Rated R for pervasive strong language, drug content, sexuality and brief violence.

Staring: Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, Sam Elliott, Flea, Ben Gazzara, John Goodman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Huddleston, Dom Irrera, Julianne Moore, Jon Polito, Leon Russom, Peter Stormare, David Thewlis, John Turturro, Tara Reid, Aimee Mann

“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. ” – Walter Sobchak

Review:

This is one extremely unique film.  It is almost impossible to imagine and makes me wonder if the Cohen Brothers were enjoying some White Russians or smoking some herb of their own!  In this hilarious case of mistaken identity the Dude Lebowski is accidentally mistaken for The Big Lebowski who is a millionaire.  This is a crime caper and comedy all mixed up into one wonderful film.  After the Dude’s rug is violated by porn stars he sets out to find the real Mr. Lebowski so he can be compensated for the rug that really tied the room together and ends up getting hired as a private investigator.  The Dude enlists the help of his eccentric bowling league   Initially The Big Lebowski did not do well at the box office but it has an amazing cult following thanks to its wacky fans and The Lebowski Fest.

This movie is a character actors dream!  Luckily there are some wonderful character actors in it.  The Dude played by Jeff Bridges, is an unemployed slacker who spends most of his time bowling, drinking White Russians and enjoying marijuana.  The film also stars Steve Buscemi as Donny one of the Dudes bowling buddies.  Donny is one of the only mild mannered and quiet ones of the bunch who has very few lines actually.   Our September Review Star, Philip Seymour Hoffman, has a small but delightful role as Brandt the personal assistant to the millionaire Mr. Lebowski.  His character is someone that seems to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and is a card carrying member of the Young Republicans.  I could imagine his girlfriends name is Buffy if we had learned more about his character.  Hoffman embodies every character that he portrays expertly.  He is truly believable in this role.  My favorite pieces about his character are his obnoxious laugh and giant grin.  Brandt has wonderful facial expressions in the scene from which the image below is taken.

My favorite character has to be psychotic Vietnam Veteran Walter Sobchak who is ready to shoot you at the drop of a hat.  I love the intensity of his character.  He is totally believable as someone that has witnesses some heavy stuff while in Nam and still carrys his sidearm.  I love his characters yellow tinted sunglasses and headband that he wears over his crew cut hair.  Even though most fans love the interrogation scene I personally love the scene where they are dropping off the money to the kidnappers and Walter jumps out of the Dude’s moving car and rolls and his gun goes off.

There are so many great lines in this movie that you will truly be quoting them for years and years!  Not many movies have fans dedicated to dress up like the characters aside from Star Trek and Star Wars.  The Big Lebowski became such a huge cult hit in my mind because of the great script and wonderful characters.  The movie is a perfect movie to watch during a lazy afternoon or with a large group of friends while drinking some of your own White Russians.   The Big Lebowski will stand the test of time as one of the most unique and humorous films made.  If you have not seen it take the time to watch it I promise you will not be let down.

Philip Seymour Hoffman: September Review Star

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