Il grande Lebowski

How can anyone not dig The Dude? In a world where energetic go-getters are idolised and looked up to, it's nice to know that there are fat, indolent, scruffy, pot smoking, beer drinking bums out there taking it easy. Or they would be if people would leave their rugs alone…

The Big Lebowski is a film where the plot is entirely inconsequential; it doesn't matter. It's just a mere device to set The Dude on his way. The joy is in watching him interact with all the weirdos in Los Angeles and in listening to the dialogue – the script is the most quotable since Withnail and I. Therefore it's the perfect film to just sit back and absorb.

Picking a favourite scene in a film that is jam packed with great moments and wonderful lines of dialogue is a near impossibility, but you'd be hard pressed to beat the scene with the Malibu police chief. "I don't like your jerk-off name. I don't like your jerk-off face. I don't like your jerk-off behaviour. And I don't like you…jerk-off." And then to cap it off he throws his mug at The Dude's head. Brilliant! And making it even funnier is the scene that immediately follows it where the taxi driver throws The Dude out of his cab.

But another favourite is Jesus. He only has two scenes but both are hilarious. (I hope the Coens make 'The Passion of the Jesus.') And I love the flashback where you see him knocking on doors to tell his neighbours that he's a pederast. Especially good is the way that a large, bearded man with a dirty shirt answers the door (I always crack up at the breath Jesus takes when he sees the man – I also noticed, for the first time, that Jesus in that flashback is visibly showing in his tight jeans; he's not a small guy).

But then there's the scene where The Dude first meets Maude Lebowski (excellently played by Julianne Moore). "I'm sorry if your stepmother is a nympho, but…" And I also like the little dig at the porno film they're watching: "The plot is ludicrous." But the comment isn't really aimed at the porno film; the film is talking about itself. It knows the plot is nonsensical but it also knows that it doesn't matter – it's best to just let it wash over you.

Mentioning porno has reminded me of Jackie Treehorn. Is there a better visual gag in modern cinema than The Dude scratching a notepad for a message or telephone number only to find a cartoon of a man with a gigantic erection? Well, maybe there is, because even earlier in the film there's the moment where The Dude spends a long time making a homemade device to keep intruders out only for him to forget the fact that his door opens outwards instead of inwards – he nails a bit of wood to the floor, props a chair up to the door handle to keep people out and the very second he walks away, the door opens and the chair comes tumbling down. Pure genius!

And Jackie Treehorn's brainless goons are brilliant too. "You're not dealing with morons here." Oh yes we are. But the film's all the better for it.

But I'm not sure what my favourite line in the film would be – again it's almost impossible to pick just one. But "I still jerk-off manually" would have to be up there, as would virtually every line Walter spews ("The Chinaman is not the issue…"). However, if I was forced (at gunpoint) to choose, I'd have to go with a piece of Dude wisdom: "Fortunately, I'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug regiment to keep my mind, you know, uh, limber." And The Dude's reaction when Maude tells him that she's trying to conceive is magnificent.

Yet another brilliant scene is the Larry scene. Walter and The Dude are trying to get information out of some kid but the kid just stares impassively at them, so Walter destroys his car – or what he thinks is his car. Now at this moment I could quote the real dialogue, but the TV version dialogue is perhaps even better. "Do you see what happens, Larry? Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?" It's even better than: "Fun you, melon farmer!"

Then there are the nihilists. "We believe in nothing, Lebowski. Nothing. And tomorrow we come back and we cut off your johnson." But try as they might to intimidate, the only scary thing about the nihilists is the techno music they listen to. Well, that and their obsession with the male member.

But I could quote lines from The Big Lewbowski all day. I just dig the film so much because it puts a goofy grin on my face; its stupidity is remarkably intelligent. Plus, in the end, it's actually quite heartfelt – if the film's about anything, it's about friendship…well, that and smoking pot, drinking beer, bowling and keeping hold of your johnson. Yeah, the world's a better place with The Dude in it.

