The Big Lebowski (1998) is a dark, idiosyncratic and quirky comedy/crime caper-thriller involving an intriguing complex case of mistaken identity, deception, double-crosses, and a mysterious kidnapping. It came from the inventive, cultish and anarchic Coen Brothers. The obscenity-filled, R-rated classic independent film, one of the most revered cult films of all time (especially in the new millennium), was a buddy film about an abduction and pay-off scheme (involving an elusive ransom sum), and was intentionally designed as a film-noirish shaggy dog tale set in 1990s Los Angeles.

The complex abduction plot included an unfaithful trophy wife (and porn actress), sinister blackmailing German nihilists, a second set of hired thugs working for an adult film producer, a crippled and devious philanthropist, a feminist femme fatale who only wanted a sperm donor, a shell-shocked Vietnam War veteran, and a Venice Beach ex-hippie and ex-protest era radical (now a dope-smoking slacker).

Added to these elements was a conglomeration of mismatching, absurdist pop cultural objects (in episodic vignettes), including a pissed-on rug, a gun drawn in a bowling alley, strange pop art performances, a severed toe, a case of missing (stolen) ransom money, homework interrogation, numerous White Russians ("Caucasians") and doobies, Saddam's invasion of Iraq, a ferret on a leash, a crowbar-smashed new Corvette, and much more - all peppered with memorable lines of oft-quoted dialogue (with some parroting of key phrases) and memorable but unusual characters.

By the end of the wickedly absurdist noirish tale centering around a bewildered and oft-stoned Messianic archetype known as the "Dude" (not the "Big Lebowski" of the film's title), everyone seemed untrustworthy and deceptive - in actual fact, everything went horribly awry due to multiple misunderstandings. There was no kidnapping, and most of the characters were revealed to either be acting hypocritically, misrepresenting themselves, lying, or pursuing their own self-interested objectives.

Its taglines were somewhat intriguing - about the central character named Lebowski:

• "They figured he was a lazy, time-wasting slacker. They were right."
• "Times like these call for a Big Lebowski."
• "Her life was in their hands. Now her toe is in the mail."

In its tale of LA sleaze (with approximately 260 F-bombs) in a post-Vietnam era, there were echoes of writer Raymond Chandler's writings and detective hero Philip Marlowe behind the classic film noir The Big Sleep (1946). [Note: The title of the film, The Big Lebowski, was intentionally derived from the 1946 film.] Both films had a completely undecipherable and ultimately unimportant plot, consisting of a series of unusual sequences as a parade of characters appeared during attempts by a hard-boiled detective (and a wasted LA stoner-deadbeat) to unravel a mystery during a film-long quest that involved mostly red herrings and dead-ends.

Other references included director Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) (an update of Raymond Chandler's mystery set in mid-70s Los Angeles), and writer/director Stephen Anderson's independent science-fiction film and dark comedy The Big Empty (2003) that paid homage and closely resembled the film. Czech-born director Ivan Passer's R-rated neo-noir crime thriller Cutter's Way (1981) (also starring Jeff Bridges) was a precursor to the Coen Brothers' film.

After reaching cult status, a quasi-religious movement arose from the film's slacker philosophy - known as Dudeism (or The Church of the Latter-Day Dude). On the organization's website, it described its ancient philosophy that "preaches non-preachiness, practices as little as possible, and above all, uh…lost my train of thought there...", and attributed its popularity to Jeffrey Lebowski - the original 'Uber-Dude':

"Helped to bring Dudeism to the forefront of modern consciousness. If not for him, we’d still be stuck in the dude dark-ages. He’s Dude Vinci, Isaac Dudeton, and Charles Dudewin all rolled into one. Or just, His Dudeness, if you’re into that whole brevity thing."

Also, tours of various public and private locales of all the Los Angeles-area film sites (indicated in the text below) have become very popular for Lebowski-philes, although some locations have been torn down or renovated beyond recognition.

With a budget of $15 million, the film was initially a box-office bust, but eventually became a commercial and critical success, with almost $18 million (in domestic revenue) and $46.7 million (worldwide). It was the 96th highest-grossing (domestic) film of 1998.

Previous to this film (and for some others following), the Coen Brothers auteurs had already created a string of highly-unique, non-standard, and offbeat films (often with dark humor). Their signature trademarks included unusual characters, cinematic homages, period settings, eye-candy cinematography, witty dialogue, historical and pop-cultural references, and imaginative, labyrinthine off-kilter plots. They also covered a wide range of styles and genres that were often parodied:

The Story

Opening Prologue:

A smooth-talking, laconic, drawling cowboy Stranger (Sam Elliott) [Note: the name was a reference to Albert Camus' existential philosophy] delivered a mocking, off-screen, long-winded voice-over description about bearded, long-haired Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) in the film's opening lines.

