first scenes when the thugs beat up The Dude for money owed by the other Lebowski's wife.  The Dude ends up in other situations where he is beat up or knocked out.  At one point, he is just trying to relax in the bath when the German nihilists break in, destroy the answering machine, and then use a ferret as a threat.  I didn't think the violence was extreme or graphic, though some people may feel differently.  The characters use a lot of profanity, including variations of the word that rhymes with luck.  The language does get a bit excessive at times, so it may bother or upset some viewers.  There are some sexual comments and situations without there being an actual sex scene.  A little bit of nudity turns up briefly in one or two scenes.  The Dude is shown drinking White Russians several times, he acts like he is stoned most of the time, and he is shown smoking a joint a few times.  The movie deserves the R rating and definitely isn't family friendly.

I think there is a good amount of humor in The Big Lebowski.  Much of it is twisted in some way, but it works perfectly with what is going on.  The things that happen to The Dude, like what happens to his rug and the incident with the ferret, are just so odd and bizarre that they are funny.  The way The Dude reacts to the various things he has to deal with is also funny.  Walter has some anger issues, and his over reactions also add humor.  The twisted humor won't appeal to some people.  The sort of odd nature of the movie is continued with two trippy dream sequences.    

When watching The Big Lebowski, some people may write The Dude off as a slacker who doesn't care about anything other than bowling, getting stoned, and his rug.  He does seem that way at first, but as things progress, it becomes clear that there is more to the character.  He is far from stupid and he isn't incompetent.  He just chooses not to bother with or worry about things.  He is the one who figures out what is going on with the kidnaping and he does get extremely concerned over Bunny, a woman he barely met one time.  He doesn't seek out things, but if something falls in his lap, then he'll take advantage of what is offered.  The character is way more complex than he seems at first.  Jeff Bridges is wonderful in the part, making the character believable and likeable.

Walter is one of The Dude's friends.  Walter is a Vietnam veteran who constantly brings up things about the war.  He is very serious about bowling, getting so worked up at one point that he pulls out a gun in the bowling alley.  Walter frequently gets angry and he comes up with crazy ideas that really don't work.  John Goodman is really good in the part.  Donnie is the last member of the bowling team.  He isn't around as much, mostly only turning up in scenes at the bowling alley.  Donnie has a habit of joining conversations in the middle and then asking questions.  Steve Buscemi doesn't have a lot to do, but he is good in the part.

Jeffrey Lebowski is the rich guy who has the same name as The Dude.  He is really old and grumpy most of the time.  He is use to people doing things for him and he really seems like a big, pompous jerk.  David Huddleston does fine with the part.  Bunny is Jeffrey's much younger wife.  She owes money all around town, which is how The Dude gets pulled into the mess to begin with.  She isn't in much of the movie, but she seems flighty.  Thankfully Tara Reid isn't around long enough to get annoying.  Brandt works for Jeffrey and does everything he can to suck up to his boss.  Philip Seymour Hoffman does well with the part.

Maude Lebowski is Jeffrey's daughter from his first marriage.  She is some kind of artist who use a harness to go flying naked towards the canvas while flicking paint around.  She gets involved after Bunny's kidnaping.  Julianne Moore is really good in the part, using an odd accent that just works for the character.  Sam Elliot serves as the narrator of the story and he turns up in a few short scenes.  John Turturro turns up briefly as Jesus, a rival bowler.  He dresses all in purple and has a disturbing habit of licking his bowling ball.  The character isn't around much, but he is memorable.

Main Cast

Jeff Bridges - The Dude
Steve Buscemi - Donnie
Sam Elliot - The Stranger/Narrator
John Goodman - Walter
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Brandt
David Huddleston - Jeffrey Lebowski
Julianne Moore - Maude Lebowski
Tara Reid - Bunny Lebowski
John Turturro - Jesus

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen - Ethan is uncredited

DVD Information

I decided to go ahead and pick up The Big Lebowski when I found it for about seven dollars since I had heard so many good things about the movie.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize until later that it is the full screen version.  I think there have been other DVD releases, but I don't know what sort of extras are on the other versions.  There is a unique introduction to the movie that played automatically when I started the movie.  There are pictures that Jeff Bridges took while the movie was being made of other cast members and the Coens.  

The Making of The Big Lebowski has the Coen brothers talking about the movie and how they came up with some things.  They do talk about basing The Dude on one of their friends.  Some clips from the movie and the filming are shown during the featurette.  It is really interesting and worth watching.  Some production notes are also included that shares some information about the making of the movie.

The Big Lebowski is a strange but very entertaining movie.  Since it is so different, it isn't a movie for everyone.  Fans of Jeff Bridges or other movies made by the Coen brothers should give this one a chance.

This review is part of CaptainD's Good Movies EpiGuide 3 Write Off.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD