Thoughts on "The Big Lebowski"

So, after being pushed, nudged and prodded, I finally watched The Big Lebowski. For a long time, this movie had a large window display dedicated to it at a poster / memorabilia store in Athens. That's why I stayed away from it for so long. In my mind, The Big Lebowski is one of those incredibly stereotypical "college" movies. One of those "OMG I just got to college and now I deeply appreciate the connotations of Bob Dylan songs / think that Bob Marley really speaks for my generation / discovered that motion pictures reached a zenith when Fight Club was made" etc., sorts of things. And it's not even that these things are inherently bad. I like Bob Dylan okay, I'm not the hugest fan of reggae music in general, so Bob Marley is a little lost on me, and Fight Club isn't horrible or anything. But for whatever reason, a lot of people cling on to this stuff for dear life once they get to college.

But I digress. I watched it. And I liked it. I liked it a lot. I didn't love it, though. I loved the characters, but I only liked the plot. Like any Coen brothers movie, it was outrageously intricate and winding. I understand that it is clearly in the vein of many of their other films, but sometimes it just seems like there is just too much going on. Jeff Bridges was pretty hilarious as the ever-chill Dude (and I appreciated his affinity for White Russians, one of my personal favorites), and I particularly enjoyed his interactions with psychotic Walter (John Goodman) and oft-confused Donny (Steve Buscemi). Oh, and that dream sequence was a big WTF (but in a good way). But of course the best scene was them nonchalantly eating In-N-Out Burger because 1) they just went apeshit on a random guy's sports car, who in turn fucked up their station wagon but they still found time to eat burgers, and 2) it was the fucking In-N-Out Burger, one of the most delicious things to grace God's green earth!

In short, I liked it enough to spend a few dollars on a used copy that I came across at Half Price Books a day or two later. Sadly, I didn't realize it wasn't a widescreen edition. It doesn't seem vital to watch this particular movie in widescreen, but I'm really spazzy about that, so we'll see if this specific DVD ever interfaces with the television.