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The Big Lebowski (1998)

Edited Reaction Alongside the regular multi-part full, you now have the option of watching an edited version of the full movie reaction with 10-15mins of Picture-in-Picture. You can watch this edit in the player, or alternatively you can download it to your computer using the button underneath each part.

Comments

Anonymous

As I suspected, Jess, you had a most sublime reaction to this film, which is one of the Coen Brothers’ most popular films as well as one of the most absurd of their oeuvre. I don’t blame you for needing time to process it as it took my mom a few viewings before she made sense of it. Likewise, Dad saw it a few times before he sorted it out. As Ryan notes, it’s as if everyone is the main protagonist in their own separate genre of film. Jeff Bridges as the Dude remains his most iconic role. Yes, Dude gets sucked into the whole mystery because he didn’t just simply clean his rug, which really tied the room together, Man. Like a lot of Coen Brothers’s characters, he’s hung up on the principle of the thing as he was not the one who micturated on his precious rug, nor did he break the tile, loved your concern about that. I also loved your concern for the number of White Russians he imbibed over the course of the film. Nice to hear you like bowling, by the way. John Goodman, likewise, lists Walter as his favorite of his work. My brother and I adore Walter, especially the scenes where he insists “MARK IT ZERO!!” on the score, and his demolition of the car whilst yelling, “This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass, Larry!!” Which was humorously given the tv dub “Find a stranger in the Alps!!” or if you read the Shakespeare adaptation, we have, “This befalleth when thou firk’st a stranger ‘twixt the buttocks, Laurence! Understand’st thou? Dost thou attend me? Seest thou what happens, Laurence? Seest thou what happens, Laurence? Seest thou what happens, Laurence, when thou firk’st a stranger ‘twixt the buttocks?!” Your reactions to both scenes were great. I had a feeling Walter would test you some, though I do like you assessed him as somewhat of a tragic character. You are right of course that he is contending with untreated PTSD. He also very clearly has undiagnosed Asperger’s which because it’s undiagnosed, unsurprising given his age and the time period, he’s not gotten help, support, and or treatment for that, professional or otherwise. I knew you’d be protective of Donny; Steve Buscemi was delightful as Donny. Yeah, they throw so much at you such as Peter Stormare and his fellow Nihilists. Also, Julianne Moore at the height of pretension as Maude. Said pretension aided in the one scene by David Thewlis being absolutely hysterical as Knox Harrington, the video-artist. The scene of the two of them giggling up a storm has me in hysterics from laughing at the absurd realism, and I laughed even harder seeing the look on your face at that scene. I KNEW you’d love Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt, and he is so wonderful. Great how you clocked Sam Elliot. Other highlights of the reaction were your reactions to John Turturro as the Jesus, a character bizarre enough, Dad was thoroughly baffled. I lost it so much when you lost it over the Dude’s failed attempt at the barricade. I also adore the late great character actor Jon Polito as Da Fino, the Brother Shamus, (No, not like an Irish monk.) who was one of the best red herrings when it’s revealed he’s just trying to return Bunny back home to the In Cold Blood farm. It is most saddening to see Donny go, I knew you’d have a strong reaction to that. Especially striking is how the film becomes pretty fucking somber pretty fucking quick when he dies. But hey, the dog made it. All in all, a most PERFECT reaction as I knew it would be. “Made me laugh to beat the band” as they say in the film. Thank you so much for this perfect reaction, Jess, it was very much appreciated.

Ryan

John Turturro recently wrote and directed a spinoff film about Jesus, which just ended up showing how bad an idea it was to give a deliberate one-note joke character his own story. Plus, the "exposing himself to an eight year old" thing was already a super-edgy joke at the time and couldn't possibly fly now, so the movie has to twist itself into knots to explain how the whole thing was just a goofy misunderstanding, and you have to wonder how even needing to do that wasn't a big red flag to Turturro that the whole thing couldn't possibly work.

Mister Lou

The more I watch this, the more I notice just how weird Maude is, she's officially the weirdest character of the film.. just for the fact that she chose a guy with the exact same name as her dad to be the father of her baby is WILD. I mean, I know that's not the reason she chose him, she wants someone who's not going to be in the picture. I get it. but the name confusion is going to be WAY weirder in the future if he or someone wants to know who his biological father is.. or maybe I'm just reading FAR too much into a comedy film?

Anonymous

It is certainly going to incite some very interesting conversations for Maude should the topic arise, yes. Good point.