[Note: The Stranger also book-ended the film, a framing device, with further statements about the Dude whom he considered to be a hero "for his time and place" in America.]

During the narration, a broken-off tumbleweed plant traveled from the high-desert north of Los Angeles [Note: The area was Pearblossom near Palmdale] to a view of the grid-pattern of an LA cityscape [from a vantage point in Simi Valley], where it tumbled down. It then rolled along in the middle of the night - crossing a freeway overpass, passing by a Hand Car Wash and a Benitos Taco Shop stand, turning over and over in the center of an LA street, and onward toward the ocean - to the tune of "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," sung by Sons of the Pioneers - on a store's Muzak system.

[Note: The original song was released in 1934, and first appeared in the Gene Autry western film Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935). The tumbleweed plant was an apt metaphoric symbol for the Dude himself - it was dead, although spreading seeds as it drifted along in the windswept western landscape of the modern day.]

"A way out west, there was this fella that I wanna tell ya about. Fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least that was the handle that his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself 'The Dude.' Now, 'Dude' - that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then there was a lot about the 'Dude' that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place so dern interestin'.

They call Los Angeles the 'City Of Angels.' I didn't find it to be that, exactly. But I'll allow there are some nice folks there. 'Course I can't say I seen London, and I've never been to France. And I ain't never seen no queen in her damned undies, as the fella says. But I'll tell ya what - after seein' Los Angeles, and this a-here story I'm about to unfold, well, I guess I seen somethin' every bit as stupefyin' as you'd see in any of those other places. And in English, too. So I can die with a smile on my face, without feelin' like the good Lord gypped me.

Now this a-here story I'm about to unfold took place back in the early '90s - just about the time of our conflict with Sad'm and the I-raqis. I only mention it because sometimes there's a man - I won't say a hero, 'cause, what's a hero? But sometimes, there's a man - and I'm talkin' about the 'Dude' here. Sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that's the 'Dude' in Los Angeles. And even if he's a lazy man - and the 'Dude' was most certainly that, quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide. But sometimes there's a man, sometimes, there's a man. Wow, lost my train of thought here. But, aw, hell. I've done introduced him enough."

The rumpled-looking Dude was first viewed with sunglasses as he shuffled along in the fluorescently-lit dairy section of an almost-empty Ralph's Supermarket.

[Note: The actual Ralph's Supermarket where the opening scene was filmed was located at 1745 N. Garfield Rd., in South Pasadena, CA (or Alhambra, CA), near Huntington Drive (and just to the west of San Marino).]

He was opening and smelling the contents of a quart container of Half-and-Half (and drinking it off-screen), while wearing a long open gray bathrobe, dirty white T-shirt, shorts, and slippers. It was one of his most-frequently purchased grocery items - for his White Russian drinks (composed of vodka, Mexican Kahlua-coffee liqueur, and cream (or half-and-half, or milk)). [Note: Throughout the course of the film, the Dude drank nine White Russians, although he dropped one after being drugged.]

[Note: A similar night-time scene in an LA supermarket played during the opening credits of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973).]

At the counter with his Ralph's value club card and checkbook where the blonde Checker (Robin Johnson) watched warily (noting his white-frothy mustache), he wrote out an imprinted check (Jeffrey Lebowski from Venice, CA) for $0.69 cents - post-dated for September 11, 1991. [Note: The personalized check had a water-color painted background of a blue whale. Later, the Dude listened to a cassette tape of blue whales singing while taking a bath. The check's date was exactly ten years before 9/11 - fueling 'conspiracy theories' amongst some viewers since the film was released only 3 years before 9/11.]

[Note: On a small Panasonic TV screen, the Dude noticed President George H. W. Bush during a live TV press interview on the White House South lawn, delivering the words: "This will not stand. This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait," identifying a speech given on Sunday, August 5, 1990 at 3:05 pm (East Coast time), three days after Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Army invaded Kuwait. The actual date and time, acc. to the broadcast, would have been August 5, 1990 at 12:05 pm (Pacific time) in Los Angeles, although in the movie, it appeared to be in the middle of the night in LA.]

Assault on The Dude in His Venice Bungalow - Mistaken Identity:

Unemployed, bearded, unmarried and laid-back, long-haired LA slacker Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Bridges), an often-stoned bowling-lover in the year 1990, returned in the dark to his Venice Beach (California) bungalow - one unit of a six-unit complex of bungalows with a courtyard. He had his black bowling bag in his right hand, and a small grocery bag in his left, and juggled them together as he used his key at the front door.

