Emperor's New Clothes

Rating: 4/10 (18 April 2003)

This film had glowing recommendations from so many people. The Big Lebowski had an intriguing plot idea, and some very good performances, e.g. from John Goodman in particular. It is just that I can't bear the 'Oh so clever' style of the Coen brothers films. It seems they put a lot of effort into being quirky just as an end in itself, and this film was no different.
There is nothing wrong with dream sequences, off the wall dialogue etc. Far from it. They feature strongly in some of my favourite movies of the last 30 years. I am a huge fan of David Lynch for example. But this film has a sense of desperation on the part of the filmmakers. That feeling of End of Year film school project about it. Like the geeks who watch the great movies and want to distill all the best bits into their own creation, but just don't get that you can over-egg it and whackify it so much that it simply becomes awfully tedious. There are probably a lot of people out there who admire the intentions of a film like the Big Lebowski, without stopping to think: 'Did they actually laugh?' I felt like I ought to at times, without actually getting near.