WARNING!!!
These previews contain vital
plot information and other potentially movie-spoiling stuff!
If you don't want to know, read no further!
THE BIG LEBOWSKI
Written by Joel and Ethan Coen. Directed by Joel Coen. Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro.
I don't think Joel and Ethan Coen have made a bad movie yet. Hell, I don't even think they've made a mediocre movie yet. Look at their track record: BLOOD SIMPLE, RAISING ARIZONA, MILLER'S CROSSING, BARTON FINK, FARGO. All terrific movies with a distinct sensibility that's different from anyone else out there. Even THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, which is widely considered their weakest effort, is better than 95% of the crappy comedies out there. It boggles my mind to hear those that condemned HUDSUCKER turn around and praise something like GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE (and yes, I've heard just that). The rationale being that they expected so much more from HUDSUCKER, being a Coen brothers film, whereas something like GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE, by virtue of its not being a total piece of crap, was a delightful surprise. What a load. With the sorry state of movie comedy nowadays (see my June 1997 SPEW page to hear me rant on that subject) we should embrace any film that shows a degree of wit and intelligence beyond the "Well, it worked on TV in the 60's" level. And wit and intelligence are the hallmarks of any Coen brothers film. Including THE BIG LEBOWSKI.
Just because they
look like losers doesn't mean they are losers...
well, actually, in this case it does.
Now, to be honest with you, I read this script a long time ago and don't remember the plot very clearly. And it doesn't help that the plot is pretty convoluted. The best I can do is give you the basics as I recall them. Here we go. An unemployed pothead and avid bowler, Jeff Lebowski gives new meaning to the term 'laid back'. He's so laid back that he likes to be called 'The Dude'. Content to be a directionless zero (and I mean that - he's really, actually content about it), his life is turned upside down when thugs break into his apartment and threaten him with the warning that he's responsible for his wife's debts. Problem being... he's not married. Seems the thugs have mistaken him for another Jeffrey Lebowski (the 'Big' Lebowski of the title), an aging millionaire. The thugs also pee on the Dude's rug, which is why he pays a visit to the Big Lebowski, hoping to hit him up for a replacement. There the Dude runs into a number of shady, colorful, and very funny characters who will turn his directionless life into a directionless hell. He becomes involved in a possible kidnapping, ransom drop... and league bowling tournament. The league bowling tournament being the most important of the three in The Dude's mind. And you know what? Things get so wild and twisted that I'm not gonna describe any more. Without the script sitting in front of me I'd never be able to do it justice... and since I'm in the process of moving and the script is packed away in a box somewhere, I'm not even gonna try. Plus I'm too lazy to go out to the garage and dig for it. So tough. Nyeah.
Is there a better
actor out there than Jeff Bridges?
Okay, okay - other than Wings Hauser...
With this script the Coens are firmly back in RAISING ARIZONA territory. It's wild, it's goofy, it's seedy, it's filled with great characters and bizarre moments, and it's hysterically funny. The Coens remind me a little of Preston Sturges in that they give each character, no matter how small, a very distinct personality with something original to contribute. The plot takes twists and turns that are logical yet surprising (a very difficult trick - most scripts can't adhere to either of those criteria anymore), even veering into the gloriously surreal with The Dude's dream sequence - a great excuse for the Coens to go nuts with their unique brand of stylized visual excess. Excess in this case being a good thing.
Okay... I know this wasn't much of a review. Like I said earlier, I read the script quite a while ago, and it's not available for me to thumb through at the moment. I guess I wanted to post this to urge you to see this film. The script was a blast, and with Jeff Bridges and John Goodman in the main roles you're guaranteed a great, entertaining, slightly twisted night at the movies. What a joy to read a script by writers who consistently turn out films with a unique voice, and yet aren't so stuck in a particular style that they become instant parodies of themselves (did I hear the name David Lynch?). I said earlier I didn't think the Coens had made a bad film yet. If this script is any indication, their record is intact.
MY PROGNOSIS? It's a quality comedy made with intelligence, wit and style. In other words, I don't hold out much hope for it. But seriously folks... I'd imagine it'll make a respectable amount of money, a lower-level hit. But in an era when most comedies look like copies of bland TV premises, it'd sure be great to see something truly original pull in the dough for a change.
AND THE CRITICS SAY...
LA TIMES (KENNETH TURAN): "The Coens' career has alternated between pictures where the connection to audiences was made with exhilarating success (the recent FARGO) and others (the completely baffling THE HUDSUCKER PROXY) where all circuits were down. Their latest, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, turns out to be a little of both. Though the film has so much plot that the Coens consider LEBOWSKI a 90's version of a Raymond Chandler detective novel, the story line is in truth disjointed, incoherent and even irritating... Yet as tempting as it is to completely dismiss THE BIG LEBOWSKI, it's hard to do because the Coens are able to create wickedly funny eccentrics and possess the ability to energize certain actors to inhabit them completely... Unfortunately it's the nature of this film that all of LEBOWSKI's good things exist in a vacuum. Unconcerned about creating a coherent center, the Coens haven't cared that the Dude is not only too laid-back to pay his rent, he's also too laid-back to function as a protagonist."
ROGER EBERT: "The Coen brothers' THE BIG LEBOWSKI is a genial, shambling comedy about a human train wreck, and should come with a warning like the one Mark Twain attached to HUCKLEBERRY FINN: "Persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."... This is the first movie by Joel and Ethan Coen since FARGO. Few movies could equal that one, and this one doesn't - but it's weirdly engaging, like its hero...In spirit, THE BIG LEBOWSKI resembles the Coens' RAISING ARIZONA, with its large cast of peculiar characters and its strangely wonderful dialog... One of the pleasures of FARGO was the way the Coens listened carefully to how their characters spoke. Here, too, note that when the In & Out Burger shop is suggested for a rendezvous, the Dude supplies the address: That's the sort of precise information he would possess... Some may complain THE BIG LEBOWSKI rushes in all directions and never ends up anywhere. That isn't the film's flaw, but its style."
WHILE THE PUBLIC SAYS...
THE BIG LEBOWSKI debuted in 6th place, with a gross of $5.6 million. Wow, I can't believe it didn't rake in more, judging from the brilliant bowling alley tie-ins the ad people devised. Seriously, bowling alleys are having LEBOWSKI giveaways, like hats and t-shirts. Uh... someone wanna tell the ad department that just because a movie has bowling in it doesn't mean it's necessarily aimed at your typical league bowling types? In fact, here's another hint for you - even if there is bowling in your film? History has shown us that featuring it in the ad campaign is the equivalent of putting up posters for the next Spike Lee film at a Klan rally. The chances for a big opening are... well... ever try to pick up a 7 - 10 split?
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