[Note: The bungalow was located at 609 Venezia Avenue, two blocks northwest of Venice Blvd. and slightly east from a popular section of the coastal town of Venice known as Abbot Kinney.]

Inside his home, the easy-going, slovenly Dude stood for a second. Behind him was Thug # 2 awaiting his arrival. The Dude was assaulted and grabbed from behind by Thug # 1 - they were two inept debt-collector hoods:

• Treehorn Thug # 1 (Mark Pellegrino), a long-haired, muscle-bound blonde (wearing a gray tank-top T-shirt)
• Treehorn Thug # 2 (Philip Moon), an Asian-American named Woo (wearing a light tan-colored shirt with cut-off sleeves)

In the film's very significant first line of dialogue (the most important question raised in the entire film - the elusive money!), Woo alleged that the Dude owed them money:

"Where's the money, Lebowski? We want that money, Lebowski. Bunny said you were good for it....WHERE'S THE F--KING MONEY, S--T-HEAD!"

As the blonde man roughed him up and plunged his head down into the toilet bowl, the Dude kept his sense of humor, telling the thug with a snarky comment: "It's uh, it's down there somewhere. Lemme take another look." He was continually threatened:

"Don't f--k with us! Your wife owes money to Jackie Treehorn. That means you owe money to Jackie Treehorn."

And then to top it off, Woo peed on the Dude's favorite carpet (prefaced by "Ever thus to deadbeats, Lebowski!").

[Note: Woo's statement referred to the Latin phrase: "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (translated) "Thus always to tyrants." The phrase was allegedly shouted by Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth. The statement also commonly referred to the assassination of Caesar.]

Distressed, the Dude complained: "No, no, don't do that! Not on the rug, man," and kept asserting that he was the wrong man (an unmarried individual):

"Nobody calls me Lebowski. You got the wrong guy. I'm the Dude, man... My my Wi-- my wife? Bunny? Do you see a wedding ring on my finger? [He held up his right hand, not his left!] Does this place look like I'm f--kin' married? The toilet seat's up, man!"

The blonde thug zipped open the Dude's bowling ball bag and removed his black, shiny ball, pondering: "What the f--k is this?" - the Dude again quipped: "Obviously, you're not a golfer!" He dropped the heavy ball onto the tile floor, causing more damage. Eventually, the Dude was able to convince them that they had the wrong guy. The blonde asked his buddy Woo: "Isn't this guy supposed to be a millionaire?" The hoods took off after assessing the situation: (Woo: "He looks like a f--kin' loser...F--king time wasted." Blonde guy: "Thanks a lot, asshole"). The Dude retorted as they stormed off: "At least I'm housebroken."

[Note: The assailants had been hired by porn king Jackie Treehorn, to retrieve funds that they thought Lebowski's wife had taken - although they had the wrong Lebowski.]

The Opening Credits, and The Dude's Bowling Buddies:

The title and opening credits were presented with close-ups of bowling-related objects at the Dude's favorite local bowling alley, Hollywood Star Lanes, with trademark neon starburst decorations and fixtures.

[Note: No longer standing, the original bowling alley complex built in 1962 was demolished in 2003. It was located on the 5,200 block of Santa Monica Blvd. in East Hollywood, cross-street at North Kingsley Drive.]

A montage of ten bowling pins, an overhead scoring sheet with a built-in ashtray, the ball return, fingers in a bowling ball, a ball rolling down the wooden slats of an alley and scoring a perfect strike, large starburst decorations on the walls, a Saddam Hussein look-alike spraying disinfectant into rental bowling shoes, and more, were mixed to the tune of Bob Dylan's "The Man in Me" on the soundtrack.

The Dude commiserated with his two bowling buddies on Lane 22 about his ruined, highly-valued rug:

• Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) - an uptight, angry, aggressive, militant-minded, hot-headed, heavy-set, gun-worshipping nutcase, former Vietnam war veteran and PTSD-sufferer; with Polish-American lineage; he was the Dude's complete polar-opposite, but completely loyal; with a flat-top haircut and chin-strap goatee, and tinted sunglasses; a convert to Judaism due to his ex-marriage to wife Cynthia
• Theodore Donald 'Donny' Kerabatsos (Steve Buscemi) - a moronic, passive, meek and obtuse ex-surfer, with Greek lineage; often innocently out-of-sync in conversations with his buddies; often bullied and criticized, and told to "shut-up" by Walter

He told them how it had been peeded upon by a Chinaman - the rug served as a metaphoric symbol of his latent desire for structure and order in his laissez-faire life that had now been irretrievably soiled:

"Yeah, man, it really tied the room together."

