The Big Lebowski Review (Classic Write-Up)

Dude, Where's My Car...And The Money...And My Tapes

Narration is a common element found in cinema that's frequently utilized for numerous purposes. Perhaps the goal of the narration is to set up the tone of the motion picture, or to deliver exposition or even just to set up a joke. The Big Lewboski uses narration as a way to accomplish that first objective, with Sam Elliots distinctive vocals describing the landscape of  Los Angeles and the films main character, The Dude (Jeff Bridges), though eventually his narration disintegrates into him losing his train of thought.

That's a pretty effective way to prepare any given viewer for what The Big Lewboski is about to unleash during it's running time; just like that opening narration, things can get serious during the course of this story, but whenever The Dude is around, events are also bound to dissolve into chaotic incoherence. Is the stories penchant for delving into disjointedness because this "Dude" has superpowers of some kind or something? Not really, it's just that the story is told primarily from his perspective, and, well, The Dude has trouble keeping track of clean clothes, let alone the figures involved in a kidnapping plot.

Yes, a kidnapping plot. Like The Coen Brothers 1996 feature Fargo (the feature the duo wrote and Joel Coen directed just prior to making The Big Lebowski), figures involved in a crime gone awry that are way out of their league are at the forefront of the plot here. However, whereas that William H. Macy starring feature centered itself around those criminals actually executing the crime, The Big Lebowski instead concentrates on The Dude and his buddies (played by John Goodman and Fargo cast member Steve Buscemi) who wind up getting roped into this criminal ordeal by The Big Lebowski (David Huddleston), whose wife is the individual that's been kidnapped.

While there are similarities between the two productions, The Big Lebowski does manage to become it's own entity, primarily because of how idiosyncratic The Dude is. This character just wants to enjoy the simple things in life, like bowling or music, and seeing him struggle through the various machinations of the various adversaries he encounters manages to be quite entertaining. Doesn't hurt that Jeff Bridges gives an incredible performance as The Dude, selling the characters slacker attitude but also making the character's moments of euphoric epiphany feel credible.

The Coen Brothers script is also responsible for such character turns feeling feasible within the movie, and while the features numerous turns into the farcical were unexpected, I found it easy to adjust to them, if only on the basis of the sort of memorable imagery they provide (thanks legendary cinematography Roger Deakins!). I did find certain elements of the last few scenes to be sort of abrupt, especially a conclusion for one of The Dude's allies, but even during these sequences, it's hard not to be abide The Big Lebowskis story of a laggard in over his head. It's all pretty unusual, no question about that, but it's also pretty damn entertaining.