The Dude Abides

Rating: 10/10 (10 September 2002)

I have scientifically determined that the Big Lebowski is the third best film of all time. If you disagree with me, well, yeah, like well that's just, like, your opinion man.
This film is amazing. I watched it once. Enjoyed it, thought it was very good. Watched it again. It got better. It gets better every time I watch it. I laugh to myself over funny lines that I recall from time to time, and my friends shun me as a lunatic until I show them the movie and they join me giggling in a corner. "Hey Mr Lebowski, it's OK, I'm a brother shamus" - "What - like - an Irish monk?" You see, I seem like a madman don't I? You have to watch the film to understand
The film is packed with funny lines from beginning to end. It has a languid, easy-going style which draws you in. The music and lighting, design and acting all combine to produce a superb mood. The gallery of characters is so colourful and off beat that there is literally not one dull moment in this beautiful hilarious film. The main idea is a simple one - imagine if a curious case of blackmail, kidnap and mistaken identity in the heart of Los Angeles were tackled, not by Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade, but by a clueless stoner who would rather be kicked out of a taxi on his way home from a night of beatings and druggings than listen to the Eagles on the radio? On which the fabulous Coen brothers add layer and layer of fantastic characters, each undercut by their vanity or madness or stupidity or other weakness, and each pushing the befuddled Dude further into a semi-conscious mess.
Watch this film. Now. No, stop reading this website. Go to Blockbuster and rent the video. When you've watched it five times, buy the DVD. Then raise a glass to the Dude - wherever he might be.