Rating: 
Summary: "I'm the Dude, man!"
Review: This is probably one of the funniest movies ever made, I can't remember any other comedies where I've laughed so hard. The story revolves around Jeff Lebowski (played by Jeff Bridges), also known as "The Dude". A couple of thugs accidently mistake him for another Jeff Lebowski (who turns out to be a millionaire), and after realizing that they've got the wrong person, they proceed to pee on his rug. That's when things are set into motion. The plot itself is actually very complex, but by the end of the movie, everything fits together nice and neatly.Throughout the movie, we meet lovable and well acted characters such as the Dude's friend and bowling partner, Walter (played by John Goodman). He gives the best performance with his easily enraged, gun-toting personality which is perfectly offset by his devotion to his ex-wife and the way he seems to remember his war buddies from Nam at the most inoppurtune moments. Some of the situations him and the Dude get into are the funniest moments in the movie. Other great performances include Donnie (played by Steve Buscemi), who is the submissive and somewhat nerdy bowling partner of the Dude and Walter. And a brief, yet hilarious performance is given by John Turturro who plays the hispanic bowling fiend, Jesus (yes, it's pronounced "Jee-zus"). One of the things that stand out is the dialogue which really pulls the movie together. The conversations that erupt between the characters flow extremely well and are endlessly quotable. Something that's missing in a lot of comedies these days. Aside from the the great acting and dialogue, one thing that stands out are the subtle nuances that reward repeated viewings such as the jokes that might've flown right over your head during earlier viewings, pop-culture refrences, or small plot details. The only thing that really bothered me is the DVD itself. The menues suck, and the only special features include a trailer, a badly done documentary on the movie, and small bios on the cast. Nothing that isn't on every other DVD that comes out, but hopefully special edition of The Big Lewboski will come out one of these days. Aside from that one small problem, I reccomend anyone who's in for an awesome comedy to go buy this.
Rating:
Summary: Best... movie... ever.
Review: I have a pretty big DVD collection, but this movie is probably one of the
few purchases I can really justify. I watch this movie over and over again
and NEVER tire of it. Great characters, great writing, great soundtrack,
great camera-work... words fail me. What a great movie. Incidently, the
lack of a real plot is just one reason that repeated viewings are so endlessly
gratifying. If you've never seen it, be patient the first time. It took me almost
an entire viewing of the film to appreciate it... ever since, it has always been
somewhere in my top 3...
Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS MOVIE!!!
Review: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE. BUY IT RIGHT NOW!!!!
Rating:
Summary: This movie really ties the room together.
Review: I think this is the funniest movie Ive ever seen. It is honest to goodness genius. Now if youve seen it once and think "Oh thats stupid.." then you just dont get it. Would you listen to some CD one time and then form an opinion on it saying its the best/worst CD ever? MMMMBop would still be on the radio all the time if that was the case. I think with this movie it can actually be classified as art. The more you see it, the more you appreciate how good it is. Ive seen it probably a hundred times and every time I'm surprised by how good the acting really is. Some of it is pretty subtle (not Jesus though, has there ever been a better supporting character!) but after you see it a few times and arent focused solely on all the lotta in's, a lotta out's, a lotta what-have-you's (of the story) its possible to recognize the genius. Not everybody is going to get this movie, in fact if you think Ace Ventura is the funniest movie ever, well, (1)you're stupid, and (2)it's over your head, dont waste your time. However, if you are like the 900+ other people that attended Lebowskifest (its becoming that "cult" of a movie) then check it out. Again, and again, and again. It seriously gets funnier everytime I see it. Thats my opinion man. Say what you want about the tenets of national socialism but at least its an ethos. Yeah.
Rating:
Summary: Quintessential Coen brothers movie
Review: Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) is a bowling hippie, the laziest man in Los Angeles County. His rug is pissed on by thugs looking for his homonym, a rich man nicknamed the Big Lebowski. The Dude wants restitution because "that rug really ties the room together". A visit to the Big Lebowski nets him a new rug, if anything, but that one will also be stolen. With his bowling friends Vietnam veteran Walter (John Goodman) and third-wheel Donny (Steve Buscemi) , he soon becomes embroiled in a kidnapping, intrigue, sex, and his never-ending quest to get his rug back. It is a Coen brothers movie, and keeps their tone throughout - basically a film noir, but this time set in modern days and on an acid trip. Part of the fun is simply watching The Dude encoutering various colourful characters on his simple mission to get his rug back, but failing miserably and getting himself in more and more trouble. He has an acid flashback every time he is knocked unconscious, which leads to some of the most memorable scenes of the movie. There is also a lot of humour in the characters. The Dude is a happy-go-luck character who bears the chain of events with befuddled aplomb. Walter, the quintessential movie war vetertan, flirts the line of sterotype but the Coen brothers give enough depth to the characters to escape it. Other characters like the Nihilist gang and the daughter of the Big Lebowski, a New Age artist, go above and beyond the call of duty. The Dude: Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not Mr. Lebowski. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
Rating: 
Summary: A journey to nowhere in particular
