# The Big Lebowski: What's the big deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778 "2008-09-23T01:51:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/21 "2008-09-23T03:41:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Look, what answer would satisfy you? > > Have you EVER successfully explained to someone why a movie/song/book that you love and he hates is really wonderful? > > I hated “Raising Arizona” passionately and was mostly bored by “Fargo.” But “The Big Lebowski” was absolutely hilarious to me. > > You don’t agree? Cool. We don’t have to watch movies together. I started the thread because I wanted to read the opinions of those who liked the movie. Also, I wanted to read the opinions of those who like the Coens, but didn’t like Lebowski. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/22 "2008-09-23T03:49:38Z")
You say you’ve given it more than one try, so I don’t know what to say. All I can do is add on to the list of those who say it’s a movie that grows on you the more times you see it. From what I’ve seen, the number of people who now rate it as one of their all time favorite comedies thought it was just meh to ok the first time they saw it – me included. The only bit of advice I have is not to waste any energy at all trying to follow the plot. The plo completely doesn’t matter. It’s about the individual scenes and the dialogue – and the dialogue is brilliant. It’s one of themost quotable movies of all time. But if you don’t like it, well, that’s just like, your opinion, man. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/23 "2008-09-23T03:53:54Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > (The Dude and friends patiently sitting through his landlord’s interpretive dance show because he is letting him skate on the rent) The scene that always gets me is that, after wrecking some guy’s car with extreme, pointless violence, they’re all riding back home with food from In n’Out. Because it’s “near” there. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/24 "2008-09-23T04:03:20Z")
I think it’s one of the dumbest stupidest wastes of time on celluloid. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/25 "2008-09-23T04:30:21Z")
My reaction to it was lukewarm at first but it grows on me every time. My wife fell asleep the first time, she was so bored. Every subsequent viewing she’s been rolling on the floor laughing. I do like me some exceptional weird randomness, though. _No Country for Old Men_ was incomprehensible to me until I read the book and realized it’s the sheriff and not Llewellyn who’s the main character. After that, I merely found it unwatchable–but I’m prejudiced about movies with no goddamn ending where my favorite character who I thought was the protagonist dies off-screen. Loved _O Brother Where Art Thou_. I need to see that again. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/26 "2008-09-23T04:44:04Z")
It was the first movie I saw in the theater twice. Consecutive Saturdays, I believe. I love how it turns all of the noir conventions on their heads(spoilers): unlikely hero - taken to absurd heights the femme fatale, Maude - isn’t, she’s actually after life! the crime - there is no kidnapping hero knocked unconscious - but we get two highly unique trippy sequences ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/27 "2008-09-23T04:56:19Z")
To fully appreciate the film, one first has to watch _The Big Sleep_, of which _The Big Lebowski_ is a direct and intentional parody. Whereas in the former film Bogart plays a detective that is always two steps ahead of everyone (even though the convoluted plotting ends up making little sense), Bridges portrayal of stoner ‘Dude’ Lebowski ends up being about three steps behind everyone, even though the plot is ultimately coherent but pointless. If you are the sort of viewer who insists on having a definitive resolution and purpose, _The Big Lebowski_ isn’t your movie. The Coen Brothers openly and avowedly endorse this, to the point of having their narrator point it out to the audience. “‘The Dude abides.’ I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that.” Either you’re in on the joke, or you’re the butt of the joke, I guess. Brilliant movie (as was _The Man Who Wasn’t There_, and for entirely the same reason) but not for everyone. Fortunately, the Coens cover the gamut from quirky comedies to black humor to craptastical romantic comedies. If you don’t like their current film, wait until the next one; it’s likely to be something completely different. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/28 "2008-09-23T05:26:18Z")
Firstly, it helps if you are steeped in film noir, particularly _The Big Sleep; North By Northwest; Murder, My Sweet; The Maltese Falcon_ to name a few. There are devices that appear in these movies, certain themes - TBL takes these and twists them, turns them on their head. For instance, many film noirs have a voice over narration, but unless said narrator is part of the actual story, he remains unseen. Secondly, it’s the little things that strike a chord with many people - Jackie Treehorn’s thugs, switch their outfits in their scenes; the repetitive lines (this aggression will not stand; the parlance of our times; lotta ins, lotta outs (in and out); the amazing cast, some of whom have only one scene (outside of the main characters, Peter Stormare, Flea, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, John Turturro, Carlos Leon (father of Madonna’s daughter), Dom Irrera, David Thewlis, Jon Polito, Ben Gazarra, Amy Mann); John Turturro’s performance as Jesus (he’s only in 3 minutes of the movie). Lastly, and most important is that you need to have a sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/29 "2008-09-23T05:27:48Z")
It took me a while to find “The Big Lebowski” appealing but now I am a big fan of this movie. As others have said, just about everything in this movie is quotable: \*\*Donny: \*\*They were Nazis, Dude? **Walter Sobchak:** Oh, come on Donny, they were threatening castration! Are we gonna split hairs here? Am I wrong? That rug really tied the room together. The Dude singing the theme from “Branded”. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/30 "2008-09-23T05:30:49Z")
John Goodman’s performance is underappreciated in that movie. He’s brilliant in it. he should have gotten an Oscar nomination. Every monologue is a gem. Of course the writing is brilliant too. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/31 "2008-09-23T05:33:04Z")
