Ultimateserge’s Block

The Big Lebowski-1998 June 9, 2010

Rating: *

Directed By: Joel  & Ethan Coen

Starring:

Every now and then there comes a film with such a unique and absurd plot that good or bad, it usually is conceivable why the project was green lighted. Even if it turns out to be a commercial failure, maybe due to the help of Critics it gains momentum, or with the help of fans it may turn in to a cult classic. Films from Being John Malkovich to David Lynch’s Eraserhead, there have been many films in recent times that are based on preposterous ideas and occur in preposterous settings. A big advantage of these films is that they advise that this no ordinary movie experience, and that the audience will be shocked, enlightened, disgusted, or simply mystified by this visual experience. However, get this: The Big Lebowski is centered on a guy whose rug was “molested” by two thugs.

The correct term should be urination rather than molestation, but this how protagonist reacts as if this is an act of molestation. The main character of the film is Jeff Lebowski, or as he likes to be called: The Dude. The Dude, furious at this intrusion sets to gain compensation from the rich man who was mistaken for him, also named Lebowski. The older Lebowski, referred to as the Big Lebowski,  does not seem to be as approachable as The Dude had thought, but he eventually succeeds in gaining a second rug from him by tricking his attendant. To the Dude his business with Lebowski is done, but now Lebowski needs The Dude’s help to get back his wife, a young girl named Bunny,  who has been kidnapped. Considering that the thugs first aim was to find Lebowski’s wife, rather than the Dude, he seems like the best candidate to hand in the ransom money, and discover if the kidnappers are also the thugs he encountered. With the help, or rather mischief, of his friend, Walter-brilliantly portrayed by John Goodman, the delivery of the money, the identity of the kidnappers, Bunny’s whereabouts, are not as painless a plan as it seems, nor is the devised plan as innocently devised as The Dude thought.
The Big Lebowski is typical of the Coen Brother’s comic style: Complex, superfluous, innumerous characters, and overfilled with profanity. Everything from the very beginning of the film of the film is very Coen Brother’s like and, as a result, absurd. The idea that a man should be aggravated, to the degree that the Dude is, seems a funny idea, but what comes after? The Dude must either get his rug, or not get his rug? What then? The story is so flatly devised that it really requires huge amount of effort to even help the film start moving. After the kidnapping and the realization of the role of The Dude in retrieving Bunny becomes clear, this seems set to be a mischievous account of the Dude’s failed and hilarious attempts to accomplish this mission.

Unfortunately, the Coen Brothers do the strange deed of completely avoiding the development of the plot, and actually creating a series of events that at first glance seem to be related to the story line, but are actually a dire attempt to increase the running time to two hours. The Dream sequences are exquisitely detailed and original, but what is the true effect of their presence? The Big Lebowski’s daughter, Maude, offers good advice to The Dude about his mission, but in a quite pointless incidence sleeps with the Dude to have his child; a child that is never shown in the film. There is another scene with a high school student who is supposedly responsible for the issues that come up with the ransom money; a scene that is overly long and includes another episode of Walter’s tiring tantrums. Another one of The Dude’s friend, Walter, offers no use rather than being Walter’s device for profanity: “Shut the F*** up, Walter.” Do not get me wrong, I am not offended by the profanity, but rather insulted that the Coen Brothers have devised two characters simply too spew profanity back and forth. The Coen Brothers countless characters are not overwhelming, but mostly offer no special insight and edge to the film.

The Big Lebowski seems like it was very fun and hilarious to write, direct, and star in, but in retrospect it is a very painful film to watch. The Coen Brothers in a sense may not get all the blame for creating such a catastrophe by creating a film based on a stolen rug; to be honest, even the most seasoned writers would have trouble doing much with such a silly premise. However, the Coen Brothers are to blame in their method of approach in developing the film. For they are not actually developing, but dancing around the plot with the arrogance of convincing us everything happening in the film is eventually relevant. Overstuffed with useless, one-note characters, The Big Lebowski treads along causing conflicts that are unnecessary and unengaging, with a one of a kind ending that seals the this film’s faith among the most bizarre, shameless vanity projects to be conceived in some time. In the beginning of the film, the narrator informs us that the Dude is one of those people that could fit in every time or place; hopefully history will be unkind to such a piece of work, and bury it deep within the sands of time. Then, again, maybe the Dude will eventually outsmart al of us, and turn out victorious. 

For fans of such absurdism and mischief in film, Martin Scorsese’s After Hours is a much better piece of work.