If Raymond Chandler had smoked a lot of dope, he might have written THE BIG LEBOWSKI. The Coen Brothers cult classic is probably the finest stoner flick (in the fullest sense of the term) that has ever been made. The Coens do so by crafting rich, unforgettable characters who happen to get stoned a lot. Getting stoned is not the punchline to every joke. They also perfect an absurdist tone for which they first attempted in RAISING ARIZONA. Mix those elements together with a well-crafted crime plot and add a dash of laid-back philosophy at the end and the ultimate stoner flick is born.
Jeff Bridges (THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS) plays Jeffrey Lebowski, but don't call him that, cuz he's The Dude. He had some jobs, made some money, and now he lives to bowl, smoke pot and drink White Russians. He looks like an aging hippie surf bum with his long hair, goatee, baggy shorts, and sandals. His bowling buddies are Walter Sobchak (John Goodman, TV's ROSEANNE) and Donny Kerabatsos (Steve Buscemi, FARGO). Walter is a burly Viet Nam vet obsessed with arbitrary rules and the sacrifice of all the young men that died in the mud. Donny seems like a shy unassuming guy, but we don't know much about him because every time he opens his mouth Walter tells him to shut up. When The Dude gets home one night, he is attacked by two thugs looking for another Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston, TV's THE WONDER YEARS) whose wife Bunny (Tara Reid, AMERICAN PIE) has run up bills all over town. This is just the beginning.
The thugs pee on The Dude's rug, so he believes the other Jeffrey Lebowski, The Big Lebowski, owes him a new rug. The Big Lebowski lives in a mansion with various pictures of himself with famous people, and has a dutiful assistant named Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman, BOOGIE NIGHTS). But he won't help out The Dude with the ruined rug, which really tied the room together. The trophy wife Bunny's debts lead to a kidnapping plot, which involves The Big Lebowski's eccentric artist daughter Maude (Julianne Moore, BOOGIE NIGHTS), porn producer Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara, THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE), 15-year-old car thief Larry Sellers (Jesse Flanagan, ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL), the mysterious Da Fino (Jon Polito, BARTON FINK), and a trio of German nihilists lead by Uli Kunkel aka Karl Hungus (Peter Stormare, FARGO). That's just the crime plot characters. There's also: The Stranger (Sam Elliott, TOMBSTONE), who narrates; the giggling video artist Knox Harrington (David Thewlis, HARRY POTTER); and the cocky Hispanic bowler Jesus Quintana (John Turturro, DO THE RIGHT THING).
This eclectic cast of characters is just pastel color around the edges. The Dude and Walter are too bright to be outshined. The crime plot is just an excuse to reveal their personalities. They're complete opposites. The Dude is laid back, while Walter is irrationally uptight. The Dude is practical, while Walter is absurd. If The Dude didn't have Walter as a friend, his life would not be as complex. We all have friends or family like that. All the twist and turns of the story come from the personalities of these two slackers, as well as the humor. They're one of the screen's best buddy duos.
The confusing crime plot, mishaps, and collection of kooky characters seem perfect for a stoner flick. Those who claim there is no plot are not paying close enough attention. There's actually a very clever plot driving this story… even if it's a little high and swerves around a lot. The plot is there only the characters become more interesting than the who done it. The Coens seem more interested in the characters than the who done it too. When the plot ends, the film continues for a few more scenes. Those are the pot philosophy scenes I hinted about at the beginning. It closes the film with The Dude's philosophy on life. We're born, we die, and during the middle we abide.