A Few Random Observations

Rating: 10/10 (24 April 2011)

On watchability: I have a tendency, aided and abetted by Netflix, to find a really great movie and then watch it over and over. Before 'The Big Labowski', it was 'Mr. Hulot's Holiday' and before that 'The Seven Samurai'. In this regard, TBL holds a special place since it seems to be made especially for this kind of movie watching. It has a consistent a texture that feels soothing. The comfortable chair and TBL have a way of merging.
On Walt: All of the Dude's problems are caused by his buddy Walt. Walt was the one who put the burr under his saddle about the rug. Without Walt, the rug incident would have been quickly lost in the haze that is the Dude's life. At every turn, it is Walt who drags the reluctant Dude further into the mess. My son summed up the Dude perfectly when he said that all he wanted throughout the film was to be left alone. But Walt is motivated and he won't leave the Dude alone. Walt's constant prodding is the McGuffin of TBL.
Yes, Walt is a jinx but a lovable jinx. In fact, I would argue that John Goodman comes close to stealing the movie from Jeff Bridges. Someone has remarked that Goodman's genius comes from the fact that his personality is so much smaller than his enormous body -- he dominates the screen with his body but comes across as a cute puppy dog.
On Style: Like other Coen Brothers movies and like so many British comedies from the golden era of the '50s and '60's, TBL cleverly hides many of its funny parts for us to discover. For example: Why does the Dude run instead of walk back to his home after buying the half-and-half? Answer: To connect with the white Russian as soon as possible.
On Society: Now, a challenging question. Before a certain point in time somewhere in the '60s or '70s, TBL would never have seen the light of day because of its use of bad language (it repeats 'the anglo saxon word' 281 times). And without the bad language TBL would not be TBL. The question is this: Were we better off in the days of movie censorship and Humphrey Bogart or is the degradation of our language and every-day life adequately compensated by movie gems like this one? To put it another way, has being entertained become our reason for being?