Walter chastised 'Donny' for not listening and for constantly interrupting: "Were you listening to the Dude's story, Donny?...So you have no frame of reference here, Donny. You're like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie and wants to...Forget it, Donny, you're out of your element!" Becoming exasperated with Donny and the Dude, Walter tried to make his point about the destroyed rug and "unchecked aggression" against the Dude. He also denounced the Dude for the use of a racial slur on Asian-Americans:

Dude: "Walter, the Chinaman who peed on my rug, I can't go give him a bill, so what the f--k are you talkin' about?"
Walter: "What the f--k are you talking about?! The Chinaman is not the issue here, Dude! I'm talking about drawing a line in the sand, Dude. Across this line you do not -- also, Dude, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature, uh, Asian-American, please."
Dude: "Walter, this isn't a guy who built the railroads, here, this is a guy...Walter, he peed on my rug."
Donny: "He peed on the Dude's rug."
Walter: "DONNY, YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR ELEMENT! Dude, the Chinaman is not the issue here."
Dude: "So who, who -- "

[Note: Hypocritically, Walter often used slurs of his own. Here are a few examples of Walter's racist name-calling: the bowling league officer in charge of scheduling was a "kraut," Bunny was a "poor slut," the Iraqi Arabs were "fig-eaters wearin' towels on their heads," and the nihilists were "F--king Germans..."F--king Nazis."]

Walter concluded by stating who was really responsible:

"Jeff Lebowski. The other Jeffrey Lebowski. The millionaire....Plus, he has the wealth, obviously, and the resources, uh, so that there's no reason, there's no F--KING reason why his wife should go out and owe money all over town, and then they come and they pee on your f--kin' rug! Am I wrong?"

The Dude finally realized he had been mistaken for a local Pasadena area millionaire Jeff Lebowski, the "Big Lebowski" with his same name - and he deduced what he should do: "I could find this f--kin' Lebowski guy....This is the guy who should compensate me for the f--kin' rug. His wife goes out and owes money all over town, and they pee on my rug?" Walter had to have the last word: "They peed on your f--kin' rug."

"The Big" Lebowski - and Bunny:

The Dude, wearing shorts and a sloppy T-shirt, was ushered inside Mr. Lebowski's Pasadena mansion by the tycoon's fastidious personal assistant and sychphantic yes-man Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

[Note: The impressive manor, the Greystone Mansion (and Gardens) (aka the Doheny Mansion) in Beverly Hills and built in 1928, had been a film setting in a number of movies, including Dead Ringer (1964) with Bette Davis, There Will Be Blood (2007) with Daniel Day-Lewis, and David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977). In 1971, the estate was declared a public city park and no longer a residence. Its location: 905 Loma Vista Dr. in Beverly Hills.]

The Dude was first escorted into a study to show off Lebowski's "impressive" collection of commendations, awards, citations, and honorary degrees hanging on a wall, including a key to the city of Pasadena and an LA County Business Achiever award. In the trophy room, the Dude inspected a picture of a wheelchair-bound Lebowski with Nancy Reagan (when she was First Lady) and noticed that he was a "crip" - or "handicapped guy." Lackey Brandt corrected him with the proper PC label: "Disabled."

In an inner city community service picture of "Little Lebowski Urban Achievers" (arranged like a set of 10 bowling pins), Mr. Lebowski was prominently sitting front and center in the group of "inner city children of promise" (he had donated to send all of them to college). Brandt tried to make it clear that they weren't his biological kids: "They're not literally his children." The Dude described his own wasted "college days" as an ex-radical and political extremist - comprised not of a formal education, but mostly of protest sit-ins, smoking Thai-sticks, breaking into the ROTC, and bowling - in the 60s and 70s (the heyday of hippie culture). During the tour of Lebowski's achievements, Brandt was tortured by the Dude's stroking of the mementoes that he was prohibited from touching. The Dude's face was mirrored onto a framed 'Man of the Year' Time Magazine cover labeled "ARE YOU A LEBOWSKI ACHIEVER?"

The Dude then watched as his namesake rode in on a motorized wheelchair to a place behind his office desk: it was his first encounter with the chubby 60-ish Pasadena (CA) philanthropist and activist millionaire Jeffrey 'The Big' Lebowski (David Huddleston - an exact double look-alike of Republican President George W. Bush's VP Dick Cheney, who served from 2001-2009).

