Couldn't follow - who cares?!

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2000)

After The Hudsucker Proxy`, this was the Coens' second movie that couldn't fully satisfy me. I like their films and this is also a very funny and unique one, but somehow I feel they didn't work very long with it, they didn't concentrate and it wasn't important for them. Funny, my critics about this one are exactly the opposite of those I have about O Brother, Where Art Thou?`. There, I felt they neglected the dialogue. Here, the dialogues are Coen-like (Give us ze munny Lebowski or we cut off your Johnson!`) but I missed the visual fascination of earlier movies. And the story is really, really confusing. I'm not sure, if they understood it themselves. But now let me get to the positive aspects: Carter Burwell's music always works; the actors are fabulous, especially John Goodman and  in a completely new kind of role  Steve Buscemi! The Coens can be lucky to have such a well-tempered cast and crew, consisting mainly of their closer friends they have already worked with several times. Jeff Bridges is also great. What else do you need? It's definitely not the right movie to explore the Coen universe  take Barton Fink`, Raising Arizona`, Miller's Crossing` or O Brother` instead. But if you just want an evening of non-mainstream-fun, watch Lebowski.