More Then It Appears To Be

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2001)

People view the Big Lebowski as a screwball type comedy that is as heavy on the laughs as it is on the vulgarity. But there is so much more there. I view this movie as the quinticential Coen Brothers movie because everything they have done in the past is in the movie. There of course is a large helping of thier special brand of humor that seems to appeal to everybody. There is a bit of drama from movies such as Millers Crossing, and then there are the thrills that the produced in Fargo.
What most people don't see is that it is a modern twist to the classic Film Nor movies. Watch the classics -The Maltesse Falcon, Chinatown, even the Coen's own Blood Simple- and you will see how much The Big Lebowski has in common with these movies. I think that if you took Sam Spade out of the '40s and put him in the '90s you would have Jeff Lebowski. Other common elements the movies all contain is the wide variety of characters, the problem is never solved to the viewers satisfaction, and you can't help but feel for the detective no matter how slimey and shady he is. So I urge you to take another look at this movie and don't just look for laughs but also look for the sheer brilliance of the Coen Brothers because who but they could hide a classic in a comedy.