The Big Lebowski (1998)
Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?!
THE SUMMARY: An aimless LA loser and his friends get caught up in a complicated criminal scheme, taking a violent, hallucinogenic tour through an unraveling mystery only to return to the same bowling alley at which it all starts, with Sam Elliot’s smooth cowboy voice telling us there’s some sort of meaning in all of it. That makes it sound like I hated this movie, but I didn’t. I often write about movies I want to like but don’t - this one is the opposite. On paper, I should hate it. But it’s an entertaining demonstration of the life you don’t want to live.
FROM MOVIE-PICKERS JAMIE AND JEANNE: A blend of quirky characters, clever dialogue, and unconventional narrative structure embodies the offbeat sensibilities of the Coen brothers. Other notable films from them include Fargo, Raising Arizona, and Blood Simple.
JAMIE AND JEANNE’S SHOW AI ART FOR THE WEEK:
Shut the f**k up, Blonde.
THE BEST:
Walter’s entire character: Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?! Sure, he’s uptight about seemingly insignificant things, but isn’t that relatable in today’s nonsense world? It’s far better to adhere to a strict system of order than it is to embrace chaos and meaninglessness. If you have to choose between someone who’s too strict and someone who’s too forgiving, pick strict every single time. Say what you might about bowling, but if you start ignoring or bending the rules of the universe, you will suffer.
Don’t be a nihilist: Likewise, I’ll take strict adherence to almost any belief over belief in nothing at all. To reject purpose is to be dead already - why even get up to live each day, if you believe each day is meaningless? Walter earns a laugh by saying at least the Nazis believe in something, but there’s genuine truth behind it. Human beings don’t just need a purpose for happiness, they have a purpose by design - I’m convinced. To claim otherwise isn’t just false, I think it’s a claim the nihilists don’t even believe themselves. Why else would you work hard? Why else would you build things? Why else would you sit around philosophizing to refine your nihilist views at all? All of these things require belief in something bigger to pursue.
My only disagreement with Walter is that the nihilists are in fact dangerous - he dismisses them saying ‘they’re nihilists, Donny. There’s nothing to be afraid of.’ I think people who reject moral order are terrifying, actually. They are the single greatest threat to humanity’s purpose, and not even because they theoretically see no issue with outright murdering you. That’s the worst and most aggressive possibility, but not actually common. It’s because they see no issue with abusing themselves. In rejecting purpose and treating morality as subjective, they allow their lives to decay and crumble, because so long as the individual consents to the degeneracy, that’s the only consideration that matters.
When enough people believe that, they fulfill their own prophecy. They lead purposeless, indulgent, and hedonistic lives, and society suffers. Choose the alternative, and believe in something to lead you to better things.
Don’t let complexity confuse you for importance: This is why I say I should hate this movie, but don’t. By the script, this movie has a very complex plot to achieve nothing at all. The guys start at the bowling alley, a series of insane circumstances and mysteries confuses and challenges them, they struggle to navigate those circumstances, and then in the end, none of it matters at all. They just return to the same bowling alley to play the same bullshit game with way too much emotional investment.
I should hate that. It’s a two-hour story about nothing. But through the lens of anti-nihilism, I actually like it. None of these men are living purpose-driven lives. The Dude is some ex-hippie living in a dump. Walter is a divorcee taking care of his ex-wife’s dog while she bangs some other guy in Hawaii. He’s taking care of his bitch’s bitch - that’s how big of a bitch he is. Donny, nobody really knows - just shut the fuck up.
The story is three men who lack focus and purpose, and endure chaos and nonsense as a consequence. In the end, it earns them nothing, except one of them is now dead.
Just because things are complicated doesn’t mean they’re important - in fact, the opposite is often true. As a man, don’t try to solve all the world’s mysteries. Don’t try to outsmart all the crooks. Don’t pick all the meaningless fights. Find a wife. Have some kids. Build something that matters around them. Create order. Enjoy purpose. Everything else is irrelevant noise.
Yeah, well… ya know - that’s just like, uh… your opinion man: It’s a sounder I used to deploy more frequently, and it’s a great one. This is a reminder for me to resurrect it.
It’s true - you can in fact acquire a human toe: I can get you a toe by 3 o’clock this afternoon, with nail polish. Just call Blonde.
Is this the origin of ‘shut up, Meg?’: Every time Walter told Donny to shut up, it reminded me of the recurring Family Guy bit of the same idea - Peter telling Meg to shut up. It’s the exact same gag, and Family Guy debuted a year after Lebowski’s release, so it seems like a logical reference, but I don’t see any formal acknowledgement of that influence.
Mark it zero
At least the Nazis have an ethos
THE WORST:
The dream sequence stuff, meh: I get it. It’s supposed to be ‘artsy’ and ‘quirky,’ or whatever. Nah. It’s just hippie bullshit that wastes time. It doesn’t advance the plot. It's not funny. It’s hardly even visually interesting. Delete - move on.
All of Maude: Likewise, don’t care. Her character is simply weird for weird’s sake, and doesn’t exist to illustrate any point other than women need children for fulfillment, no matter how much they entertain feminist explorations otherwise. That’s a worthy point, but as previously discussed, I think this movie explores themes of nihilism versus purpose in much better ways.
More Buscemi, always: He’s like cowbell for Blue Oyster Cult. Even if he’s obnoxious, there’s still never enough, and this movie under-utilized his talents. He’s just the passive, explicitly ignored third guy in the friend group, with very little comedy beyond Walter’s commands to shut up and a little bit of beyond-the-grave slapstick with his ashes in The Dude’s beard. He deserved better.
I’m starting to notice a Coen brothers formula here: Kidnappings and other crimes committed for large sums of money, confusion and twists with who is actually behind the crime, nihilism even for the sake of seemingly criticizing nihilism - these are all elements of this movie, as well as Fargo and No Country for Old Men, which we have also watched for the review bit (in addition to O Brother, Where Art Thou?, but I think that one is less applicable).
It’s not that having a formula is bad - of course I do, and another word for formula is consistency, which I think is crucially important, but I’m not sure that works as well in writing fiction. If every story you write follows the same general themes and developments, you’re actually just writing the same story dressed up with different costumes in different settings.
Of course I’m not saying every Coen brothers movie is exactly the same - I’m just seeing some repetition. I’ll maintain an open mind with any future Coen brothers viewings, but I’ll evaluate them aware of this observation.
‘I don’t need drugs to enjoy this - just to enhance it’ - Otto
I knew from the haircut this was gonna be annoying
THE RATING: 4/5 Wickies. Some good writing, an A+ John Goodman performance, and illustration of important philosophical concepts by demonstrating the consequences of ignoring them.. Like last week, it’s probably more like 3.5 territory for me, but half-Wickies round up.
YOUR RATING: Vote here ⬇
NEXT WEEK: Beetlejuice (1988)
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