The Big Lebowski

Her life was in their hands. Now her toe is in the mail.
Her life was in their hands. Now her toe is in the mail.
THE BIG LEBOWSKI (18)
D: Joel Coen
Polygram/Working Title (Ethan Coen)
USA 🇺🇸 1998
127 mins
 
Comedy/Mystery
 
W: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
DP: Roger Deakins
Ed: Roderick Jaynes & Tricia Cooke
Mus: Carter Burwell
PD: Rick Heinrichs
 
Jeff Bridges (Jeff 'The Dude' Lebowski), John Goodman (Walter Sobchak), Julianne Moore (Maude Lebowski), Steve Buscemi (Donny), Peter Stormare (Karl Hungus), David Huddlestone (Jeffrey (The Big) Lebowski), John Turturro (Jesus Quintana), Ben Gazzara (Jackie Treehorn), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Brandt), Sam Elliott (The Stranger)
 
Jeff 'The Dude' Lebowski is a lethargic stoner who is mistaken for a disabled billionaire with the same name whose bimbo ex-porn star wife has been kidnapped. The wheelchair-bound billionaire asks the slacker to be the middleman for the ransom money, but all 'The Dude' really wants is a replacement rug and to hang out with his bowling buddies.
You probably do have to be a fan of the Coen Brothers, who have created a genre all to themselves, to fully enjoy this.
It's pretty much a Shaggy Dog story which makes it up as it goes along, but it features the usual offbeat, zany characters and situations synonymous with the filmmaker's other works, not to mention stuffed with hidden jokes and cryptic metaphors which may not be picked up on during an initial viewing.
Jeff Bridges absolutely steals this movie, making "The Dude" one of the coolest and laidback movie characters in cinema history.
The Dude abides.
8/10

Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski
Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski
Did You Know:
Before filming a scene, Jeff Bridges would frequently ask the Coen brothers "Did the Dude burn one on the way over?" If they said he had, he would rub his knuckles in his eyes before doing a take to make his eyes appear bloodshot.