Lebowski

The Great Lebowski

Dear Hank;

I’d ask you if you’ve ever seen this movie but I know your answer (“Of course, haven’t you?”) Well, you haven’t - so there. (It’s called The Big Lebowski.)

It’s one of those movies I’ve seen snatches of on TV late at night. I’ve heard people reference it. The parts I’ve seen before never made much sense. I came in one third of the way through the movie. Though it didn’t make sense there was enough there that I could piece it together. When the movie ended I was saying to myself Is that it?

I wondered when I’d get to see the beginning of the movie. Fortunately, the cable TV channel people have learned a thing or two about their audiences; that or they are lazy. They’ve learned to replay the same movie again as soon as it finished, which allows people like me, the guy who came in part way through to see the beginning. This reminds me of growing up in connecticut where we got the TV stations out of New York City (all four of them!) WOR which was not a network affiliate used to show the same movie for a week three of four times a day. I remember watching bits and pieces of The Thing so many times; I can’t tell you what the idea behind the movie is but there’s a lot of fog and you don’t want to drive into the fog.

I had been channel flipping and I saw The Big Lebowski is on. I started watching it; got interested. The movie ended. Then it started again. Now I had to watch until I got back to the part I had already seen. Great so I’m up until two maybe three a.m. watching a movie so I can figure out what it’s all about.

The Big Lebowski is one of those movies that I sat through and tried to keep everything straight. In retelling what went on is when it got really funny; some movies are that way. It was written by the Coen brothers. They are well known for their off beat kind of humor and quirky movies. Secondly, it’s got a great cast. Lots of Oh look! That’s what’s his name. Like Steve Buscemi, the creepy cousin in The Sopranos and star of Broadway Empire; Phillip Seymour Hoffman before he was Capote; Julianne Moore, very young, very beautiful; John Goodman, Roseanne’s husband; and Jeff Bridges as The Dude. (Always, like to see Lloyd's kids make good.) Ben Gazzara is in it! What’s Ben Casey doing in a movie like this? I’m not sure I think I nodded off a bit, but it’s Ben Gazzara.

There’s a crazy plot that really makes no sense in that it is so preposterous but if you are watching this movie for the plot you’ve missed the point, which goes a long way to explaining why if you come in during the movie it makes no sense, and why if you are watching it and someone asks you what it’s about you’ll make no sense because you are no doubt hanging on trying to figure out what is going on, keeping track of various subplots and twists and minor characters. The result of this will be if during the movie you are asked what’s going on you’ll probably give a rambling mumbling nonsensical explanation.

There are a ton of wonderful one liners, and funny situations. In fact, there aren’t many one liners. There’s just this development of ridiculousness that builds and builds. When someone asks you what’s so funny it’s really hard to articulate what it is exactly.

Let me give you a for instance. John Goodman plays Walter. Walter is buddies with “The Dude” Jeff Lebowski. The Dude is an unemployed older middle aged stoned who gives a rat’s ass guy living in an okay if somewhat run down place. To say Walter is a friend is going too far. Walter is there and he intrudes on The Dude’s life and his intrusions always make Lebowski’s life worse to which Walter’s response is, “Let’s go bowling.”

At one point Walter, The Dude, and Donny are bowling. Donny is played by Steve Buscemi. The three of them make up a team. Whenever, Donny tries to add to the conversation Walter tells him to shut up because “We’re doing something important here.” or “We’re talking.” or something like that to let Donny know that whatever he Donny has to say is not at all important compared to what Walter and The Dude are talking about. Hence, you never get to hear Donny say much more than a sentence in any conversation before being cut off by Walter.

Donny comes up to the scoring table at the bowling alley and announces that they’ll be in the semi-finals on Saturday. Walter starts to get upset. Why? Because it’s the Sabbath. The Jewish Sabbath and as Walter says, “He doesn’t roll on the Sabbath.”

The Dude points out that Walter isn’t Jewish. Doesn’t phase Walter. He was married to or knew someone who was Jewish and “He doesn’t roll on the Sabbath.” Walter is getting all worked up. Earlier he pulled a gun on someone. Why? He claimed the guy stepped over the foul line and should record a zero not an eight. At the end of the movie Donny dies of a heart attack brought on by Walter’s picking a fight. The Dude and Walter take Donny’s ashes to a cliff on the California coast so they can spread his ashes over the Pacific Ocean, which Walter tells everyone was Donny’s wish. He keeps saying this right up to the moment when he’s ready to open the Folger’s coffee container, whereupon he reveals he has no idea what Donny’s intentions were. With that he opens the top and dumps out the ashes. The updraft from the cliff blows the ashes over Walter and The Dude, standing behind, not a single ash gets anywhere near the ocean.

How do you explain this to someone coming in at the last minute asking what’s going on? You can’t.

It’s a great movie but watch it all the way through. Sam Waterston is in it too. He’s the cowboy with the deep voice.

Gotta go. There’s a ginsu knife salesman at the door.