The Big Lebowski (1998)

Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen. Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, David Huddleston, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Elliott, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Peter Stormare, Mark Pellegrino, Philip Moon, Flea, Torsten Voges, Ben Gazzara, David Thewlis, Tara Reid, Jon Polito, Leon Russom. [R]

A couple of none-too-bright enforcers visit perpetually-slack stoned-bowler-without-employment Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski (Bridges) and pee all over the man’s rug that really tied the room together, but the Dude abides. Trouble is, they went to the home of the wrong Jeffrey Lebowski; they wanted the rich philanthropist Lebowski (Huddleston), who thumbs his nose at the Dude’s lifestyle, but soon enough the lives of both Lebowskis are entangled in a convoluted kidnapping/extortion plot that connects in peculiar ways to porn producers, nihilists, experimental artists, Creedence Clearwater Revival, a pederast named Jesus (hard J), a fascist Malibu police chief, and more. Another wickedly enjoyable left turn for the Coen brothers didn’t get much appreciation right out the gates (critics and audiences wanted something the same speed as Fargo, apparently), but has grown in the years since into such a major cult favorite that it barely qualifies for “cult” status anymore—the fact that a whole alternative religion called “Dudeism” has sprung from its fertile loins, on the other hand… A near-genius premise is at play here—recreate a labyrinthine mystery in the style of Chandler/Hammett stories, and drop in a White Russian-guzzling halfwit as the “private dick” protagonist—and even though the eccentric detours don’t always work (the dream sequences are as imaginative as they are endearing, but a late confrontation with those aforementioned nihilists comes off as a contrived way to tie off that loose end), it never fails to be absurdist bliss. Nifty soundtrack, which puts offbeat choices from the likes of Captain Beefheart, Bob Dylan, and Kenny Rogers to good use, and marked the first of several collaborations between the Coens and T-Bone Burnett (plus, the Dude is so right about the Eagles, man).

91/100