Easily the lowest common denominator of Coen films

Rating: 4/10 (31 May 2004)

While there is nothing outright terrible about The Big Lebowski, from the very beginning it lacks the wit and intelligence of many of their other efforts. The double-dealing twists and turns can't hold a candle to the level of intrigue in Miller's Crossing (nor the humor, which is mostly missing in Lebowski), nor does it have the dramatic photography of Fargo, which it resembles quite closely in both plot and tone, to keep it interesting. It is a luke-warm film that could have easily been directed and written by any of a dozen writer/directors out there. While there are a few quotes, they are fairly few and far between, and do not stand on their own in any meaningful way (and to all you who think "The Dude abides" is a great quote, then you know why I call this the lowest common denominator). To paraphrase from an earlier Coen film, "we all have that Coen Brothers feeling, but since this film was by the Coen Brothers, we figure it should have it in spades." Unfortunately, it doesn't, and it suffers because of it.
4/10