Roger Ebert | Film Critic

Updated MONTH_DAY, 2022

Summary & Info

Roger Ebert
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

thumbs-up

“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.”
thumbs-up

“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.”

Movie Muse

The Big Lebowski | 1998

    

Updated September 24, 2022

Critical Consensus

Dueling Critics

thumbs-up“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.”
thumbs-down“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.”

Summary & Info

The Big Lebowski
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]

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