By Doug Levy
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 6, 1998

Alley Cats

The Dude is a guy who spends most of his time sitting around, smoking pot and listening to music. He's unemployed, scraggly looking and totally chill. And, no, he's not that guy who lives down the hall from you in the dorm.

He's the main character in "The Big Lebowski," the new film from quirky filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, the guys who brought us "Fargo," "Barton Fink" and "Raising Arizona."

The Dude's real name is Jeff Lebowski, but it's not a name he uses often. It's a name that is, in fact, more trouble than it's worth, as it happens to be shared by a rich old fat-cat with a trophy wife named Bunny, and Bunny's in a lot of trouble. A little touch of mistaken identity, and the Dude's life is turned upside down.

Mistaken identity is a big thing here, too -Ýwithout some advance knowledge, some of the well-known actors who populate this film are almost unrecognizable. That sleazy Hispanic bowler, Jesus Quintana - that's really John Turturro, the neurotic, introverted "Barton Fink" himself. And those laughable German "nihilists" - one of them is Peter Stormare, who played that crazy bastard in "Fargo" and another one is Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Acclaimed actor David Thewlis also comes on screen in cinematic disguise, as does Julianne Moore, who has a slightly larger part, which comes complete with a British accent and a highly stylized wardrobe. You'd never know she was the sweet, innocent wife from "Nine Months."

The Dude himself is played by Jeff Bridges, who makes his first appearance in a Coen Brothers film with "The Big Lebowski." His performance as the aging stoner who cares about very little besides his bowling league is both impeccable and endearing. It almost seems as if Bridges was born for the role. Plus, working along with co-star John Goodman couldn't have hurt his immersion into the world of the film.

"Lebowski" was actually written with Goodman in mind; the versatile actor has appeared in two previous Coen Brothers films, "Barton Fink" and "Raising Arizona," and the Coens have always been fascinated with his ability. The role of Walter, The Dude's bowling partner, was conceived especially for him and he inhabits it with his usual finesse. A Vietnam vet and urban survivalist, Walter is intense. He's the polar opposite of the laid-back Dude. Put them together in the middle of an out-of-control kidnapping and extortion scheme and you've got quite an interesting dynamic, to say the least.

If you've ever wanted to see John Goodman bite off someone's ear and spit it through the air, now's your chance.

The final member of the bowling team is Donny, played by the ubiquitous Steve Buscemi, another long-time Coen collaborator, having appeared in "Barton Fink," "Miller's Crossing," "The Hudsucker Proxy," and, of course, as the saner half of the kidnapping duo in "Fargo." You could say he provides comic relief in "Lebowski," except for the fact that the whole film is comic relief - there may be some unsavory elements, such as the appearance of a severed toe, but, as they've proven time and again in the past, the Coens can make even the most morbid and macabre funny.

The world of "The Big Lebowski" exists in the Los Angeles of the early '90s, at the time of the Gulf War. However, this Los Angeles, while mirroring the one you may know, seems to exist on a parallel Earth - the one where most of the Coen Brother's films have taken place - where the people you meet are all slightly larger than life and the things that happen to them are much more interesting, as well as bizarre, than anything you'd be likely to imagine.

There are a couple of extensive dream sequences in the film, one of which is extravagantly choreographed and absurd, but perhaps no more absurd than many of the things that take place in the waking world of The Dude. After all, it's not everyday that three Kraftwerk-wannabes dressed in leather storm into your house and terrorize you by throwing a marmot in the bathtub with you.

In the end, "The Big Lebowski" is further proof that the Coen Brothers are amongst the finest filmmakers around, although whatever you may be expecting from them, you're always going to get something else.