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Movies / Upcoming / The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski

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The Big Lebowski (1998)

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Reviews Counted:72

Fresh:56

Rotten:16

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: Typically stunning visuals and sharp dialogue from the Coen Brothers, brought to life with strong performances from Goodman and Bridges.

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: The Coen brothers have done it again. Mixing in Leninist philosophy, mistaken identity, crazy characters, a kidnapping plot, and a deep love of bowling, they have unleashed upon an unsuspecting... The Coen brothers have done it again. Mixing in Leninist philosophy, mistaken identity, crazy characters, a kidnapping plot, and a deep love of bowling, they have unleashed upon an unsuspecting world the many glories of THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Jeff Bridges plays Jeff Lebowski, known as the Dude, a laid-back, easygoing burnout who happens to have the same name as a millionaire whose wife owes a lot of dangerous people a whole bunch of money--resulting in the Dude having his rug soiled, sending him spiraling into the Los Angeles underworld. The film is beautiful to look at, especially the scenes in the bowling alley, which feature a vast array of bizarre characters--including Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Sam Elliott, and the movie-stealing, riotously funny John Goodman as the Dude's crazy best buddy. As usual in Coen brothers films (BARTON FINK, RAISING ARIZONA), the dialogue is hysterically warped; the plot is confusing, complicated, and kinetic; the soundtrack is virtually another character; and the acting is weirdly stellar. THE BIG LEBOWSKI is yet another thoroughly entertaining foray into the strange and fascinating world ruled by Joel and Ethan Coen. [More]

Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi

Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro, Peter Stormare, David Thewlis, Ben Gazzara, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, Flea, Torsten Voges, Philip Moon, Mark Pellegrino, Jack Kehler, Aimee Mann, Asia Carrera, Jerry Haleva

Director: Joel Coen

Director: Joel Coen
Producer: Ethan Coen, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
Screenwriter: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Composer: Carter Burwell

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Big Lebowski

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
01/01/00
Luke Buckmaster
Luke Buckmaster
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
03/14/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It may not be Fargo, but you’ll be swept away by the sheer nonsensical, farcical wonder of it all.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

In a perfect world all movies would be made by the Coen brothers.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are bits of brilliance here as in all Coen Brothers movies. Just not enough of them.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner

I wish the Coens the best, but they're going to have to do better than this. I know they can.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 2 Comments
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

There are more ideas here, more wacko side characters and plot curlicues than the film can support, and inevitably it deflates from having to shoulder so much.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment 4 Comments
01/01/00
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle

This uneven screwball comedy -- a disjointed and half-hearted attempt by the Coen brothers to return to the Raising Arizona style -- is bound to underwhelm even their most fervent admirers.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The Dude and Sobchak begin as caricatures too, but they're allowed to grow into something deeper, if only because the humanist economy of the Coens' surrealist vaudeville allows for a couple of human beings within the tapestry of freaks.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

If it's all supposed to be in fun, why does it feel so much like an insult?

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment 11 Comments
11/07/07
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

As tempting as it is to completely dismiss The Big Lebowski, it's hard to do because the Coens are able to create wickedly funny eccentrics and possess the ability to energize certain actors to inhabit them completely.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 3 Comments
02/14/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This time, they have all the parts together, but someone forgot the glue.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Since The Big Lebowski doesn't have an idea in its head, it has to fill the empty space with 'witty' conceits

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 10 Comments
01/01/00
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
Film Journal International

This broad farce about mistaken identities would have worked much better if the filmmakers hadn't mistaken their own.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment 1 Comment
01/10/03
Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

The Coen Brothers throw this film into the gutter, never developing what could have been a Strictly Ballroom-like spoof of the bowling world.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment 3 Comments
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly

An indulgent spoof, Big Lebowski isn’t a straight gutter ball, but it’s no strike, either.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment 1 Comment
02/27/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

Adds up to considerably less than the sum of its often scintillating parts.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 8 Comments
11/07/07
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This movie seems to me almost a mishmash of the worst bits that were left out of previous Coen Brothers outings.

Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | comment 4 Comments
01/01/00
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

It's the wealth of great characters and their insane dialogue that make this a memorable film.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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