Before I rewatched this, I dug out my special bowling ball edition DVD of The Big Lebowski hoping that might be enough to inspire a full article. Of course, it wasn’t, but I still wanted to include a few pics (by the way, even though it’s a numbered limited edition, it’s not worth shit [as long as you don’t want it still in plastic, you can get it for $25 or less]). Then I watched The Big Sleep, hoping there would be enough similarities to write a comparison. There might be, but that Bogart film didn’t exactly draw me in, so I abandoned that. I was going to rewatch The Long Goodbye (still might, just for shits and gigs) for the same reason, but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. This is a largely random movie, and as I watched it I had no problem jotting down shit for my Random Thoughts section. I decided if there was ever a movie I could just post my random thoughts about, it would have to be The Big Lebowski. So, in the spirit of the laziness of the Dude himself, here are my random thoughts and random thoughts only.
Random Thoughts
The “thanks a lot, asshole” at the beginning always gets me. You broke into his house and assaulted him, and he's the asshole? I just always find it funny when people get shit given to them for no reason.
This movie always makes me miss being in a bowling league.
Speaking of bowling, when I was in high school our local alley upgraded to auto-scoring which meant you got to put your name on the screen. My friends and I alternated names from this and Kingpin.
The only thing that gets Walter to stop asking, “Am I wrong?” is to answer, “Yeah…”
I share the same name as a Columbine shooter, so I'm used to dealing with same name shit. Never on this level, of course. But I did have a strange moment recently. I placed an online order at a pizza place, and when I went to pick it up, the dude at the counter asked if I had placed two separate orders. I hadn't, and the second order was nowhere near what mine was. We both found it a little odd, and then another guy came in, and said he had an online order for Eric Harris. The clerk did a double take, then pointed at me and said, “He's Eric Harris, too!” I didn’t know what to say aside from, “Hey.” With the Coens in mind, I wish I had thought of Brolin's line from No Country after Harrelson says he served in Vietnam, too: “So what does that make me, your buddy?” Anyway, weird as shit glitch-in-the-matrix moment for me.
Hoffman's delayed laugh in response to “I'll suck your cock for a thousand dollars” is fantastic.
Donnie backing as far away as possible without just leaving the sitting area during the “mark it zero” scene is great.
Hoffman is so game for Lebowski’s kidnapping story. “Mr. Lebowski’s in seclusion in the west wing.”
As much as I enjoy Turturro’s performance, I just can’t bring myself to watch The Jesus Rolls, even though it’s been widely available on free streaming services for years.
Donnie looks genuinely hurt when Walter calls him a piece of shit.
Nice to see Richard Gant show up as one of the cops. I mainly remember him as the Don King-type from Rocky V and the coroner who eats Jason’s heart in Jason Goes to Hell.
Watching this and Fargo so close together is interesting. First, Buscemi is the polar opposite of his Fargo character, getting yelled at here whereas he was the yeller previously.
And I kind of get the initial hatred of this movie being a bit nonsensical as a followup to the “prestigious” Fargo, but I’m surprised there aren’t more complaints about how both films center around a botched (or in this case, fake) kidnapping.
Lebowski at the very least is a good listener as he likes to re-use lines he hears throughout the movie, like “this aggression will not stand” and “in the parlance of our times.”
Is this the only movie in which someone gets grabbed out of one limo and thrown into another limo?
Donnie drinks Slice.
I like White Russians more than most, I imagine, but to drink them all day is psychotic.
Autobahn’s album is called Nagelbett, which translates to “nail bed,” which is featured on the cover art.
“What the fuck is with this guy? Who is he?”
I wonder what notes the Dude gave his landlord.
This movie is probably the first time I ever heard of In-N-Out.
“He has health problems.”
I love Goodman’s little stutter step before he takes out the headlights in the “Do you see what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass?” scene.
This movie is perfectly encapsulated by the moment when the Dude tries to actually be a detective and check what note Jackie Treehorn wrote only to find it was just a drawing of a dick. Nothing to figure out here, just have a few laughs and move on.
I imagine the nihilists running around with giant scissors was the breaking point for a few critics back in 1998, especially the way Flea was operating his pair.
Finally checked out the Branded theme song. I prefer the Dude’s version.
I like how Maude perks up when Dude says he was in the music business and is immediately disappointed when he reveals he was just a roadie for Metallica.
Donnie seems shocked that he didn’t get a strike at the end. I know it’s only meant to foreshadow his death, but are we supposed to believe he has been bowling perfect games every time he bowls?
I can only assume the music playing from the nihilists’ boombox at the end is…ugh…techno pop.