The Big Lebowski 1998
I didn’t see this movie until well after it came out. I had heard mixed reviews, so I wasn’t in a hurry, but there were enough things pointing me towards it that I felt I finally needed to watch. It is worse than I expected. I don’t know if I even realized it was a Coen brothers movie before the credits rolled, but I generally like those. However, this movie plays kind of like them trying to make a really bad movie and succeeding. The cast is very good, all Coen veterans like John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro along with Jeff Bridges in the main role as “The Dude” who likes to call himself The Dude and insists everyone else calls him that as well. Unfortunately it seems like the actors are let on a long leash and while they say they followed the script meticulously, it seems like there was a lot of improvisation. Not a fan of improv, I could tell the actors were enjoying themselves and their portrayals of these eccentric characters, but it just turned me off. The exception was probably John Turturro as an arrogant Latino bowler named Jesus. He only gets a few scenes, but is fun to watch. Contrast that with John Goodman who gets too many scenes, overplays it, and just got on my nerves. Jeff Bridges is okay. The character of The Dude is interesting and he is incredibly laid back given what is going on in his life. But as a guy without passion, it is hard to figure what motivates him. The plot itself is fun and turns out to be sort of like a private detective story even though The Dude isn’t a detective.
The movie has a cult following, which typically means it is only good if you really, really believe that it is good. I’m more skeptical than that, so I can’t see what others see. C-.
Written: 04 Oct 2009
Owned on: Digital