Review of The Big Lebowski (1998) by J-Shap — 24 Aug 2011

The Big Lebowski is a wicked sharp genre satire disguised as a stoner comedy. It really isn't that hard to pick-up on it, but The Big Lebowski is a modern day version of a film noir. You've got the reclusive male lead (The Dude), the femme fatales (The trophy wife and the daughter), the mysterious alliance of criminal henchmen (The German nihilists), the decadent businessman (Jackie Treehorn), and the fat, rich, scheming individual who oversees the fates of all those involved (The Big Lebowski).

The situation The Big Lebowski gives us is what if you took out the private eye and replaced him with a man so lazy, he is unable to solve any mystery. What the film that shows us is precisely how ridiculous the entire situation is.

This is actually even clearer when observing the typical Coen brothers theme, which is finding the humor in the darkest situation (this was proven indefinitely in the brilliant Fargo). Well, film noir literally translates as "dark film" so that means that this is really as dark as you can get outside of the Holocaust (and no, I don't wish the Coens made a comedy about the Holocaust).

And boy is it ridiculous when it is shown before us through the eyes of the passive individual. While the satire is brilliant enough, the Coens make it even better with their signature style of idiosyncratic dialogue, and absurdist themes about the nature of life and crime.

Inject that with a dose of irony, and The Big Lebowski is the Will Hunting of comedies: He's brilliant, but you sure wouldn't guess it by looking at him.