Perfection

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2004)

Cash Converters has thrown up some real gems in its time, but The Big Lebowski is without doubt the best Â£2 I have ever spent in my life. Once again the Coens showed their undoubted genius which, if I had my way, would result in the bestowing of an honorary knighthood upon both of them. And if I know our queeny, which I'm sure I think I do, then one look at the Dude, Walter and Donny and the decision would be made for her. Unfortunately I would imagine that snapped up the only copy ever to be seen in the Converters (what fool sold this? Put him in the stocks!), so she might have to splash out a bit more than I did.
Now, compared to their other classics (which is pretty much everything they've done), this may not have the original impact of Blood Simple, the sublime acting of Fargo (think William H. Macy and Frances McDormand), or indeed the insane imagination of O Brother, Where Art Thou. However, what separates Lebowski from the others is the almost unbelievable volume of hilarious characters. Every single character, without fail, is so funny that the only disappointing aspect of the film is that you can't watch more of each of them. Jesus Quintana (the brilliant John Turturro), is probably only on screen for about 5 minutes, yet he is quite possibly one of the funniest characters of all time - "You show your piece on the lane again, I'll take it off you and stick it up your a**e!". The Nihilists are scarily funny, no more so than when they are being taken apart by Walter, in a fight scene that tops even Motorcycle Gang. And though he barely says a word, you can feel nothing but complete sympathy poor old Smokey when, in a truly poignant scene and beautifully acted scene, he is accused of stepping over the line by Walter (unjustly I feel). But it is the Dream Team trio who stand head and shoulders and upper arm above all of them. Tragic, put-upon Donny (we will truly miss you son), scarred Vietnam war-hero Walter ("This isn't 'nam man, there are rules!"), and, of course, The Dude, who is quite simply a Dude.
These characters would stand alone without a decent script and still entertain for the entirety of the film. But this is the Coen Brothers, who write such consistently, and astonishingly funny scripts that you wonder how they keep doing it. When they are on top form, which they are pretty much permanently, they make films of near perfection that other directors and script-writers could only dream of.
The Big Lebowski may lack the supreme cleverness of other Coen films, but it is undoubtedly their funniest, and all you can do is watch in awe at the onslaught of brilliant characters. The day they stop making films will truly be a mournful one.