I was talking with a friend, exchanging lines from The Big Lebowski, when he quoted Walter:
He went on to say it was the only time he had treated Donnie so harshly.
This took me a second to comprehend. I always thought he was referring to the people who gave Duderino the pager. Here’s part of the scene:
The Dude: They gave dude a beeper, yeah? So whenever these guys call…
Walter: What if it’s during a game?
The Dude: Oh, I told them, if it was during league play…
Donny: What’s during league play?
Walter: Life does not stop and start at your convenience you miserable piece of shit.
So I could see it being directed at Donnie but he usually just says ‘shut up, Donnie’ or ‘you’re out if you’re element’. I always thought he was directing it at the Other Lebowski for potentially interrupting their league play bowling.
Here’s the scene. I agree with you, he’s referring to the people who gave the Dude the beeper. He’s looking away from Donnie & the Dude when he says it. At the end of the scene, he does tell Donnie to shut the fuck up (because he’s confusing “Lennon” and “Lenin”), and in that case he turns to look at him.
I’m sticking with Donnie. He wouldn’t call The Dude a miserable piece of shit and, if he was referring to the Big Lebowski & Co, he’d more likely say “…at his/their convenience…”. So that just leaves Donnie even if Walter couldn’t be bothered to turn around and say it.
Yeah, he’s talking to Donnie, who’s trying to jump into the middle of a conversation he knows nothing about. Donnie reacts with a wounded look, and asks what’s wrong with Walter.
Oh man, just look at Walter’s face when The Dude mentions the beeper. I’ll even this back up to 3-3 since I’m sure Walter’s referring to the people who gave The Dude the beeper.
He’s definitely talking to Donnie. He might be frustrated at the kidnappers/Big Lebowski, but he’s talking to Donnie. It’s the same reaction he always has when Donnie interrupts.
No, they are both ignoring Donnie during this entire discussion. Walter is looking into the distance when he says that, and only acknowledges Donnie at the end when he tells him to shut the fuck up. The comment was directed at the Other Lebowski.
Walter is talking to Donnie. When Donnie begins speaking, Walter closes his eyes and when he opens them he is rolling his eyes. He waits for Donnie to stop speaking and then responds, while The Dude is paused in the middle of a sentence. Also, Donnie responds with “what’s wrong with Walter, Dude?” which says to me that he feels he was wrongly rebuked for his question.
Walter’s comment taken in context is related to what Dude is talking about. Neither Dude or Walter are even paying attention to Donnie. Walter’s is responding to Dude’s comment about the beeper/league play.
Prolly. I hate this movie. It’s got a few good lines (but only 2 or 3) and the Nihilists were pretty hilarious, but overall this was a suckfest of epic proportions to me, so yeah, it’s not like I’ve spent hours and hours studying the film. I saw it once years ago so I just clicked the link and watched it, then watched it again to make sure what I typed was what I saw.
Maybe it’s deliberately ambiguous as part of being “clever”.
See, that’s why I mentioned Walter’s eyes. The timing of his expressions is with Donnie’s voice, and it conveys the exasperation which is then expressed verbally.
Except that the line only makes sense as a reference to someone interrupting league play, not as a response to a question. Walter is always exasperated by Donny’s interjections but the content of the line refers to The Dude’s quandary.
Donnie is interrupting the conversation Dude and Walter are having, essentially asking them to rewind it. Walter’s response is to Donnie, and it’s about “life” not “league play”.
