A surreal, wild ride with the Coen Brothers and The Dude

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 1999)

It's hard to know what kind of people will like this film. It seems to me that some fans of the Coen brothers' work are split on a number of their films, and this is no exception. But "The Big Lebowski" is a slice of life in L.A. and despite it's surreal surroundings, seems to be all too real.
The Coen Brothers have stated that this film is much closer to reality and truth than "Fargo" ever was. And if you're not already in on the joke, "Fargo" was stated to be a true story at the beginning, later to be revealed as a fictitious one, for those who stayed for the end credits.
"The Big Lebowski" is filled with outrageous characters, memorable dialogue, and a twisting plot, "lotta ins, lotta outs" as Jeff Bridge's "Dude" would put it. The only disappointment is we don't get to see more of the flamboyant Quintana "Jesus" who likes to bowl maybe a bit too much, played by John Turturro, and Steve Buscemi's character "Donny" who doesn't seem to know what's going on most of the time, which annoys John Goodman's gun-toting "Walter" perpetually.
No one can fairly accuse Joel & Ethan of not trying different things and producing quality work which clearly comes from two men who love film and are dedicated to a vision and then execute it beautifully. I sincerely hope they never lose the desire to keep making films of this calibre.