No..No...He Has Health Problems

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2006)

"The Big Lebowski" might actually be the funniest film of all time but only if you like its style of humor (parody and subtle off-kilter satire). Even then if you are anything like me you will find it only mildly funny during your first viewing. As others have said it really does get funnier each time you watch it, probably because you have to know the characters to appreciate much of the humor and because during the first viewing you are burning too much mental energy trying to follow the relatively complex plot (while not as complex as "Miller's Crossing" it still challenges viewers to pay close attention).
The DVD does not have a commentary but it does have a short feature full of interviews, where the Coen Brothers explain some of their rationale for certain elements in the script and reveal places where the cast put their own individual marks on the film.
"The Big Lebowski" features the Coen's trademark comic style. They are students of films and their secret is taking a traditional character and creating an incongruity between the way you expect the character to talk and behave (as per movie conventions) and what actually happens.
For "The Big Lebowski" the Coen's play with the detective, buddy picture, and the suspense genres. They set up a Philip Marlowe episodic detective story, but as their main character they substitute an aging pot-smoking bowler (Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski played by Jeff Bridges) for the film noir detective.
Like Marlowe, the Dude gets caught up in scheme a whole lot bigger than he is and gets episodically pushed and pulled by a lot of strange characters. His buddy Walter Sobchek (John Goodman) is a blustering Viet Nam veteran who manages to further complicate almost every situation. Much of the humor comes from the way the supposedly laid back Dude continually comes unglued over Walter's behavior.
Finally the Coens incorporate not one but two Hitchcock MacGuffins into the film. The series of unfortunate events are set in motion by a rug (the floor covering type) and midway into the film it is replaced as a motivating factor by a young woman (Tara Reid). Ultimately neither is of any importance yet they are the reason for everything that happens in the film.
New Lebowski fans can be found drinking White Russians, entering their local bowling alley for the first time in years, looking up "nihilist" in the dictionary, and checking to see if TVLand is showing any "Branded" reruns. If any of that sounds like fun you should definitely check out the film.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.