Is the Big Lebowski a Masterpiece?

The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy written and directed by the Coen brothers but there are more layers to peel back and much of their work is meant to be greater commentary on other things beyond bowling and bad porno movies The Big Lebowski is also a film about both literal and figurative castration when one says figurative castration it means the idea of a man feeling as if he is losing the qualities that he believes makes him a man Walter sees himself as manly toting around firearms and talking about war service but he is still a complete servant to his ex-wife it is the big lebowski a masterpiece after premiering in 1998 this coin brothers comedy has gone from underground art house film to cult classic status growing a big following over the years particularly with college students The Big Lebowski has sparked memes books hell even conventions based on the bizarre circumstances surrounding Jeffrey Lebowski dude this hasn't shocked me that much as I found the film entertaining from day one it was always kind of that weird but cool flick it introduced two new friends for a surreal laugh but since it's grown in popularity people have been reading a lot more into it there's literature analyzing his philosophies and meanings I had a professor whose lineup of films along with Citizen Kane and Apocalypse Now was Big Lebowski and yes even some of our video series like renegade cut put their own unique interpretation about what the film means which of course begs the question doesn't mean anything and is it even worth spending the time to figure out if it means anything the story about a lazy unemployed bowler who gets mixed up in a kidnapping plot sounds like it has a lot going on he has a psychotic Vietnam vet for a friend a crazy competitor named Jesus an artist who has randomly selected him to be the sperm daddy of her child her father who's a millionaire with the same name who wants him to go after his kidnapped wife whose half his age the German nihilus who kidnapped her the head of a pornographic industry a whole bunch of crazy ass characters and what does this all add up to pretty much nothing yeah most people either have like a lesson a moral a story arc is something that the character goes through to show some kind of change but here stuff just kind of happens and then it just kind of stops but to the film's credit that's where a lot of the surreal comedy comes in well don't get me wrong there's other fine things in the movie like the dream sequences the blow ups conversations that seem more focused on wasting time rather than furthering anything but what makes this movie stand out from other movies is that you're waiting to see what it's all adding up to and it's never really revealed we've seen other films have been declared a giant waste of time but why is it everyone says this one is so good what did this film do different that those other films couldn't well to help figure out that distinction I decide to compare it to another Coen Brothers film that pretty much seems to be about nothing burne after reading this film is very similar in that it has a lot of big events and a lot of big characters but ultimately adds up to very little so why is Big Lebowski remembered and celebrated more than this well for one everything builds on top of each other and are connected and burn after reading even if it's building up to the punchline that nobody learns anything because there's probably nothing to learn what do we learn Palmer I guess we learned not to do it again yes sir I'm [ __ ] if I know what we did but in Big Lebowski so many things could have been cut from the movie and it wouldn't have affected anything important to the structure the fantasies could have been cut that talk with the cop could have been cut Donnie's death could have been cut half the conversations good Ward the first one among the friends could be told in two lines I think that guy with the same name as you should replace your rug you're right and that's it this scene could have been over in a couple seconds but look how long it takes them to get around to that this was a value dogs had to run together dude my rug were you listening - dude story Donnie laughter were you listening to the dudes story I was bowling so you have frame of reference here Donnie like a child wanders in in the middle of a movie and what about Walter what's the point of you there's no reason here's my point dude there's no [ __ ] reason why this ya won't so what's your point oh it's not even a matter of ending the conversation as friggin starting the conversation even the narrator doesn't seem to really know what he's talking about at the very beginning sometimes there's a man don't say hero cuz what's a hero but sometimes there's a man and I'm talking about the dude here but sometimes there's a man sometimes there's a man ah watch my train of thought here that's setting the film's tone and even he kind of doesn't give a [ __ ] hell I'm gonna introduce Tim enough another big difference is that in burn after reading while it is a complicated plot we do see or at least hear what happens to every story that is begun they all have some sort of conclusion with Big Lebowski a lot of these have no resolution whatever happened to the kid who stole the car why'd he steal the car to begin with does the dude ever get his rug back what happens with Maude and trying to get pregnant did bunny ever pay back jackie treehorn and if not where does