Day 14 - The Big Lebowski

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Have you ever just been sitting there, not knowing what to watch because you really, really feel like just turning your brain off for a couple of hours? But you don't want a dumb, fun action movie, or some cheesy horror from the 80s. You want to laugh, but not at anything because it's so bad that it's funny. You need not look much further than 1998's 'The Big Lebowski' - a film that is more or less completely mindless, yet has just enough going on to make you want to pay attention to the details.

This is one of those titles that actually had to grow on me over the years. I believe I've mentioned this before, but back in my teen days, if I ever had the house to myself for a few days, my favourite thing to do was go on a rental spree at Blockbuster Video. Back then, I can't remember what the actual deal was, but it was essentially six "older" movies (as opposed to new releases) for a generous price. One of these times, I decided to check this one out. I didn't hate it, but I didn't exactly love it either. It could easily be said that I kinda just didn't get it. When it was all said and done, despite a few genuine laughs, I thought it was a bit too random for my taste at the time.

Fast-forward to sometime in my twenties, and I rented it again, and for whatever reason, I suddenly fell in love with it. Truth be told, I paid much closer attention to it this time around. But my whole mindset changed from "this is so stupid and random" to "this is so stupid, random and hilarious". Since then, I've actually taken to showing people this movie as one of my favourite comedies. Nine times out of ten, I'd say it goes over very well. However, there are still those select few that hold the same thoughts about it I did, my first time around. And with that, it's easy for me to say that this movie is not one I'd recommend to just anyone. I think it takes a particular sense of humour to enjoy this one.

One needs to be able to appreciate a good stoner comedy, based on the character of Jeff Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) alone. One also has to be able to appreciate the humour behind things like violent outbursts with Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), and accept a little bit of verbal bullying towards Donny (Steve Buscemi), namely with the common phrase from Walter whenever Donny seems to open his mouth - "shut the f*ck up, Donny". By the way, as someone known widely as "Donnie", I have heard this about a billion times. But here's the thing - somehow, whenever it's said, I'm able to laugh it off, because all I can think of is Walter saying it so unnecessarily all the time.

Aside from our three mains (although Jeff and Walter definitely take center stage), there's a handful of hilarious characters all throughout this, each with some sort of memorable line, despite perhaps just a few seconds of screentime. Characters like Jesus Quintana (John Turturro) "Nobody f*cks with the Jesus!"; Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman) "This is our concern, Dude."; The Stranger (Sam Elliott) "Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, well, he eats you."; and of course, the Big Lebowski, himself (David Huddleston) "Nothing is f*cked!?" Along with being a hilariously random comedy, there's a whole bunch of quotes one can pull from this.

Perhaps the biggest draw of this movie for me is the idea that while these characters are trying to unravel a somewhat complex plot, having to do with a kidnapping, by the end of it all, it turns out that it was all pretty much pointless. I'm one of the three people out there who actually enjoyed 'Burn After Reading' (another Coen Brother's movie) for pretty much the exact same reasons I love this so much. And while I can say I like 'Lebowski' better, I never thought 'Burn After Reading' was such a bad flick because I thought it was so much like 'Lebowski' in as much as having a pointless plot you've been following the whole time. That might irk a lot of people, but honestly, I could back-to-back these movies for a night of mindless entertainment.

So here we have a great example of a movie that is completely up my alley these days. It is loaded with random, off-the-wall humour, a variety of funny characters with different levels of humourous delivery, and imaginative "trippy" sequences, and it's another one that has grown on me over the years, so certainly not without its share of rewatchability. All in all, this is a pretty ridiculous movie, but there's something about the execution of it all, and the way these characters bounce off each other that gives them a kind of "we're only human" soul. It's definitely one of my favourite comedies, and that's not gonna change anytime soon. But hey, if you disagree with my assessment of this title then that's just, like, your opinion, man.

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