I saw it in the theatre with my brother. I don’t think either one of us had ever heard of it - hell, I don’t think we knew who the Coens were at the time. He was home on leave from the Marines and there was nothing else to do so we went to the movies and ended up in that one somehow. We laughed our asses off. I don’t think I really “got it” the first time around, but I recognized a lot of the funny parts. On subsequent viewings the story made more sense and I realized that most of the stuff I thought was boring filler on the first viewing was actually pretty damn funny itself. It was a good few years later before we realized it was a cult hit; we kind of thought it was a bomb that not many people knew or cared about. When I met my wife one of the millions of things I thought was awesome about her was that she had The Big Lebowski on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/32 "2008-09-23T05:52:33Z")
I honestly don’t remember the first time I saw it, but I had a roomate who loved it and we saw it enough that it grew on me or I liked it right off, I’m not sure. My favorite scene is when Lebowski is giving his speech about being a bum, and the Dude is puttin’ on his sunglasses, he doesn’t say anything, he’s just like, man, I need my shades for this speech. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/33 "2008-09-23T06:36:17Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Similarly, we have seen protracted debates on this very board about _No Country for Old Men._ Some think it was, far and away, no competition, the best American movie of last year. :eek: No competition? **NO** COMPETITION?? Did they not see **There Will Be Blood**?? The only thing that eases the sting of TWBB and PTA not winning the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars is that a) there were nominations, unlike Andrew Dominik and his brilliant film **The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford** , which was, IMO, the 3rd best American movie of the year and was ignored in the Picture and Director categories, b) Daniel Day Lewis won, of course, and c) the losses were to the Coens/NCFOM. I do love **The Big Lebowski** , but like others, it didn’t hit me the first time I saw it. I think it was the 3rd time when it all suddenly clicked into place and made sense to my sense of humor. Now I think it’s hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/34 "2008-09-23T07:02:54Z")
It also included an old-fashioned vaudeville spit-take, just like Danny Thomas used to do! “Uh, let me explain something about The Dude…” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/35 "2008-09-23T07:24:31Z")
It’s one of my favorite movies. Part of it is the brilliant way it riffs of the film noir genre. Part is how quotable it is, and how even after dozens of viewings I still find tiny details that are hilarious. Yes, the plot is pretty secondary to the characters. I think that is the biggest problem people have with this movie- they are looking for a plot. And my obligatory favorite line “Larry, the man is here” Ad in the taxi: “Yeah, I got a rash.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/36 "2008-09-23T13:14:49Z")
Like many others, meh the first time, increasingly funny the subsequent times. My wife, however, loved it from the start. Favorite line, one that’s entered our daily lexicon: “… not the compromised second draft.” Next favorite: “It brings the room together.” ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/37 "2008-09-23T13:35:24Z")
> [@Euthanasiast](#): > > Went from, “Eh, it’s alright.” to “OMFG, this is awesome!” in about 5 viewings spaced out over the years. I think it has to grow on you, but some of the funniest moments in cinema history come from this movie, for me at least. My personal favorite: > > Interior scene: Coffee Diner. The Dude is holding up the abducted woman’s severed toe for Walter to see, and in order to demonstrate the severity of the situation they are now in. > > ``` > WALTER (chuckling) > That wasn't her toe, dude. > > DUDE > !!! > Whose toe was it, Walter? > > WALTER > How the fuck should I know? I do > know that nothing about it indicates-- > > DUDE > The nail polish, Walter. > > WALTER > Fine, Dude. As if it's impossible > to get some nail polish, apply it to > someone else's toe-- (makes cutting gesture) > > DUDE > Someone else's--where the fuck are > they gonna-- > > WALTER > You want a toe? I can get you a > toe, believe me. There are ways, > Dude. You don't wanna know about > it, believe me. > > DUDE > But Walter-- > > WALTER > I'll get you a toe by 3 O' clock this > afternoon-- ***with nail polish***. (laughing)These > fucking amateurs. They send us a > toe, we're supposed to shit our- > selves with fear. Jesus Christ. > > ``` > > How could you **not** laugh like a maniac at that? Now I want to watch this again! The best part is that Walter was actually right, and it was someone else’s toe. My favorite scene was the Dude talking to the sheriff. “He treats objects like women, man!” and “I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening,” followed by the sheriff throwing the coffee mug at him. My wife had to leave the theater she was laughing so hard at that. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/38 "2008-09-23T13:39:06Z")
I’ve tried and failed twice to watch it all the way through. It’s the most teeth-grindingly irritating and stupid movie I can think of. I loved every other movie by the Coen brothers that I’ve ever seen; even the much-despised **The Ladykillers**. **The Big Lebowski** as a whole irritates me too much to watch, and the specifically the character of The Dude makes me want to kick a hole in my TV every moment he is on screen. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/39 "2008-09-23T14:02:51Z")
I have no idea why people compare Burn After Reading to Lebowski. The two movies were trying to go for something completely different. Burn After Reading and Fargo is a far better comparison. ---
**Author:** ![jjohns828](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jjohns828](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjohns828)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/40 "2008-09-23T14:19:56Z")
Like a lot of people I didn’t like this movie the first time I watched, I couldn’t even get all the way through the first time. Then about two years later my sister bought me the DVD for my birthday, not knowing I didn’t like the movie, and I decided to try again and I loved it. I think I was too hung up on the plot the first time around and the second time I kind of ignored the plot and just enjoyed the characters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778.md?page=3)