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August 12, 2004
The Dude Abides
The Big Lebowski is the movie equivalent of comfort food for me. For well over a year, it was my designated hangover movie, guaranteed to entertain when I was too tired to get up off the couch (for better or for worse, I no longer seem to find myself hungover very often--maybe once a year). But for obvious reasons, I can watch TBL endlessly. In fact, just last night, I watched the film for the first time in several months (and no I wasn't hungover), and I realized that I'd forgotten just how remarkably funny--and how beautifully crafted--TBL really is.
Fans of the film will know that the Coen Brothers' paean to bowling, Raymond Chandler, and the counterculture, will know that Lebowski was a box office disappointment (and a disproportionate number of them will claim they liked the film before it was cool), but it has since become a cult classic, complete with a traveling national convention, profiled in this New York Times article (link via Green Cine), in which fans of the film attend dressed as their favorite characters or props from the film (apparently the severed toe is a popular costume). The article also features a profile of Jeff Dowd, the guy who provided the inspiration for the character of the Dude.
Posted by chuck at August 12, 2004 12:01 AM
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Comments
This post combined with Rusty's earlier post has me convinced that guys are obsessed with this movie.
Posted by: Jen at August 12, 2004 12:22 AM
top 5 of all time for sure. My dog is named Lebowski.
and Jen - I know more girls who are obsessed with it actually. =)
Posted by: Sean Bonner at August 12, 2004 12:43 AM
I'd agree with Sean. I know lots of women who are huge Lebowski fans. In fact, I think a female friend of mine helped to cement my addiction to the film.
Posted by: chuck at August 12, 2004 12:47 AM
A few friends and I mixed white russians in the back of one of our classes, the last day of senior year. One showed up in her bathrobe, though I didn't.
The professor tried to be annoyed, but we bribed her with a drink and all was well.
Posted by: Cassie at August 12, 2004 4:57 AM
A few friends and I mixed white russians in the back of one of our classes, the last day of senior year. One showed up in her bathrobe, though I didn't.
The professor tried to be annoyed, but we bribed her with a drink and all was well.
Posted by: Cassie at August 12, 2004 4:57 AM
"to cement an addiction" ... an Americanism? Very poetic
Posted by: Francois Lachance at August 12, 2004 9:25 AM
Sorry about the double comment there. My connection decided to be annoying, and as you can see it was very early indeed (I was heading off to w*rk).
Posted by: Cassie at August 12, 2004 9:44 AM
Cassie, don't worry about the double post. I'm just sympathetic that you have to be awake to go to work at 5 AM.
Francois, I think that's probably a "Chuckism." If I remember correctly, I stumbled over that sentence a few times....
Posted by: chuck at August 12, 2004 11:08 AM
i'm so cool i hated this film before, during, and after it was cool...
sorry!
Posted by: cynthia at August 12, 2004 5:08 PM
No problem. Just out of curiosity, why did you hate it?
Posted by: chuck at August 12, 2004 7:19 PM
can't really offer any specific reason, other than that i found it wholly irritating from beginning to end. i just prefer sloooooooow realism to manic weirdness, i guess. i acknowledge that the film is probably very smart and anyone has a right to think it's great, but i personally can't stomach a single frame of it.
Posted by: cynthia at August 13, 2004 1:20 PM
I generally prefer "slooow realism," too, but I bought Lebowski on Saturday at Target when I was really hungover, and found it easy to watch without really having to concentrate.
I'm actually embarrassed by some my past "hangover movies," which include Point Break and Natural Born Killers.
Posted by: chuck at August 13, 2004 1:49 PM