The Big Lebowski [Blu-ray]

In this Chandleresque story about mistaken identity, a missing trophy wife called Bunny, white Russians looking to make a few bucks and an all-important bowling competition, Jeff Lebowski (The Dude) wonders how his simple life suddenly got so complicated.When the Dude gets a night time visit from a couple of goons looking to recover a debt from a wife he doesn't have, it's quite clear the none too bright dimwits have got the wrong man. When they realise their mistake they decide to soil a rug that "really ties his room together". Deciding the real Lebowski, whoever he is, should recompense him, he sets off looking for a new unsoiled rug but soon finds himself drawn into a complicated film noirish comedy of errors.Although the Coen brothers have made some fabulously entertaining films in their career that are usually as witty and sharp as a lemon wedge pocked right into your eye, perhaps none are as sharp and wildly entertaining as The Big Lebowski. Packed with characters to die for, the plot, for the most part, is not nearly as interesting or as funny as the pitch perfect performances and the hilarious script. Lines of dialogue so laugh out loud funny delivered with such conviction by Buscemi, Goodman and Bridges mean that like many of the '40s and '50s detective mystery films starring people like Humphrey Bogart that this film is loosely based on, the often complicated plot takes a back seat. It doesn't really matter if you are not quite sure what is going on because the journey, along with your companions, is such a pleasure to undertake. Although the story does eventually make sense and things are wrapped up with a reasonably neat conclusion, it's the getting there that really matters not the eventual destination.Jeff Bridges's eventual tombstone and definitely his obituary may very well have and make some reference to the "Dude", who has now become an American cultural icon. Lines from the film are now quoted almost as much as those from Withnail and I and The Rocky Horror Picture show. His portrayal of the ageing stoner who finds himself in a new confusing world where people have issues and agendas is beyond brilliant. There is very little to like about him in reality, he doesn't work, is usually very high, spends much of his life bowling and generally slobbing about in loose-fitting clothes, however, Bridges manages to instil the Dude with such warmth, likeability and good humour that it's almost impossible to dislike him. His dysfunctional relationship with his bowling buddies is a bit like a marriage that doesn't quite work but none of the participants can be bothered to do anything about it. The arguing at cross purposes, not really listening etc should be annoying in the extreme, but it's not it's very funny. As you would expect the mystery unfolds at a leisurely pace and not everything is as expected. Just like the best mysteries, there are a couple of red herrings to complicate things and add interest.The supporting cast including Julianne Moore, John Turturro and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman are fabulous and lift the whole production to a new level. The two drug-fuelled dream sequences are a nice touch that, although very different in tone, still manage to fit in perfectly with the flow of the film. These scenes are often badly done and stop the narrative in its tracks. Here they actually compliment it.Pretty much ignored on release, TBL now has such a dedicated following it may very well be the Coens most recognisable film, perhaps excepting Fargo. Superb and extremely funny.

It is fair to say that this is quite a quirky film, but then I like quirky.The film is seen through the eyes of The Dude (Jeff Bridges) who experiences several beatings and a micturated carpet, because he is mistaken for The Big Lebowski, who happens to share the same surname. Along the way he meets an amazing collection of strange characters, many of whom want to beat him up and trash his car or his apartment. The Dude is really laid back and amiable and ambles through the film drinking White Russians and smoking joints, accompanied by his bowling buddies, Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Busceni). Walter is a Vietnam veteran, has anger issues and a tendency to make any situation far worse than it needs to be.The plot revolves around looking for the big Lebowski's "kidnapped" trophy wife, Bunny but in reality, the plot is really incidental. It is the awful people that The Dude meets, the situations he gets into and the dialogue that really lifts the film out of the ordinary and makes it so special. The film twists and turns and you really don't know what is coming next. There are dream sequences, nihilist Germans, a woman painting naked from overhead wires and thugs peeing on his carpet. What more do you want? This is a really good film that is entertaining to watch and is interesting enough to support repeat viewing.

A cult movie, a movie with its own fanbase and you can see why. It is not a perfect movie, having a few little flaws, a major credibility issue and too many characters, but it's not really meant to be credible, it is a comedy and a satire, and it is brilliant at both, especially the latter. This movie rips the Michael out of modern day LA and American characters with a passion for both satire and oddly, the characters it is mercilessly sending up. The LA stoned drifter, happy to live off anybody else rather than work; the selfrighteous Vietnam vet whose anger over rides his vain attempts to mellow out in new agey PC LA; the weasely big businessman who owns people, the sleazy Hugh Hefner like porn mogul, the avant garde arty types, the hangers on, even the fascist police chief are big Californian archetypes which are caricatured magnificently by the sharp Coen brothers. But even the side characters are vivid LA caricatures, a mix of weirdos and losers that cracks me up to this day. And lets not forget bowlers, who are mercilessly sent up here as is the slightly anoraky, obsessive sport they play.Wrapped up in a perfectly matching Chandleresque narrative, these characters come alive and show us how ridiculous they can be. The characters are really superbly drawn and their dialogue is brilliantly written. The acting is just phenomenal and once again the Academy is caught out ignoring comedy altogether as they search for 'worthy' performances for their Oscars. Both Bridges' and Goodman's performances were more than worthy of nominations for that year, and ten years on they shine out over the performances that won the things. The direction too is highly accomplished and should have been nominated, there are so many memorable scenes in this film it's silly. And then there's that amazing screenplay! And this film didn't do very well commercially or critically at the time, as some great movies just don't. I didn't even hear of this movie until at least 2001.It falls down on trying to be just a bit too whacky or arty, and in introducing too many characters. It didn't need the PI, and the German blackmailers were silly and overdone. They would have been better off trying to tie up some of the threads instead of just creating new ones all the time too, but the mock Chandler plot was definitely secondary to the great characters who inhabited the narrative. The visual and arty style of the film was very much what it was all about though, and scenes such as the bowling alley dream sequence were sublime and as good as any film art you've seen anywhere. The movie is a complete indulgence without a doubt but it is a breathtaking piece of work by all involved. A movie to watch again and again like all great cult classics and it doesn't seem to have aged at all yet. The soundtrack is spot on as well and this superbly crafted and hilarious movie deserves to be in the top 100 comedies, no question.