Film 12 (9/1/2005)

The Big Lebowski

Director: Joel Coen

Recommended by: D Soler

Has Fentablar seen this before?: No.

I have to admit that this movie was pretty entertaining: several comical characters, humorous dialogue, great bowling shots. Other than that, however, I also have to admit that this film doesn't offer much to cinema. Yes, the characters and the dialogue are very interesting - of course they are, this is obviously the calling card of the Coen brothers. But what the hell kind of story is this?

Quite honestly, I feel the story itself was some sort of weird play on Fargo - a kidnapping gone wrong. Only this time, make way cooler characters and sacrifice plot in the process.

Whoah, whoah, whoah. This is starting off as a Lebowski-bashing festival. That really isn't my intention, since I did enjoy much of this film. It's unfortunate that I can't say I was truly entertained, because that makes it seem like such a waste of good acting by the lead roles, let alone the riotous dialogue. It is a fun film to watch...

...yet, don't watch it with critical eyes. It contradicts itself in a fairly obvious and blundering way: The Dude is supposed to be one of the most relaxed, mellow people around. Yet when things seem to go wrong, he gets rather worrisome about it - whereas Walter, though he does tend to lose his temper, doesn't seem at all fretted by any of the situations they find themselves in. I just don't think that fits very well.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Plot Effectiveness: 3/5.

Cinematography/Shot Selection: 5/5.

Overall Acting: 4/5.

Score/Soundtrack: 5/5.

OVERALL RATING: 4/5

~Fentablar~