# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/101 "2025-10-30T18:35:46Z")
The fisrt time I watched Miller’s Crossing I hated it. I was actually angry that the Coen brothers let me down. For whatever reason, I saw it years later and came to appreciate it for what it is. It’s in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. It’s really a perfect movie - **every** line of dialog drives the plot forward. Another favorite Coen movie of mine is The Man Who Wasn’t There. My favorite Big Lebowski scene is this one: > **[The Big Lebowski (1998) "Miserable Piece Of Shit" Clip HD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmn38PoT4aU%2F)** > > Scene from the 1998 neo noir stoner comedy film The Big Lebowski, directed by the Coen Brothers and starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Steve BuscemiProd... ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/102 "2025-10-30T20:48:56Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > If you’ve read The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Which movie version is best? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/103 "2025-10-30T21:00:58Z")
If you find _The Big Sleep_ confusing, just remember that the screenwriters once called Chandler because they couldn’t figure out who had killed one of the characters - and he didn’t know, either. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/104 "2025-10-31T14:40:44Z")
To me, _The Big Lebowski_ occupies the same space in popular culture as _Napoleon Dynamite_. Which is to say, you have to come at it with zero expectations – including expecting it to be similar to any other movie you’ve ever seen. It also helps (quite a bit) if you’re high AF. Lean into the film’s absurdity when you watch it. The comedy derived from, for example, The Dude dropping his roach on his dick and freaking out is a feature, not a bug. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/105 "2025-10-31T14:58:58Z")
My favorite part of that book. He dies is a strange way that MUST be important. Nope. It isn’t even a Red Herring, it’s a world and the people in it don’t necessarily have anything to do with your plot or any reason. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/106 "2025-10-31T15:02:56Z")
**The Big Sleep** (1946) I do not recognize another version on film, it’s gotta be Bogart. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/107 "2025-10-31T15:24:30Z")
“Nice marmot…eyaaahhhh!” 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/108 "2025-10-31T16:10:50Z")
Yeah, the Bogie version is the best. Martha Vickers was great, and I loved the bookshop scene with Dorothy Malone. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/109 "2025-10-31T21:21:09Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Ol’ Dio got hisself banned over 14 years ago _I’ve got information man! New shit has come to light! And shit…man, he kidnapped himself. Well sure, man. Look at it…a young frantic troublemaker, in the parlance of our times, you know, and he, uh, uh, owes money all over town, including to known pornographers, and that’s cool…that’s, that’s cool, I’m, I’m saying, he needs money, man. And of course they’re going to say that they didn’t get it, because…he wants more, man! He’s got to feed the monkey, I mean uh…hasn’t that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?_ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/110 "2025-10-31T22:03:45Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I’ve got information man! New shit has come to light! And shit…man, he kidnapped himself. No Mr. Stranger, that had not occurred to me. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/111 "2025-10-31T22:58:38Z")
I’ve watched an interview with the Coens wherein they talk about the non-existent plot. I couldn’t find it, but I did find this: “The Coens have described the film as a “plot to nowhere,” meaning the elaborate, mysterious plot is ultimately meaningless. This structure is a way to parody the classic detective and film noir genres, which are typically driven by a search for answers and resolution. The Coen brothers have stated that the movie doesn’t have a single “meaning,” but it is a tribute to the laid-back, folk-music scene of the 1960s and uses the detective novel genre as a framework for a **plot that ultimately goes nowhere.** ” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/112 "2025-11-01T04:56:03Z")
Fuck it, Dude. Let’s go bowling. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/113 "2025-11-01T05:38:14Z")
I think few movies manage to combine good cinematic narrative, great acting, and self-referential humor as brilliantly as The Big Lebowski. ETA: For what it’s worth, in my mental movie vault The Big Lebowski and Tropic Thunder share the same shelf. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/114 "2025-11-01T14:06:00Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > > > I’ve got information man! New shit has come to light! And shit…man, he kidnapped himself. > > No Mr. Stranger, that had not occurred to me. 😆 That had not occurred to us, Dude. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/115 "2025-11-01T14:32:09Z")
Dressed up as The Dude for Halloween. Wife went as Jesus. Also had Walter, Maude, The Stranger, and girl from the dream sequence. Donny was in a Folgers can. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/116 "2025-11-01T16:17:13Z")
This is my second-favorite\* comedy movie. I’ll never get enough of John Goodman’s “Shut the fuck up, Donny” or “Donny, you’re out of your element”. mmm \*(one millimeter behind Spinal Tap) ---
**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:** [November 1, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/117 "2025-11-01T19:08:13Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > > No Mr. Stranger, that had not occurred to me. 😆 > > That had not occurred to us, Dude. _Okay, you know, you guys aren’t privy to all the new shit, so…uh, but, hey, that’s what you, uh, what you pay me for. Speaking of which, do you think, uh, you could, uh, give me my $20,000 in cash? Uh, my concern is, and I’ve got to check with my accountant, but that this might bump me into a higher tax, uh…_ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/118 "2025-11-01T20:00:05Z")
Of all the roles he’s played, I think The Dude might be the one closest to Jeff’s real-life personality. (Bill Django from The Men Who Stare At Goats might be a close second) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/119 "2025-11-03T05:02:20Z")
That rug really tied the room together. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778/120 "2025-11-03T23:02:01Z")
Back in a prior century, AOL used to have member profiles that had a field for a phrase of some type. I had put in mine “I just want my rug back, it really tied the room together.” The number of people who IM’d me or emailed me asking about my rug was both horrifying and hystericalally funny. Clearly not golfers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-lebowski-whats-the-big-deal/464778.md?page=7)