Tuesday, November 15, 2016

A Look Back At: The Big Lebowski (1998)


The Big Lebowski is one of those movies that, depending on who you talk to, is either a masterpiece or just dumb. That's kind of the beauty of this 1998 comedy, it seems like everyone gets something else out of it.

The setup seems simple enough; An unemployed, slacker, and avid bowler named Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (played by Jeff Bridges) is mistaken for a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski. The millionaire Lebowski's wife is kidnapped, and he hires The Dude to deliver the ransom money to the kidnappers. However, things don't go as planned and from there the film is off to the races.

The movie is filled with a great and memorable cast of characters, especially the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (played by John Goodman), funny dialogue, and creative dream sequences. But, one of the unique things about the film is that from Sam Elliot's opening narration all the way through until the end of the movie nothing ever seems to get resolved. The film is compelling and you want to know what this series of events is all leading up to. By the time you reach the end credits you realize that,  any number of scenes and characters could've been cut from the film entirely without it changing the final result, and plot threads that were started never really lead to an end. The only necessary element is The Dude and even he has no real character arc. The Dude is the same guy at the end of the film as he was at the beginning, he's not better for the experience, and he doesn't learn any sort of lesson. In the end "The Dude abides".

I give this one a 4 out of 5.
 If you've never seen it, go check it out. You'll definitely be entertained.


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