They've done it again! The Coen brothers Joel and Ethan have created another terrific comedy, with the same weird, light-hearted mood that "Raising Arizona" had. As usual, Joel is the director, Ethan is the producer, and they combine their efforts on the screenplay.
Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, who prefers to be called 'The Dude'. He's a former hippy radical, who has mellowed into an unemployed, lazy hedonist. He hangs out in a bowling alley with the other members of his bowling team, Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buscemi). Walter is an imposing, highly strung Vietnam veteran, Donny is unassuming and subjected to endless verbal abuse from Walter.
Would-be Russian terrorists confuse the Dude
with another Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston),
a wealthy, wheelchair-bound philanthropist
with young, free-spending trophy wife Bunny
(Tara Reid). It seems that the wife owes some
money, which the terrorists are trying to
collect. Soon, the wife is held hostage by
the terrorists, with the Dude hired by Lebowski
as the ransom delivery boy. Somehow this
leads the Dude to encounters with a producer of
pornographic films (Ben Gazzara) and Lebowski's
bohemian daughter Maude. "The Big Lebowski"
is also something of a Mystery, with the Dude
eventually and surprisingly able to figure
things out.
"The Big Lebowski" has some surreal 'dream'
sequences; these occur after The Dude has
been drugged or knocked unconscious. Sometimes
these are funny, but I'm not sure about the
men carrying the big scissors. Is this a
parody of something?
Otherwise, the direction is very good. Joel Coen
can make expert use of close-ups to tell a story
(e.g. whose toe is missing). He is well aided
by the script, which endlessly milks running
jokes involving Walter (his bowling obsession,
his abuse of Donny), Bridges (his insistence
on being called The Dude, the condition of his
car), and the terrorists' Russian accents
(especially the scene where they order breakfast).
Jeff Bridges is sometimes whiny, but on the
whole he gives a very good performance. Goodman,
who along with Buscemi seems to appear in most
Coen projects, is absolutely hilarious. Goodman
may not have made it in Hollywood as a major star
("The Flintstones" was his best opportunity)
but he is a terrific supporting actor when given
good lines.
According to one source, the f-word in its
various forms was used 241 times in the script.
As in "South Park", the torrent of obscenities
works well within the context of the film, and
shouldn't be held against it. (75/100)
Product DetailsOriginal Title:The Big Lebowski (Full Screen Collector's Edition)Actors: David Huddleston - Jeff Bridges, - John Goodman - Julianne Mo...More at iNetVideo.com
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