Roger Ebert | Film Critic

Updated MONTH_DAY, 2022

Critical Consensus

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Summary & Info

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Jeff Bridges is The Dude, an irreverent slacker, whose preoccupations are bowling with his pals (John Goodman and Steve Buscemi) and drinking White Russians. When he is mistaken for a millionaire who shares his name, his life is suddenly much more complicated, involving a ruined rug, a couple of kidnappings, an avant garde artist (Julianne Moore) who wants a baby and several nihilists. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Huddleston, John Turturro and Sam Elliott. Director: Joel Coen. [1:57 – R]

Dueling Critics

“The Big Lebowski is a favorite comedy for so many people because it speaks to everyone’s inner ‘Dude,’ and it balances various forms of comedy – physical, verbal, visual, spiritual, existential – in a way that few other films have successfully pulled off.”

– Nick Clement

“A wildly uneven movie that offers tremendous pleasure for the moment, even if it doesn’t stand up well to post-screening analysis and scrutiny…The Coens keep the jokes coming, although some of them are so subtle they can easily be missed.”

– James Berardinelli

Movie Muse

The Dude spends an inordinate amount of time in the movie gulping White Russians, an odd concoction many mixologists do not even acknowledge as a cocktail. Vodka provides the base spirit, the modifier is coffee liqueur (use ST. GEORGE) but the flavor enhancer is cream (half-&-half or heavy cream). The result is a sweet confection that depending on the ratio and execution can have a cloying mouth feel. Skip the cream and make it a Black Russian instead. Sorry, Dude! | Marz Krisschlange

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