Fun for the guys

Rating: 6/10 (12 November 2007)

I am one of those who think the Coen Brothers have done better movies than THE BIG LEBOWSKI. But I will give it this: This satiric tale of mistaken identity, kidnap and death has a Raymond Chandler-esquire feel that should certainly appeal to male viewers. Jeff Bridges is Dude Lebowski, who ends up being mixed up with a millionaire with the same last name (David Huddleston) who owes money to some very bad men. The Dude's best buddy, Walter (John Goodman) helps The Dude in his quest to find the senior Lebowski's hormone-crazed child bride (Tara Reid), who has done a disappearing act and may or may not have been kidnapped. The film is bizarre, to say the least, with Busby Berkley-type fantasy sequences, Bridges as a '60s burnout with long, unkempt hair and Goodman as an individual with serious anger management issues. Bridges and Goodman make the film worth watching, although their constant use of expletives may turn off some. They are supported in their efforts by Steve Buscemi as their strange pal Donny and Julianne Moore as the even stranger Maude Lebowski. Sam Elliott serves as the film's narrator and shows up in a brief sequence. This is quite probably Goodman's finest film, by the way.