A swing and a miss

Rating: 5/10 (17 December 2018)

The great Lebowski
It's hard to be objective when your first viewing of a cult movie comes 20 years after it was released. You are certain to have heard a lot about it from many people over the years and most of it was probably favorable. If it's a comedy you might expect it to be hilarious or at least funny in a quirky way. All movies age, but none age worse than comedies. Everything from set pieces to asides are creatures of their moments and usually don't remain funny 2 decades later. I've found that an exception to this rule is silent film comedies. Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy silent movies are, to me, as funny now as they were then.
Back to TGL. Yes, I've heard a lot about it over 20 years, most highly favorable. I did not avoid it, I just never crossed paths with it, not until this week.
As a funny movie, I can put it no higher than a 5. I never laughed out loud, but there were some moments when I was edging in that direction.
"Silly" and "stupid" are the 2 words I would use to describe TGL.
Casting: Silly and stupid usually describe Jim Carrey and I can certainly see him in this fiasco. But wait! Were they acting or merely mugging for the camera? Those 2 and Sam Elliott and Steve Buscemi did nothing more than play caricatures of their on screen personas. John Turtorro is one of our best actors but not here. Ben Gazzara's cameo was the best part of the movie, but he had little competition.
Plot: Reminded me of a Bob Hope "road" movie. All over the place and not coherent.
Style: The Busby Berkeley scenes reminded me of Blazing Saddles.
Silly and stupid should not be confused with funny.