More than 20 years it took me to have a look at this cult classic. Finally did it and I do undestand the fuss about it.

Not a flick for everybody that I can tell because a lot of talking is done but it's the talking that starts to get funny after a while. In fact, a bunch of loser trying to solve a abduction and trying to hold the money for themselves goes terribly wrong.

After a while you even want the talking to go on and on. And some art flick here and there it was indeed a hell of a ride, funny, stupid but genious in its kind.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 comedy 2/5.

Those Coen brothers have an ear for language. You feel it in the sing-songy banalities of Fargo, and in the noiresque machine-gun dialogue of Miller's Crossing, but neither of these can prepare you for the feast for the ears that is The Big Lebowski.

Channeling the opaque mysteries of Raymond Chandler, the Coens throw LA resident bum and Bowling aficionado Jeff Lebowski ("The Dude" to his friends) into a strange triple-crossing case of kidnapping, ransoms, nihilists and urinated-upon rugs. It is the equivalent of throwing unrelenting forces at an immovable object, the Dude's bemused stoicism at constant odds with the world around him. He'd much rather be bowling with crazed Vietnam Vet Walter (John Goodman) and pure silent soul Donnie (Steve Buscemi).

As with so much of the Coens' output, style is more than half the point: not just visual, though ace DP Roger Deakins paints an alluring canvas, but tonal and auditory. This is an insanely funny head-trip of a movie, with wonderfully idiosyncratic characters, down to the smallest part. Who better than the Coens to reinvent the comedy of errors?

This is without a doubt one of their very best, a personal favorite, an unmissable film and the kind of experience that will plant an indelible smile on your face. Do yourself and see this now, if you haven't already.

The Dude, aka Jeff Lebowski, is mistaken for a shady, millionaire businessman with the same name, a gang of thugs, searching for money, smash his place up and steal his rug. The Dude is given the chance to seek out those men.

What a hilarious movie this is, from start to finish it's sheer brilliance, it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, I never tire of it, talk about a film you can watch over and over.

It's genuinely funny, and with plenty of mixed humour, some of it's smart, some of its slapstick, some of it's a little surreal, overall, it just works. I'm not sure the story is anything new or complex, but that idea of two people with the same unusual name being linked by a crime, it works.

The scene with Larry and the car is probably my favourite from the whole movie, talk about hilarious, that poor car.

Jeff Bridges has put in some marvellous performances over the years, for me though, this is the best, he just nails it, he's hilarious.

John Goodman is great, he steals many of the scenes, Julianne Moore is terrific, not sure if I prefer the accent or hairstyle, she's so good.

Perfect music throughout, seeing this you'll want to download The Gypsy Kings. You'll want to sip a White Russian at the same time.

A Joy!!

9/10.

The Big Lebowski is the type of movie that is so funny, and so clever, you want nothing more but to meet the Coen brothers, congratulate them personally for their unique talent, and get inside their heads and find out what makes these two geniuses "tick". The main characters are Jeff Bridges (who plays such broad roles like The Muse, The Contender, and Sea Biscuit), John Goodman (who should have won an oscar for best supporting actor for his character, Walter Sobchak)Juliane Moore (Maude Lebowski)and Steve Buscemi (who is unique in every Coen Brother movie).

The first time I saw this movie, I will admit that I enjoyed it, but did not fully appreciate its level of humor and raw talent. I thought the middle section was a bit too depressing and long. But trust me, this is a movie that gets more funny every time you see it, even if it's your thousandth time seeing it. Its level of comedy, action, brutality, and vulgarity become that much more evident and important.

The characters are brilliantly written by the coen brothers, and, likewise, are brilliantly portrayed by the actors. The Big Lebowski is like no other film. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. There is no other film such as TBL that is sharp and witty all the way through. One of the Joel and Ethan Coen's best, and one of the movie industry's best comedic film of all time. You want to go see this flick.