The Lingering Lebowski

I’m one of those old school guys who still gets magazines in the mail.  One I look forward to is Rolling Stone, and the current issue has a story on the film The Big Lebowski and how it’s a film revered by twentysomethings nowadays.  According to the article, much like Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider, or John Belushi in Animal House, the character of Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (as played by Jeff Bridges) is a role model of sorts for today’s overachieving young adults who were raised on tight schedules and demanding parents.  I suppose there’s something oddly appealing about a guy named “The Dude” who just kind of sits around with his friends, smoking pot, drinking, and bowling his life away. What exactly the appeal is probably has something to do with these twentysomethings not having any down time as children.

Being a Coen Brothers fan, I saw The Big Lebowski when it came out, and wasn’t too taken by the film.  The comedy seemed forced, the plot was thin, and but the characters were appealing.  And maybe that’s it.  The characters.  They are so marginal that people who watch them on DVD find them funny in a safe way.  I’m not sure if you really want friends like the ones in the film, but when viewed from the unchanging narrative of a film, I suppose they are okay to hang with for a 120 minutes.

Anyway, there are some choice clips on You Tube that Rolling Stone thinks you ought to see.  One clip has a scene where characters in the film are played by Wii avatars. Oh, and a warning.  If you’re watching this at work (or with the kiddies around) turn your speakers down:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcv6fPszAZY[/youtube]

And then there’s the “Safe for TV” version that that replaces the line: “This is what happens when you f**k a stranger up the a**” with “This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps.”  Huh?  Watch for yourself:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQUdJ6FdUQ0[/youtube]

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2 thoughts on “The Lingering Lebowski

  1. "Find a stranger in the Alps"? That's dubbing GENIUS!!!

    When I was up in Alaska in Feb, I was listening to my iPod and walking around on icy streets one morning, listening to "To the Best of Our Knowledge", and they were talking to this guy who is a HUGE fan of this film, and how they have actual conventions and such. I think they get together and run dialog or something lame like that. Or perhaps they merely 'abide'. 😉

  2. Yeah, it’s better than the ending of the dubbed version of Pretty in Pink: “Steph…she thinks your SLIME, and deep down you know she’s right.”

    In that article, they write about those Lebowski fests around the country and one where Jeff Bridges showed up to sing. He called it his “Beatles moment.” 🙂

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