"Literally A Laugh a Minute Comedy" (Not a Spoiler)

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2004)

Were it not for some of the Woody Allen's classic slapstick films, I
would have little reservation in saying that "The Big Lebowski" stood
alone atop the list as my all time favorite pure comedy. Over a period
of years I've probably seen this movie ten times and every time I watch
it produces multiple belly laughs.
In my opinion the Coen Brothers, who wrote and directed this piece, are
the most versatile filmmakers of our time. Some how they manage to
incorporate an ambiance of surrealism into all of their work, comedic or
not. Nowhere is this effect more Blatantly utilized than in "The Big
Lebowski". A good example is Sam Elliott's narration and brief
appearance, which are totally out of place but completely effective.
Then there's John Turtturo's Cameo as Jesus Quintana, a Hispanic, purple
clad, pedophile, bowling fanatic which left me howling.
I would never have thought that Jeff Bridges could conform so perfectly
to the leading role of Jeff Lebowski, or "The Dude", as he insist on
being called. His sparkling adaptation of a dry witted, mostly laid
back, unemployed pot smoking hippie who rarely takes anything seriously
and has frequent acid flashbacks, was completely convincing.
With the encouragement of his friend Walter, (John Goodman), The Dude
hatches what should be a relatively simple scheme to replace a damaged
rug. This evolves as the anchor for a complex urban nightmare that is
smart and loudly amusing.
Goodman's portrayal of a high strung, unstable, totally irrational,
conspiracy minded Vietnam Veteran is absolutely hilarious, in my opinion
the finest performance of his career. In fact, his role may be the most
integral component to the success of this film.
Unfortunately, This film didn't receive nearly as much ink as the Coen's
comedy classic, "Raising Arizona", which is unfortunate. Personally I
thought Lebowski was more intelligent and considerably more humorous.