Directed by Joel Coen
Written by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
There’s a production number in the middle of the movie. The Coen brothers have put a production number in the middle of their latest movie and gotten away with it![giggle]
Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski(Jeff Bridges) is a refugee from the ’60s who’s into bowling... and marajuana. He’s a loser who’s always late with the rent and is living his life in the way he likes it and has no ambitions beyond winning the local tournement. Cool.
Jeff “The Big” Lebowski(David Huddleston) is a famous millionaire with a beautiful wife half his age named Bunny (Tara Reid) who owes money all over town, and one day one of her creditors decides to teach her a lesson.
Unfortunatly, the only Jeff Lebowski in the phone book is the Dude.
So the creditor’s thugs stick the Dude’s head in the toilet and tinkle on his rug, and at the urging of his best buddy Walter Sobchak(John Goodman) the Dude goes to The Big Lebowski to get his rug, if not cleaned, replaced.
And after a slight verbal altercation, he takes a small one home and goes home to concentrate on pot and the upcoming bowling tournament against Knox Harrington(David Thewlis) and Jesus Quintana(John Turturro), serial sex offender and bowler par exellance.
Can Walter, the Dude and third stooge Donny(Steve Buscemi) win the tournament? Before the Coens can ever answer that question, there just HAS to be a kidnapping right?
So the Big’s young new wife disappears, a ransom note is sent, and the Big gets his flunky Brandt(Philip Seymour Hoffman) to call the Dude up to be the bag man for the drop.
But Walter has other ideas. So has the Big’s daughter Maude(Julianne Moore being very droll) an avante guard type who knows that something is up. She also wants the Dude’s sperm. Does mayhem ensue? Is the Pope Polish?
Somewhere in this delightful mess is a drug induced [by porn king Jackie Treehorn(Ben Gazzara)] production number, conspiricies galore, a marmont in a bathtub and some wonderful music and cinematography.
The problem with this film is that it isn’t “Fargo.” That, of course, was an almost perfect movie. Wonderful is less than perfect, but so what? This is well worth the seven bucks.
