The Big Lebowski [Blu-ray]

In this Chandleresque story about mistaken identity, a missing trophy wife called Bunny, white Russians looking to make a few bucks and an all-important bowling competition, Jeff Lebowski (The Dude) wonders how his simple life suddenly got so complicated.When the Dude gets a night time visit from a couple of goons looking to recover a debt from a wife he doesn't have, it's quite clear the none too bright dimwits have got the wrong man. When they realise their mistake they decide to soil a rug that "really ties his room together". Deciding the real Lebowski, whoever he is, should recompense him, he sets off looking for a new unsoiled rug but soon finds himself drawn into a complicated film noirish comedy of errors.Although the Coen brothers have made some fabulously entertaining films in their career that are usually as witty and sharp as a lemon wedge pocked right into your eye, perhaps none are as sharp and wildly entertaining as The Big Lebowski. Packed with characters to die for, the plot, for the most part, is not nearly as interesting or as funny as the pitch perfect performances and the hilarious script. Lines of dialogue so laugh out loud funny delivered with such conviction by Buscemi, Goodman and Bridges mean that like many of the '40s and '50s detective mystery films starring people like Humphrey Bogart that this film is loosely based on, the often complicated plot takes a back seat. It doesn't really matter if you are not quite sure what is going on because the journey, along with your companions, is such a pleasure to undertake. Although the story does eventually make sense and things are wrapped up with a reasonably neat conclusion, it's the getting there that really matters not the eventual destination.Jeff Bridges's eventual tombstone and definitely his obituary may very well have and make some reference to the "Dude", who has now become an American cultural icon. Lines from the film are now quoted almost as much as those from Withnail and I and The Rocky Horror Picture show. His portrayal of the ageing stoner who finds himself in a new confusing world where people have issues and agendas is beyond brilliant. There is very little to like about him in reality, he doesn't work, is usually very high, spends much of his life bowling and generally slobbing about in loose-fitting clothes, however, Bridges manages to instil the Dude with such warmth, likeability and good humour that it's almost impossible to dislike him. His dysfunctional relationship with his bowling buddies is a bit like a marriage that doesn't quite work but none of the participants can be bothered to do anything about it. The arguing at cross purposes, not really listening etc should be annoying in the extreme, but it's not it's very funny. As you would expect the mystery unfolds at a leisurely pace and not everything is as expected. Just like the best mysteries, there are a couple of red herrings to complicate things and add interest.The supporting cast including Julianne Moore, John Turturro and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman are fabulous and lift the whole production to a new level. The two drug-fuelled dream sequences are a nice touch that, although very different in tone, still manage to fit in perfectly with the flow of the film. These scenes are often badly done and stop the narrative in its tracks. Here they actually compliment it.Pretty much ignored on release, TBL now has such a dedicated following it may very well be the Coens most recognisable film, perhaps excepting Fargo. Superb and extremely funny.

What really ties a movie together? Taut direction, terrific cast, well-drawn characterization, rambling narrative, immortal one-liners, offbeat plot twists, impeccable cinematography, impressive camerawork or captivating soundtrack?..... "The Big Lebowski" is rare kind of picture which blends all these elements together."Lebowski" is one of the typical Coen Brothers films that you will either love or hate, there is very little middle ground. Not only one of the most re-watchable movie you will ever see; but also, along with "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", it ranks as the best off-the-wall comedy brothers have made so far.For a film about absolutely nothing, "The Big Lebowski" has everything. Yes it is weird, wildly uneven and out of reality as its protagonist: "The Dude", unmotivated, unemployed, apathetic and unapologetic L.A. slacker who wants nothing more than to bowl, to sip on White Russian, and to puff on joints now and then. The Dude, totally stuck in the 1970s counterculture, becomes the victim of mistaken identity. He eventually finds himself in the middle of a bizarre kidnapping and ransom case. As the plot unwinds, the mystery of kidnapping becomes secondary, and all attention is drawn into the quirky characters and wacky circumstances encountered by "The Dude" in his odyssey.I credit most of the film's energy to the chemistry, especially polar opposition between the Dude and his sidekick Walter. Against the Dude's mellow, take-it-easy style, Walter is ever-pragmatic, constantly-overreacting and gun-toting character who always makes the wrong assumptions and ends up spoiling everything. Walter's misconceptions and blunders infuriate the Dude all the time and all these situations are a laugh riot.Last word: Like so many of Coen Brother's films, there is much more going underneath. There are lots of subtle and clever details conveying some ironical social and political messages. "Lebowski" is well-filmed and well-acted commentary on the modern social condition, but this is the kind of movie it takes multiple viewings to fully appreciate and it's worth all the investment.

It is fair to say that this is quite a quirky film, but then I like quirky.The film is seen through the eyes of The Dude (Jeff Bridges) who experiences several beatings and a micturated carpet, because he is mistaken for The Big Lebowski, who happens to share the same surname. Along the way he meets an amazing collection of strange characters, many of whom want to beat him up and trash his car or his apartment. The Dude is really laid back and amiable and ambles through the film drinking White Russians and smoking joints, accompanied by his bowling buddies, Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Busceni). Walter is a Vietnam veteran, has anger issues and a tendency to make any situation far worse than it needs to be.The plot revolves around looking for the big Lebowski's "kidnapped" trophy wife, Bunny but in reality, the plot is really incidental. It is the awful people that The Dude meets, the situations he gets into and the dialogue that really lifts the film out of the ordinary and makes it so special. The film twists and turns and you really don't know what is coming next. There are dream sequences, nihilist Germans, a woman painting naked from overhead wires and thugs peeing on his carpet. What more do you want? This is a really good film that is entertaining to watch and is interesting enough to support repeat viewing.