THE BIG LEBOWSKI 4.0***

The reshowing of the movie, “The Big Lebowski”, at the Colony Theatre last Wed. night was a sell-out. Watching the movie with fellow dudes and dudettes was quite a fun and even electric experience. The Colony did some special things to make it even better..door prizes connected to the film, the best of which was a big and little rug, and 1998 movie previews of other movies of that year. The only thing missing was White Russians although they do serve beer and wine there. I’m sure most of the viewers got a WR before or after the movie in honor of the Dude.. I did.

I won’t attempt to describe the plot. Let’s just say it begins with a thug peeing on the Dude’ s favorite rug and goes from there. Along the way you come to be understand the pros and cons of bowling, smoking weed, White Russians, the Eagles music, delivering a ransom payoff, being unemployed, etc. It is one of the earlier Coen brother’s movies.. came after “Fargo” and has become a full-fledged cult classic.

The Dude is played by Jeff Bridges with a goatee, a potbelly, a ponytail and a pair of Bermuda shorts so large they may have been borrowed from his best friend and bowling teammate, Walter Sobchak (John Goodman). Their other teammate is Donny (Steve Buscemi), who may not be very bright, but it's hard be sure since he never is allowed to complete a sentence. Jeff Lebowski calls himself the Dude, and is described by the narrator as ``the laziest man in Los Angeles County.'' It also has a great supporting cast ( including, Julianne Moore, George Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, Sam Elliott, and Ben Gazzara). The Dude lives only to go bowling, but is mistaken for a millionaire named the Big Lebowski, with dire consequences. Jeff Bridges gives such a terrific performance but he makes it look too easy and, as a result, he lost out on an Academy Award.

“The Big Lebowski” is about attitude, not a story. It’s easy to lose sight of that because the story is do frenetic…what with a kidnapping and ransom money, a porn king, a runaway girl, a woman who paints while nude and strapped to a harness and, of course bowing. Lebowski is the ultimate personification of a Dude…so laid back, so chilled and yet so with it. If we could all be a little bit like the Dude, there would be an interesting world peace, a whole lot more unemployment than even now and, of course, marihuana would be legalized.

A warning for those adverse to profanity… the F-word or a variation of the F-word is used 292 times…. but remember, that’s how dudes talk.

Clark

TRIVIA NOTES:
The word "dude" is used around 161 times in the movie. .
The F-word or a variation of the F-word is used 292 times
The Dude says "man" 147 times in the movie, nearly 1.5 times a minute.
The Dude drinks 9 White Russians during the course of the movie.( Recipe for making a White Russian: 2 parts vodka, 1 part coffee liqueur (such as Kahlúa) and 1 part cream. Served with ice in a low ball glass. )