About two-thirds of the way through the Coen Brothers' latest film, "The Big Lebowski," our slacker hero (Jeff Bridges) -- appropriately nicknamed The Dude -- falls face first onto a glass table and lapses into a dream that spoofs Busbey Berkley production numbers, Vikings and bowling all within the span of four minutes.
Such goofball delights occur on a regular basis in "The Big Lebowski," and with this film the Coens step away from "Fargo's" more carefully structured lunacy and instead echoe the farce of their earlier "Raising Arizona" and the psychedelia of David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch".
"The Big Lebowski" has a plot that takes more twists and turns than a whole season's worth of "Melrose Place" episodes. The film tracks The Dude's adventures after he gets unintentionally involved with a man, Jeff Lebowski, that shares the same real name as him.
Jeff's trophy wife, Bunny, is supposedly kidnapped by thugs that had previously mistaken The Dude for Jeff and trashed his apartment. The Dude is hired by Jeff to drop off a suitcase full of money to the criminals in order to see if he recognizes the men as the same ones from his apartment, and there is one ridiculous mix-up after another.
Admittedly, the film never amounts to much in the way of actual story. That's the bad news. The good news is that the movie's logic is meant to reflect its main character's charmingly scattered thought processes and therefore manages to succeed on its own terms.
Even when The Dude is in jeopardy, the film adopts the leisurely pace of someone who would rather sit back and smoke a joint instead of speeding up to suit the action of the events taking place.
While the Coen brothers are not the only filmmakers that take a decidedly arty approach in some of their work, they should be applauded for their consistency and lack of pretensions in carrying through with their surreal tendencies. The quest for "artistry" can often lead to some God-awful movies that were better left unmade and are generally inconsiderate of their audiences.
Besides the musical dream sequence, high points include scenes with a Latino pedophile bowler named Jesus (John Turturro), a ferret in a bathtub, a fight The Dude engages in against a group of nihilists that includes Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a laugh-out-loud funeral that illustrates why ashes should never be scattered against the wind.
The film's lack of self-consciousness and moments of comic genius make some of the film's flaws easy to forgive. Even when the plot becomes muddled near the end, the Coens still manage to entertain through style and witty dialogue without making it obvious that they are coasting.
It would be unfair, however, to give the Coens all of the credit for playing down the film's weaknesses. They have assembled a cast of actors that would probably be able to make much weaker material fly. Bridges, a criminally under appreciated actor, gained a good amount of weight to play the role of The Dude, and plays him as an engaging loser without looking down on him.
Good as Bridges is, the secondary players are even better. John Goodman is great as the psychotic best friend Walter, and he has not been this funny since the heydays of "Roseanne."
Also strong is Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski, an artist who describes her own work as "vaginal" and has a specific sexual agenda that involves The Dude. Moore is easily one of the finest actresses working in independent films today, and it is nice seeing her take on an absurdly comic role without sacrificing the edginess that distinguishes her.
Surprisingly, the only actor that does not come off well is Coen brothers veteran Steve Buscemi, whose character pales in comparison to the role that he played in "Fargo." Next time the Coen brothers should give Buscemi something new to do or nothing at all.
Nit-picking aside, "The Big Lebowski" manages to score major points even if it is not the Coen brothers' best work by a long shot. Instead, this film allows us to sit back and enjoy two masters of the form obviously having a ball with their own work. The Coens' version of throwing a party differs from that of several other respected filmmakers, however, in that they are actually thoughtful enough to invite us along as well.
