Gramercy Pictures, Rated R
Directed by Joel Coen
Written by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

No matter what the Coen brothers' films are, they all have one thing in common: quirky characters. And "The Big Lebowski" is filled to the brim with quirky characters. It takes place right before the Gulf War, when the Dude (Jeff Bridges) is inexplicably being chased by people who think he owes them money. It turns out they chased the wrong Lebowski. The Dude's real name is Jeff Lebowski, which is a name he shares with a millionaire, also known as the Big Lebowski (David Huddleston). Many film comedies would then make it so that the Dude had to take the place of the millionaire and impersonate him, which many studio heads would think would have to lead to some hilarious goings-on. But, thankfully, these are the Coens, and they're much better than that. The plot thickens when the Big Lebowski's wife is kidnapped, apparently by the same people who attacked the Dude. The Dude is then hired to help get her back by giving the kidnappers their ransom money, a task which the Dude promptly screws up, thanks to his foul-mouthed friend Walter (John Goodman). This whole movie is filled with laughs big and small (even though a few do fall flat, there are still enough left over for it to be thoroughly entertaining). Julianne Moore steals the show as the Big Lebowski's daughter Maude, and John Turturro is hilarious as the Dude's bowling nemesis, Jesus. Steve Buscemi returns for a smaller role than the one he had in "Fargo", as Walter and the Dude's underappreciated bowling buddy Donny. The plot could be better, but all the laughs and the wonderful cinematography (a Coen brothers staple) more than make up for it. Watch for the shot from the point-of-view of a bowling ball. And just when you thought it couldn't get any stranger, along comes a great musical number. The Coen brothers don't top "Fargo" or "Raising Arizona" with this one, but they still do a splendid job. *** 1/2

---

Back to the main page