[Note: There were many similarities in the early scenes of The Big Lebowski to Raymond Chandler's script in Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep (1946). Mr. Lebowski's character was based on General Sternwood - an exotic orchid-lover, millionaire, and wheelchair-bound, disabled elderly man, who lived in a mansion, but spent most of his time in a hot greenhouse waited upon by a butler. During a mansion visit by protagonist Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart), a hard-boiled detective, Sternwood hired the "dick" to investigate a missing chauffeur, while being threatened with blackmail from a group of extortionists in Los Angeles. They had targeted his profligate, corrupted nympho daughter who owed gambling debts to a dealer of rare books (actually a porn dealer with nude photos).]

Haltingly, the Dude explained the reason for his visit - reimbursement for his soiled and defiled rug:

Dude: "Uh, well sir, it's, uh, this rug I have, it really tied the room together...Well, uh, they were -- they were lookin' for you, these two guys.... Like I said, Woo, peed on my rug."
Mr. Lebowski: "I just want to understand this, sir, every time a rug is micturated upon in this fair city, I have to compensate the person?"
Dude: "Come on, man, I'm not trying to scam anybody here, uh, you know..."

The Dude continued to complain and demand compensation for his vandalized rug following the mistaken attack by two hoods (due to a mix-up of addresses and similar "Lebowski" names) who were really targeting Mr. Lebowski's indebted wife. When accused of being an unemployed scammer who was only seeking a handout, the Dude felt compelled to formally introduce himself to "The Big" Lebowski:

"Uh, I am not Mr. Lebowski. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, uh, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or uh, you know, El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing."

When the Dude was demeaned for being unemployed ("The Dude minds"), he repeated President George H.W. Bush's warning on TV against Saddam Hussein - to emphasize how he didn't like being ripped off: "This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man. I mean, your wife owes money...." Mr. Lebowski (claiming that he was a prime example of the work ethic) offered employment advice to the Dude - and brutally accused him of being a laid-back bum without self-reliance: ("Every bum's lot in life is his own responsibility, regardless of who he chooses to blame").

"My wife is not the issue here! I hope that someday my wife will learn to live on her allowance, which is ample, but if she does not, that is her problem, not mine, just as the rug is your problem, just as every bum's lot in life is his own responsibility, regardless of who he chooses to blame. I didn't blame anyone for the loss of my legs. Some Chinaman took them from me in Korea. But I went out and achieved anyway. I cannot solve your problems, sir, only you can."

[Note: In hindsight, Mr. Lebowski was no different class-wise from the Dude - he was also a 'bum.' By film's end, he was revealed to be a complete phony and hypocrite, a deceitful individual, a faker who was living off other's wealth, and was subsisting only on an allowance from his adult daughter.]

Mr. Lebowski insisted that he was not responsible for compensating anyone - prompting the Dude to briefly spurt out: "Oh, F--k it!" The philanthropist had no patience with the Dude: "Yes, that's your answer. That's your answer to everything. Tattoo it on your forehead. Your revolution is over, Mr. Lebowski! Condolences! The bums lost! My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, sir! The bums will always lose! Do you hear me, Lebowski?! The bums will always lose!"

In the hallway (with a black-and-white checkboard tile pattern!) on his way out of the Lebowski estate, the Dude facetiously told Brandt that he had been permitted to "take any rug in the house." One of the mansion's workmen helped to carry out a beautiful, rolled-up Persian rug on his shoulder behind the Dude, as they exited onto the outer balcony of the home.

[Note: The exteriors of the Lebowski mansion were not shot in the same location, but at a Holmby Hills residence at 10231 Charing Cross Road, directly across the street from Hugh Hefner's famed Playboy Mansion.]

The Introduction of Bunny, Lebowski's Wife:

The Dude immediately noticed the millionaire's sexy, very young, free-spirited, sunbathing nymphomaniac trophy wife 'Bunny' Lebowski (Tara Reid). [Note: She was one of the porn stars of sleazy king mobster, porn czar Jackie Treehorn, referred to by the thugs, who owed Treehorn money.] She was painting her toenails with dark emerald green nail polish, and proposed a very sexualized question - she asked the Dude to "blow" on her feet to dry them: "I can't blow that far."

[Note: This scene of the painting of toenails of a young temptress resembled a similar scene in the opening of Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962). Bunny's request also echoed young Lauren Bacall's double-entendre question to co-star Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944): "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together - and blow."]

She mentioned that her nihilist boyfriend nearby wouldn't care, Uli Kunkel (Peter Stormare), who was drunkenly passed out in the outdoor swimming pool on a float: "Uli doesn't care about anything. He's a nihilist." She then propositioned him: "I'll suck your cock for $1,000 dollars....Brandt can't watch though. Or he has to pay a hundred." The Dude answered: "Uhhhh...I'm just gonna go find a cash machine."