Review: The monotone narration at the start of the film bored me, dude. The film wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, and watching the teaser trailer made me think it was going to be another Kingpin, man. I wasn't wrong, but thankfully, it didn't focus that much on the bowling, dude. This film is a tad off the wall, man. The words "dude" and "man" are littered amongst the dialogue, you try to block it out, but they seem to emphasis the words each time they say it, dude. Seems to have a few reasonably "big" names, including John Goodman, Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore and Tara Reid, but it doesn't seem appear to have that big a budget, man. Jeff Bridges looks older and slightly greyer than the only other role I've seen him in, 'Starman', dude. Steve Buscemi plays a quiet character: he gets ignored, he doesn't know what John Goodman is talking about most of the time and subsequently gets told to shut up, man. The classic line "dude where's my car" is uttered so obviously whoever made that, was watching this, dude. Julianne Moore's non-geographical accent gets on my nerves, and she just has to appear naked, man. The phone seems to constantly ring in this, particularly in the first half, for no apparent reason, and no one seems to answer it - just there to get on the viewer's nerves, dude. The scene with the naked chick being thrown up and down accompanied by high-pitched music - what exactly was all that about, man? A scene for the guys and what do the girls get, dude? John Goodman's stomach, man. I laughed a couple of times, but the best bit was when John Goodman throws a bowling ball into the bad guy's nether regions, dude. Judging by the ending, they must have run out of storyline, or money, man. Also, according to the back of this DVD, it was 98 minutes long, but its 116 minutes, and is listed as 127 minutes in a movie book, dude. This film is a meandering series of events, vaguely connected, with no real ending, man. You definitely have to be stoned or drunk to watch this, and I was neither, dude. Extras include a good teaser trailer; a very boring making of; and cast and filmmakers biogs, man.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny, unforgettable
Review: It may have flopped in the box office, but today it is a cult classic, and a classic among... well... anyone who sees it. The Coen brothers are absolutely genius (even though first impressions would lead you to believe that they are incredibly dull). My favorite thing about their movies is that, unlike your typical comedy, they manage to be sidesplittingly funny, but also have excellent plots as well. "The Big Lebowski" follows Jeff Lebowski, more commonly known as "The Dude", a pothead who likes to go bowling with his buddies. One day two thugs break into his house and demand the money he owes them, but soon find out they were confusing him with another millionaire Jeff Lebowski. They leave, but not without urinating on the rug that made "the room hang together". Somehow, The Dude gets involved in delivering ransom money to get back Jeff Lebowski's trophy wife, Bunny, who was kidnapped. With John Goodman playing 'Nam vet Walter hilariously, plenty of swearing, and the use of the word "Dude" that makes you want to use it all the time, The Big Lebowski is definitely worth checking out.
Rating: 
Summary: Has a Conscience
Review: What makes Jeff Bridges's "The Dude" endearing is that he has a conscience. If he was just an unemployed slob and mean-spirited, I would have hated this movie. But the dude's heart is in the right place. John Goodman's character was totally obnoxious, always messing everything up for poor dude. I laughed out loud several times, especially when "the dude" runs over to see what Ben Gazzara wrote on his note pad after he answers the phone. I think this is mostly a "guy movie," but I enjoyed it enough. I agree with another reviewer that this movie is not for everyone. Anyone who rates high on the prude scale would not let this stand, man.
Rating:
Summary: The Dude Abides
Review: Quite possibly the most important movie of my college experience. During all four years of my education at Niagara University, there was no film that I and my close friends watched more than the Coen Brothers cult-classic "The Big Lebowski." This film gets better with every viewing, and is the perfect movie for 'guys night out.' The plot is hysterically confusing, but that's what makes this movie so funny. Not only is the script loaded with razor sharp humor, but there are several momenst where the film seems to be making fun of itself, which only adds to the overall enjoyment of this masterpiece. Aside from "Caddyshack," no movie was quoted more by me and my chums than "The Big Lebowski." Do yourself a favor, buy this movie, get a couple of cases of 'oat sodas,' invite all of your guy friends over and enjoy. If you are a college student, then you truly haven't experienced dorm life until you hold a midnight screening of this movie. There are several drinking games that you can come up with (as my friends and I so often did) to highten your viewing experience. Make no mistake about it - once you've seen this movie you will be hooked! However, if you see it and hate it, well, that's just like your opinion, man.
Rating:
Summary: This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.
Review: The above statement is just one of the countless examples of instantly-quotable dialogue that's featured in this film. The Coen brothers decided to follow their critical and commercial smash-hit FARGO with this unusual, yet endearingly hilarious comedy. The fact that the film became a box-office failure yet has since grown into a word-of-mouth cult classic is a real testament to the film's effectiveness... Mention the film to anyone and, chances are, they'll start going off on a tangeant about how hilarious the film is and, more often than not, start reciting some of the film's choice dialogue out of nowhere. The film, which follows the exploits of Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, never really amounts to much in the end... nothing is really accomplished, the characters don't come to any greater understanding, and things are pretty much the way they are when the film starts (minus a minor character's death, a lady's toe severed, and two perfectly good cars utterly destroyed... don't worry, it'll make sense when you've seen the film). Even so, there's just something about this film that makes the whole thing utterly satisfying. The Coen brother's have made a career of creating films with memorable characters and offbeat plot twists and their usual sense of pinache is quite evident right from the start. As with any film that bears the Coen tag during the credits, there are a few small quirky details that absolutely make the picture... the way that The Dude, dressed in the quintessential slacker get-up, lounges his way from scene to scene sipping on a White Russian... the way that Walter Sobchak, played wonderfully by Coen regular John Goodman, always works his experiences in Vietnam into every single conversation possible, even if it has absolutely nothing to do with anything (as is often the case)... the way that the narrator constantly loses his train of thought and repeats what he just said ten seconds before in a Coen-esque introduction (shades of RAISING ARIZONA anyone?)... Sure, there are the usual botched ransom exchanges, hilarious setpieces, and bizarre dream sequences, but it's those little details that make THE BIG LEBOWSKI, well... THE BIG LEBOWSKI. As Jeff Lebowski would say, "The Dude abides," and that, as they say, says it all...
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