wilson trivino
I saw in the theater the 20 year anniversary showing of this cult classic. The dude is a still an interesting character as he deals with an array of individuals with competing interest. It is a funny and witty tale about finding your way and discovering how you fit in a complex situation. Long live the 'dude'.
Svenstadt
This movie has a big personality, and I could have given it a 10, but I felt that a 9 was more appropriate. This is basically a post-modern tale that anyone growing up in the 90's will understand. Everyone should find this entertaining, especially on re-runs on all the networks.
It requires attention span as the story is rather complicated. It also has a great number of characters to introduce. But the filmmakers do it so well that it doesn't lose any points.
I didn't give it a 10 because it is so outlandish and over-the-top that even the most gullible will want to walk away from it at times. There is a character, played by John Turturro, who is a registered sex offender, who plays bowling alongside the three main characters in league bowling, and they felt the need to do a cut-scene to tell his story, even though he is only in one scene. Also, there is the guy who is a stage actor, who wants the Dude to go to his performance, and the dude nearly forgets - this character has nothing at all to do with this movie, so the scenes changed about every 2 minutes!!! Also, John Goodman's character getting away with threatening to shoot someone in public, and the cops show up and somehow miss him!! Way too over-the-top. It felt at times like a pornographic display of garishness.
Raven-1969
Intruders break into the modest Los Angeles apartment of Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski. He is roughed up, money is demanded of him that he does not have, his head is unceremoniously swirled in the toilet and the toughs threaten to return, but they have the wrong Lebowski! This simple case of mistaken identity leads to a comedy of errors involving a kidnapping, a million-dollar ransom, Jesus in a purple bowling suit, a duffel bag full of dirty undies, an attack ferret and even a spicy bowling themed dream sequence. The Dude is inept, lazy and hopeless, but there is a time and place for everyone. He is in way over his head, yet so is everyone else.
20 years after its release and the film still one of my all-time favorites. It was my first Coen brothers film. Their brilliance and originality is instantly recognizable. The story and characters are full of delightful depth and details, the writing is witty and consistently dazzling, there is never a dull moment, and on top of everything it is really, really funny. At times I could hardly breath I was laughing so hard. Among such moments is the confrontation with the ferret, the parking lot skirmish heart attack and the bowling rants and taunts of Jesus.
Finding balance is one thing the Coen brothers excel at. Each character has offsetting strengths and weaknesses, every setting is shown in wondrous light as well as the shadows, and nothing is beyond reproach. No one and nothing is put on a pedestal, or trashed without a fair fight. The casting of Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Turturro is brilliant. The Coens have such amazing insight into the American character; rich and poor, country and city, women and men, and cultured or not. They cut across boundaries, religions, philosophies, regions and political persuasions, and they do it seamlessly and randomly as a tumbling tumbleweed and as unlikely as a bowling alley prophet!
