The Big Lebowski
Year: 1998
Rating: R
Length: 117 minutes / 1.95 hours
In the last year or so, I’ve tried to watch a few cult classics that had escaped my purview. I’m familiar with their cultural significance, and I can understand why they are beloved by many, but they aren’t necessarily perfect films by any means. Movies like The Goonies (1985) and Mean Girls (2004) are mostly known via their memeable moments. This was why I already understood the gist of these movies before actually sitting down and watching them. The Big Lebowski (1998) was yet another cult classic that had these same strengths and weaknesses.
First off, Jeff Bridges is “The Dude.” If he didn’t provide such a solid performance, I doubt this movie would have become nearly as memorable. However, what people might forget about this film is how weird it is. Many sequences left me scratching my head and wondering what the heck was going on. And perhaps it’s this kind of “stoner appeal” that led it into its cult status. Then again, I have to remind myself that the Coen Brothers toe that line between serious drama (Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), and True Grit (2010)) and comedy (The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Burn After Reading (2008), and Hail, Caesar! (2016)).
Of course, the comedy the Coen Brothers bring to the table is definitely of the dark variety, and The Big Lebowski has enough of it sprinkled throughout its plot that you have no doubt it’s a Coen Brothers movie. And while it’s fun watching The Dude piece together the predicament he finds himself in, the plot pivots and turns so hard and fast that it’s hard to keep up at times. Ultimately, The Big Lebowski is an entertaining film and probably contributed to an increase of people ordering White Russians at bars for years to come.
Another Coen Brothers cult classic, I give The Big Lebowski 4.0 stars out of 5.
