The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners.

Every now and then, I come across a movie that just reaches into my soul and makes me proud to be a film fanatic. Usually, the film in question has a character in it that just makes me wish I had created it. I wish I had been the one to put the character’s words in his mouth, put his philosophy of life into his head, and given him every characteristic that made him so memorable.

I am constantly amazed by the number of times this has happened in a Coen Brothers movie.

But never has it been so true in almost every character in any movie. I have rarely just been taken away by virtually every character in a movie like I was the first time I saw the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski.

Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, played by the amazing Jeff Bridges, is the ultimate L.A. slacker. His world revolves around bowling, mixing the perfect White Russian, and smoking pot. One night, he finds himself the victim of mistaken identity when some thugs break into his apartment, pee on his favorite rug, and coerce him into paying a debt he doesn’t owe. It seems there is another Jeffrey Lebowski (Hollywood legend David Huddleston) in L.A., and the other one is a rich power broker, pretty much the exact opposite of The Dude. The Dude attempts to get some recompense for his ruined rug from his rich counterpart, only to be talked into a one-time job with a high pay-off. It seems Rich Lebowski has a trophy wife who owes a pornographer a ton of money, she may or may not have been kidnapped, and and it’s up to The Dude to deliver the ransom/money/payment.

The Dude has two bowling buddies, Walter Sobchak (Coen Brothers regular John Goodman) and Donnie Kerbastos (Steve Buscemi). The Dude talks things over with them, well, mainly Walter, and they decide Walter will accompany him on this drop-off. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned, and, before the whole adventure is over, porn king Jackie Treehern (Ben Gazzara), assorted nihilists, and Rich Mr. Lebowski himself all want a piece of The Dude’s hide.

If it sounds like I am not telling the story right, it’s because there’s really no way to tell this story without giving away the joyful madness that is The Big Lebowski.

Jeff Bridges has never been as much in his own element as he is as The Dude. He and John Goodman both look like they are having the time of their lives in their characters. Buscemi is constantly offering up platitudes, only to be told, constantly, to shut up (supposedly, this is a joke after Buscemi basically talked constantly through his last Coen movie, Fargo). Philip Seymour Hoffman does a wonderful job as the harried personal assistant to the Rich Lebowski. We even get Sam Elliott as a spiritual guru/cowboy who acts as the narrator/Greek chorus of the movie, and John Turturro (who is our link to the last movie) as probably the most disgusting bowler in the universe, Jesus Quintana. And let’s not forget Julianne Moore as Rich Lebowski’s insanely quirky daughter, Maude.

Everything clicks just right here. When you think this movie couldn’t get any more off-kilter, it tilts again. In this universe, everyone has a hang-up , an ulterior motive, or some sideline story that has to get added to the mix. And you would think the bowl would get too full after a while, but it never does. The Coens just keep stirring and the mix blends together. The more they stir, the richer the story gets. And the richer the story gets, the more laughs you get.

One of the things I love about this movie is The Dude’s mentality. Almost every time he opens his mouth, he says something that makes you wanna go, “Wait… what?” Most of his dialogue comes from things he has heard previously in the movie. He draws out these random quotes, and you laugh, then you catch yourself thinking, “…didn’t someone just say that a minute ago?” The answer is YES!! From overheard conversations to things being said by the President on TV, they find their way past the pot-fused haze of The Dude’s mind and into his lexicon, and even he has no clue how they got there.

And he has no care in the world, prior to the events that happen in this movie. He just wants to drink his White Russians, bowl, and smoke a joint or four. And his ultimate goal here is to get past all the crap going on and get back to those three goals. But folks just won’t leave him alone. And that is honestly what this movie is striving for – to get The Dude back to his life, without all the freakiness and panic, where Kaluah and half-and-half, a bowling shirt, and a joint mean more than whatever else his happening in the world.

There have been whole theses written about this movie. Classes are taught in philosophy, focusing on The Dude’s carefree mindset. I can’t sit here and force you to watch any movie, but, seriously, if you have never seen The Big Lebowski, you have missed a turning point in your life. That sounds like a joke, but, to be true to myself, I can tell you that The Dude, his words, and his goofy smile will find their way into your brain. And when you get stressed, freaked out, or harried, you will hear The Dude in your head, and, just for a moment, you will smile. And, at that moment, you will realize that you have joined the Dudism movement.

Welcome to the club, man…