Review of The Big Lebowski (1998) by Rob M — 17 Jun 2015

The Big Lebowski, the highly anticipated and initially under-received comedy that followed the massive success of "Fargo", is by and large the funniest Coen Brother's film. Every detail, large or small, from cast to soundtrack choice, serves to accentuate the innate hilarity of the plot. Our hero is hardly fit for such a title, a dissident stoner with a penchant for Creedence Clearwater Revival, white Russian's, and his bowling buddies. This permanent burnout, who ten minutes previous to the opening action was just writing a bad check for under a dollar at his local corner store, is thrown headfirst into the dangerous realities of the Los Angeles underworld. Mistakenly made responsible for a massive debt to a porn king, a debt accumulated by a much richer, more successful, man of the same name, our protagonist is forced to participate in a non-linear series of twists, turns, double-crosses and greed simply to return to the insignificant state of being in which he enjoyed living. Thematically, this movie examines the role fate plays in the life of even the most ineffectual individual. A must see for the utterly too comfortable.

Impeccably cast as "The Dude" (our protagonist) Jeff Bridges brings undeniable likability to a willing loser. Perhaps even more important to the comedic merit of the film is the decision to cast Steve Buschemi as Donnie and John Goodman as Walter, The Dude's bowling partners, who serve as a sounding board for The Dude's woes. Donnie, a perpetually submissive, weak-hearted, lemming who receives constant unwarranted verbal abuse from Walter, a boisterous, delusional Vietnam War veteran struggling with a divorce, anger issues, and when the appropriate time is to brandish a firearm. Their dynamic as a trio (or a duo and an abused dog) is the corner stone of hilarity in this feature. While all of the aspects of the plot have some degree of comedic sensibility, these bowling alley scenes are light, largely irreverent, and bring a little levity to what would otherwise be a fairly dark, stressful, film (due to the grave nature of consequences involved in the plot).

In the case of The Big Lebowski, the soundtrack is very significant with each song reflecting either the tone of the scene or highlighting character traits. T Bone Burnett, a consummate professional and legendary musical figure, was entrusted with the job of assembling a track list. What is rare is that some of these musical choices enhance the comedy of certain characters, for example, Jesus (played by John Torturro) a dirty purple-jump suit wearing sex offender and cocky avid bowler, is introduced mid-bowl to a mariachi version of The Eagle's "Hotel California". This helps to highlight the level of disgust our hero has for this fellow. Lest we not forget, The Dude "fuckin' hates" The Eagles.

In comparison to the Coen Brother's other comedies, The Big Lebowski is the funniest because all of these criteria mesh together perfectly. 2007's Men Who Stare at Goats was very well cast, with many of the same actors from this film appearing in it, but the script was dull, the characters were unlikable, and there was no special connection between soundtrack and movie. Raising Arizona, while painfully funny in its own right and arguably just as funny as Lebowski, (in addition to being a Nicholas Cage movie that doesn't make you hate the Coppola family) did not have all of the aforementioned factors culminate. No special connection between soundtrack and movie, and a lack of actor chemistry.

It may not be that little things make a movie, but these little things make The Big Lebowski funnier. This is the best job the Coen Brothers' have done in making a comedy, and its re-watch factor is through the roof. The Dude Abides, and so do I.