that go are they ever gonna do another bowling tournament that was built up so much but then randomly dropped by Walter's religious day of rest jabbers Chaves the list goes on so in a way Big Lebowski is more unique because unlike Burn After Reading where the payoff is building up to nothing this one doesn't even fully have the build up half the situation's just stopped before they can even start to really get going in most other narratives this would be seen as very sloppy storytelling and there's definitely critics out there that say it is here too I just thought they were so obviously written particularly Jeff Bridges character as this dude type but for others what makes these strange situations that just sort of start and stop at random so interesting is the reactions from the dude I remember actually starting to laugh as the film was wrapping up I said to myself is that really it you're not going to resolve any of these other stories that you started you're just going to end with the dude abides well the dude abides but then when I looked at the whole thing that did seem to make the most sense it doesn't matter to us what happens in all these other situations because it doesn't matter to him to a lot of people in a strange way the dude is sort of the perfect balance of living a happy life I know that sounds strange but like I said there's books written about this but really think about it he doesn't ignore everything that's going on around him he gets angry he gets involved he fights back in hell he doesn't want to see someone die because of him they're gonna kill that for a woman man the [ __ ] are you talking about but at the same time his goal seems to be just live comfortably with his own needs even if those needs are just of a lazy jobless bum he clearly doesn't care what people think of him I mean I don't know how many people would have a picture of Nixon bowling or proclaim how much they hate the Eagles I had a rough night and I hate the [ __ ] Eagles man yeah I throw that at all your cat [ __ ] you later but he does still have a moral Center at least enough to care when someone he knows is gonna get hurt he's found what he's wanted to do discovered a way to make it work embraced it and fed off the rewards that wouldn't satisfy most people his age but seems to satisfy him he's clearly offered nothing to the world and has shown no responsibility to it but he's also matched a way to keep happy without ever hurting anyone truth be told there's probably why so many college students enjoy this film not only because it's funny but because it celebrates tranquility in simplicity as well as a [ __ ] ton of laziness the dude is a terrible role model in terms of forming your goals and finding out how to achieve them but I think you could argue he is a good role model and showing how to appreciate the goals you have accomplished even if they are few with a world building us up for great progress and great things that we want to achieve very few people ever actually achieve what they were aiming for it's not down there who's the [ __ ] now mr. Reiner you punch a [ __ ] cry-baby so here's a character that obviously set his goals and standards pretty low he is pathetic he is a loser but at least he's content with that and that seems to be the glue that keeps the movie afloat like I said before you can take out so many of the strange elements in the story I wouldn't really affect much but what you can take out is the dude himself his reactions is what holds it together how he accepts challenges or doesn't even acknowledge the problems that are put before it I guess in an odd way that does kind of make this film a masterpiece because no other film has accomplished this in such a bizarre way and with such a strong long-term acceptance of it I can't think of any other movies really like this that follow such a strange bizarre structure but still kind of works while others will no doubt bring their own interesting interpretations on the film's meaning and relevance the one thing you can't deny through any of those interpretations is that he is gonna be what makes this movie last for years and still have people talking about in the future so yeah despite his more than obvious faults he has still found something that can be strangely admired and in his own unique way he's discovered how to strive for very little achieve very little yet be content with very little he did it because he wanted to and not because anybody else told him to he'll who the hell would he's selfish and disgusting but he's still happy with who he is and bugging no one in the process and that's something to appreciate and also talked about and if bad things from the world come in to challenge his way of life he does what any strange it wise happy person would do he abides what about you not take comfort in that I'm the Nostalgia Critic and I don't know which Lebowski quote to end with Donna you're out of your element sure ah that morning white Russians always the best you you

Channel: Channel Awesome

Views: 579,749

Keywords: channel awesome, nostalgia critic, doug walker, movie, movies, film, big lebowski, the big lebowski, movie review, film review, big lebowski review, the big lebowski review, movie editorials, film analysis, the dude, coen brothers, jeff bridges

Id: C97UGxQA9Fo

Length: 10min 51sec (651 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 02 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/OutToDrift]

I think you meant to post this at r/lebowski