A Total Waste of Time

Rating: 1/10 (3 January 2005)

Browsing through the other reviews here on this movie, I am astounded to find that a seeming majority think it is some sort of masterpiece. I may be obtuse, but I found little to recommend it.
Jeff Bridges does a credible job portraying "The Dude", a shiftless wastrel obsessed with bowling and avoidance of responsibility. Despite his considerable talents and efforts, Bridges never quite succeeds in evoking any interest in this lame character from the viewer. John Goodman is obnoxious playing the John Goodman character, the aggressive supposedly lovable slob. Steve Buscemi is wasted as Donny, an apparent moron with attention span problems. Then we have Hollywood's most overrated actress, Julianne Moore, who assaults our eyes with her grotesque naked form right from the door. David Huddleston, usually a reliable character actor, is here reduced to a whiney old fart.
The movie still had a shot. But the Coens decided that it would be nice to have no plot, no humor, and no compelling reason to watch the screen.
This is the kind of movie that makes one desire to reach into the screen and just smack them! A thorough waste of time with apparently no redeeming qualities whatsoever.