The Big Lebowski - ten years on and the Coens are still kings of cool

EVERYBODY wants to be Jeffrey Lebowski. No, not the stuffy, miserable multi-millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski with the trophy wife.
We're talking about the bummed out, White Russian swigging Credence Clearwater loving Jeffrey Lebowski.

And that's him man, that's the Dude to a tee. You see, the Dude doesn't care much for politics or confrontation, this is the simple tale of a man who just wants his stolen rug back. Might not sound like a big deal but that rug really tied the room together.
And this is where the story begins.
The Dude, or Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) to give him his proper name has been the victim of mistaken identity as his wealthy namesake's (David Huddlestone) nymphomaniac trophy wife Bunny (Tara Reid) has apparently been taken hostage.
A trio of nihilists break into Lebowski's flat and demand he hands over money. Clearly with no money to hand, one of the thugs vents his frustration by urinating on the Dude's rug.
Looking for compensation, the Dude visits the volatile Lebowski at his mansion and after explaining that it was HIS rug that should have been micturated upon, the Dude strolls off, explaining to butler Brandt that 'the old man said to take any rug in the house.'
But then, of course, the rug is stolen, leaving the Dude to speculate with his bowling buddies Walter Sobchak (a bitter and twisted Viet Nam vet brilliantly played by John Goodman) and the rather more simple and laid back Donny Kerabatsos (Steve Buscemi) about who took the rug.
What follows is, quite simply, the greatest cult comedy to ever hit the big screen, coupled with some of the finest quotes in film history.
Although ten years on it's an established classic, the Big Lebowski struggled to make an impact on release, grossing $17m domestically - just $2m more than the film's original budget.
And some of the reviews were less than favourable.
Peter Howell, in his review for the Toronto Star, wrote: "It's hard to believe that this is the work of a team that won an Oscar last year for the original screenplay of Fargo. There's a large amount of profanity in the movie, which seems a weak attempt to paper over dialogue gaps."
But the dialogue is largely based around throwaway profanity which makes it such a joy.
Bridges went on to explain later that not a single word of the film was improvised. Every single 'er' 'hey' and '****' was written into the script.

The film also triumphs thanks to some of the smaller roles in the film. Coen regulars John Turturro as the outrageous Jesus Quintana, Jon Polito as inept undercover detective Da Fino and Peter Storemare as the chief nihilist are just a few of the many sparkling contributions.
And with other notable performances from Julieanne Moore as Lebowski's feminist daughter, Sam Elliott as the Stranger, Ben Gazzara as Jackie Treehorn and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt, everything comes together to make the Big Lebowski the jewel in the Coens' crown.
If we all lived our lives like the Dude, the world would be a much more blissed out place. The Dude abides!

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