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Review #60: The Big Lebowski.
For my 60th, I’ve decided to review an all time, one off, absolutely brilliant movie.
A man who calls himself The Dude, is embroiled in a mistaken-identity kidnap and embezzlement plot with a millionaire who shares The Dude’s real name of Jeffrey Lebowski.
That’s all I’m saying on the plot, you’ll have to watch to see the complex series of events that make The Dude’s life of laziness a living hell.
It’s extremely well written in plot terms. The events are at times very surreal but extremely funny and well realised.
The dialogue writing is another plus point, in particular the conversations between The Dude and his pals Walter and Donnie are extremely well put together and real-life humorous.
There’s also the occasional hit of slapstick style violence and accidents that give the viewer some real laugh out loud moments and some hits of mild mystery in the series of strange events too.
It can be a little difficult to get into at the start, on first viewing I didn’t quite get it but on a second viewing I found it extremely funny and engaging.
It may be the fact that it feels very loose in the storytelling, which can throw the audience, there’s no tight holding of the plot and the movie appears to be going of at a tangent, but really it isn’t.
What the movie is actually doing is very cleverly building an actual rolling story rather than just the typical Hollywood ABC-123 set of events.
The acting is also absolutely brilliant.
John Goodman as Walter is a brilliantly unhinged Vietnam Vet who tends to draw The Dude into doing things he doesn’t want to do. He’s also brilliantly twitchy at times and, strangely, he’s also the kind of likeable guy you’d like to go bowling with.
Steve Buscemi as Dude’s other pal Donnie, isn’t seen a massive amount in the film but you really get to caring about him. Buscemi plays the role wonderfully drawn back as a follower of Walter and is brilliantly lost in the events that are happening to them. Buscemi was a pleasant surprise for me as I’d never seen him play such a quiet character.
Jeff Bridges as stoner and ex-hippie The Dude/Jeffrey Lebowski absolutely steals the movie though.
Bridges actually lived in costume and lived as The Dude in real life so he could really get into the character’s being and give a better portrayal and it really shows. He’s extremely real and natural.
Outside of his role in Starman, it’s Bridges best performance.
All in all, it’s by far one the best written films I’ve ever seen and very funny. Most people like me, had a tough time on first viewing, but give it a go and keep your mind open and it’ll certainly make you laugh, cry and even cringe. A very rare film.
My rating is another easily given 100%
For my 60th, I’ve decided to review an all time, one off, absolutely brilliant movie.
A man who calls himself The Dude, is embroiled in a mistaken-identity kidnap and embezzlement plot with a millionaire who shares The Dude’s real name of Jeffrey Lebowski.
That’s all I’m saying on the plot, you’ll have to watch to see the complex series of events that make The Dude’s life of laziness a living hell.
It’s extremely well written in plot terms. The events are at times very surreal but extremely funny and well realised.
The dialogue writing is another plus point, in particular the conversations between The Dude and his pals Walter and Donnie are extremely well put together and real-life humorous.
There’s also the occasional hit of slapstick style violence and accidents that give the viewer some real laugh out loud moments and some hits of mild mystery in the series of strange events too.
It can be a little difficult to get into at the start, on first viewing I didn’t quite get it but on a second viewing I found it extremely funny and engaging.
It may be the fact that it feels very loose in the storytelling, which can throw the audience, there’s no tight holding of the plot and the movie appears to be going of at a tangent, but really it isn’t.
What the movie is actually doing is very cleverly building an actual rolling story rather than just the typical Hollywood ABC-123 set of events.
The acting is also absolutely brilliant.
John Goodman as Walter is a brilliantly unhinged Vietnam Vet who tends to draw The Dude into doing things he doesn’t want to do. He’s also brilliantly twitchy at times and, strangely, he’s also the kind of likeable guy you’d like to go bowling with.
Steve Buscemi as Dude’s other pal Donnie, isn’t seen a massive amount in the film but you really get to caring about him. Buscemi plays the role wonderfully drawn back as a follower of Walter and is brilliantly lost in the events that are happening to them. Buscemi was a pleasant surprise for me as I’d never seen him play such a quiet character.
Jeff Bridges as stoner and ex-hippie The Dude/Jeffrey Lebowski absolutely steals the movie though.
Bridges actually lived in costume and lived as The Dude in real life so he could really get into the character’s being and give a better portrayal and it really shows. He’s extremely real and natural.
Outside of his role in Starman, it’s Bridges best performance.
All in all, it’s by far one the best written films I’ve ever seen and very funny. Most people like me, had a tough time on first viewing, but give it a go and keep your mind open and it’ll certainly make you laugh, cry and even cringe. A very rare film.
My rating is another easily given 100%
