My Favorite Movie, Hands Down, Is The Big Lebowski

There is no finer cinematic experience than watching The Big Lebowski with your friends, your girlfriend, or just all by yourself for the one hundredth time. Trust me. I've watched it in all these ways. The one-liners, the cast, and the plot make this Coen Bros. masterpiece a must-see for anyone looking to understand why America has been the way it is since 1998.

Neatly ensconced at the nexus of pre- and post-Internet times, The Big Lebowski is a film that SCREAMS America. Let's start with the quotes. You'd be hard pressed to find a more quotable movie in the recent era of Hollywood.

From the pivotal theme in the movie, that there are slackers and hard-workers and never the twain shall meet, but in reality we're all just the same selfish jerks:

Your revolution is over, Mr. Lebowski. Condolences. The bums lost. My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

To the inimitable inspirational life quotes from narrator Sam Elliot:

To be honest, I have no idea how Sam Elliot is even still alive 22 years after the release of this movie. He looked hella old back then... and hasn't seemed to have aged a day since. How?

My favorite quote, though, has to be the entire collection of Dudisms that indicate that "The Dude abides."

It's pretty much a philosophy, man. In life, there'll be “strikes and gutters, ups and downs.” We just have to learn to roll with it: "I can’t be worrying about that sh*t. Life goes on, man.”

If you could have made a perfect man to deal with the absurdity of post-dotcom life, you could not have crafted a better character than Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski as played by Jeff Bridges.

That leads me to the actors in this movie. The cast is impeccable. It's populated by all-stars even down to the bit parts. That's what you get with a well-respected directer tandem like the Coen Bros. At the top, you have Bridges, plus John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, who make up the three friends at the core of the story. Philip Seymour Hoffman is The Big Lebowski's nerdy assistant. The aforementioned Elliott and John Turturro have probably the most memorable bit parts in the history of film.

Here is his "pederast" (whatever that means!) character Jesus licking a bowling ball:

And last but not least, you get Julianne Moore in her absolute prime as The Dude's love interest. I have to say, Coen Bros., you guys really messed up this guy with this casting. I think I only dated redheads for the next 15 years of my life as I frantically searched America for my own Maude Lebowski. She's basically a red-headed strong woman with avant-garde artistic sensibilities,

Definitely not me when I was a young adult! 😂😂😂

The plot is kind of ridiculous and absurd, but that is kind of the whole point. I won't ruin it by telling you what the plot is, but understand that its absurdity is a reflection of life itself.

But that's, like, just my opinion, man. Apparently, other people agree, though. The Big Lebowski "ranks as the highest-rated movie on IMDB.com."