By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Movies & TV - "The Big Lebowski" is one of the most overrated films of all time

 

Did you enjoy this movie?

Yes, and I'm relatively picky too 52 53.61%
 
Yes, but I'm not very picky 13 13.40%
 
In the past when standards were lower 1 1.03%
 
No, the movie is mediocre 10 10.31%
 
No, the movie is utter shit 8 8.25%
 
see results 12 12.37%
 
Total:96

My best friend insisted that I should see this move for so long, and when I finally got to watch it I couldn't see what was so great about it, I just didn't like it.



Around the Network
okr said:
Lebowski is a good movie (and certainly not among the most overrated movies of all time) but my Coen Bros. top 3 are Blood Simple, Fargo and the brilliant, underrated Miller's Crossing.

Fargo just seemed a little too far on the dry side at times.



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

super_etecoon said:
I honestly think you're thinking of this film in the wrong context...

It's not a comedy...
It's a surrealistic crime caper with comedic elements, mostly because of their irony.

Many say this is the "funniest movie ever."

Many of those people are also trendy. There's always going to be those people. They hype it up as something it's not...and they probably also forget some of the lulls in the laughs while the plot advances.

I'd say it's a pretty funny movie, but not the best Coen brothers movie. It's got cult status, and the interactions between the Dude, Walter, and Donnie are really the crux of the humor. If you don't like the three of them and how they work together (or don't) then you/re probably not going to find much of the movie very funny at all.

The film is very dark...that is, it's a dark comedy. Dark comedies make us laugh at things we wouldn't normally. And those kind of jokes also have a way of not landing, depending on your sensibilities.

At the OP...could you imagine having watched this movie in the theater when it first came out...with no hype? Do you think your impression might be different? Many of the readers here at VGC are old enough to have been there...so it does have a special place in our hearts for being just a little different than all the other crap they release every year.

Am i the only one who doesn't find the humor to be very dark? Only remotely dark thing is that the nihilist-girl cut off her own toe. The movie makes it seem like dark shit is going down, when in reality nothing of any importance is happening except the Big Lebowski embezzling from the Foundation.

An interesting point, i feel, is that nothing important happens. That's what got me more interested in the movie when i saw it the first time (before i started watching it again and getting a better grasp of the humor). Nothing leads much of anywhere, there is no closure, and that's really so more true to life than basically any storytelling media. Most of us lead normal lives, and while there may be some folks out there with an agenda, most of us are just drifting in between.



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

Its one of those movies that suited the times during which it was released. Its difficult to judge it years later and out of context. I liked it.

Not Necessarily Necessary News Nor Necessarily Newsworthy



I don't think Lebowski is particularly funny, but I do think it's a good movie. Also,

sundin13 said:
Yeah, well, thats just, like, your opinion man...

I'm mildly disappointed it took a whole page to get to that.



Around the Network
impertinence said:
I enjoy the Big Lebowski very much, and I also see a lot of people who don't like it. Typically the people who don't like it view it the same way you did, just at the surface. If you take no enjoyment from the quirkiness of the characters and just see the movie for the jokes expecting a knee slapper then I can see why people would be unimpressed.

To me it's almost impossible to understand how people can not love this movie. It is virtually perfect in everything it does. People will of course point out the acting which is absolutely fantastic, the rich cast of oddball characters or the deadpan and super dry dark humor. To me though, where the movie really excels is in how the structure of the movie perfectly mimics the story of the dude. Stuff like the constant use of dead ends and lack of payoff makes the story itself seem as bewildered and haphazard as the Dude himself. Some people might see this as 'problems with pacing' or whatever someone said above, but the fact is that the Cohen brothers have put that 'structureless structure' in place on purpose, and it's amazing to be able to keep the movie together while it's basically free flowing. It's a perfect fit to the stumbling of the waaaaaay over his head hero of the movie.

Wow, you have just perfectly described why I like the great beauty so much. I didn't realize until now how similar it is in structure to the big lebowski although it's a completely different movie. Funny it gets the exact same criticisms as well.



I've never been able to watch the whole movie tbh, just didnt enjoy it.



Jay520 said:


My problems don't have anything to do with acting, pacing, etc. My problem is much more simple: there simply weren't many funny moments. And by "many", I mean more than average. These seems like a reasonable request...I mean, in a comedy, you expect funny stuff to happen.

A lot of people have been giving answers like the bolded statement which are extremely vague and difficult to understand. This isn't directed to you personally as you give a more defined example in the next sentence (though I don't agree that that's funny). I don't really want to talk about "direction" or "charm" any over-arching concepts like that as that's far too abstract and complex. Many of the terms like "charm" are just unsubstantiated buzz words anyway. I'm interested in specific, tangible scenes that people find funny just to get a better understanding of people's rationale.

So, your issue is you didn't find it funny enough, and don't care about any of the other aspects of the movie other than the lack of obvious slapstick moments?

All I can say is that of you don't find Walter Sobchak's rant in the coffee shop when he is asked to not swear so loud funny you probably won't like the humor in the movie. I think that scene is hilarious, and that is not close to the funniest part of the movie. Other scenes that are also very funny are Walter flashing a piece out on the lanes, Jesus' little rant about bush league tactics in league play, Donny's funeral, The Dude doing his detective thing at Jackie Treehorn's house, the shake down of Larry the highschooler, The first meeting between the Lebowski's, The landlords dance recital, The dude buying milk, when the dude reports his car stolen, etc. etc. etc. I could keep going for quite some time. The point is, these scenes are not The Hangover funny, the humor is much more subtle and quirky, as you'd expect from the Cohen brothers.

Different strokes for different folks, but to say that the movie is shallow or not well put together is pretty far out as far as I'm concerned. My best fall back for that kind of critisism is probably the tried and true (but not very constructive) "I guess you just don't get it"



whatever said:
Cobretti2 said:
You know how some games are really cool when they first come out and 10 years later they age badly?

Same principle applies with movies. At them time it was considered good but now with what else has come out people's views change.

Then there are movies/games that go the other way.  Not appreciated at the time, but later are considered classics.  The Big Lebowski is clearly in this category.

indeed there are movies that go the otherway.  What category a movie belongs to is really personal taste. But the general consensus is that its a good movie.



 

 

sundin13 said:
Yeah, well, thats just, like, your opinion man...

it took 10 posts before this. For shame.