A spoof of crime writer Raymond Chandler and his famous L.A. private eye, Philip Marlowe, this is the story of Jeffrey Lebowski (Jeff Bridges in the best performance of his career), better known as "the Dude," an avid bowler and dope smoker but otherwise the laziest man in Los Angeles — "which would place him high in the running for the laziest worldwide."
Thanks to a mix up, two of the dimmest-witted bulbs in henchman history rough up the Dude and pee on his rug — no ordinary rug, mind you, but a rug that really tied the room together.
The Dude is inclined to let the rug and matters lie but not his bowling buddy Walter Sobchak (a frothing-at-the-mouth John Goodman, who, like Bridges, should have won an Oscar). He insists the guy the hoods were really looking for — L.A.'s other Jeffrey Lebowski, an aging millionaire with a wild, young trophy wife who owes money all over town — should foot the bill for the rug.
The best movie about bowling ever made and a nifty noir to boot.
Great fun. Not to be missed.
Note: I probably would have voted for Saving Private Ryan if it had sustained the momentum of the Omaha Beach scene but that's what we have Band of Brothers for. Other good choices: Shakespeare in Love (don't knock it til you've tried it), Out of Sight (one of the best Elmore Leonard adaptations) ... et cetera. No need to list them all — you can read as well as I can, presumably.
My choices are noted with a ★. A tie is indicated with a ✪. Historical Oscar winners are noted with a ✔. Best foreign-language picture winners are noted with an ƒ. A historical winner who won in a different category is noted with a ✱.
That Saving Private Ryan somehow went all Spielberg’s despite adhering to its core message — in war, any act of kindness or grace will lead to death and suffering. It’s repeated throughout the flick, and is not easy to stomach.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the movie nevertheless wanted to be stomachable . . . .
it is supposed to read “went all spielbergy”
ReplyDeleteI assume Spielberg's point was that none of us are worthy of the sacrifice those men made in World War II and we are obligated to live the best lives we can to honor them.
ReplyDeleteBut once Spielberg and Tom Hanks made Band of Brothers -- which more or less made the same point but factually rather than "dramatically" -- Saving Private Ryan feels a bit contrived for my tastes, like he's gilding the lily. The true story, unembellished, is poignant enough.
By the way, after I posted today's polls, I saw that for some reason way back in 2019 when I put together the supporting actor poll, I had dropped James Coburn and Billy Bob Thornton even though in my original notes I had nominated them both. All I can say is "cancer" and leave it at that. It was a rough year ...
ReplyDeleteLindsay Lohan is an inspired pick in the lineup for Lead Actress. She knocked those two parts out of the park.
ReplyDeleteBlanchett would have been a superb winner, but Paltrow was still excellent. It's too bad she (Paltrow) kinda gave up on making more serious movies after "Proof" and "Two Lovers" in the 2000s. She could be remarkably good with the right material and co-stars (like "Se7en", "Hard Eight", etc.).
I'll die on the hill that Benigni is one of the most underrated Best Actor winners. I get that he's not everybody's cup of tea, but I love what he did with his role and the movie.
"The Thin Red Line" will always take the crown for me at the end of the day.
I love Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap. Although she plays twin sisters, she's really playing four characters -- the American sister, the British sister, the American sister pretending to be British, and the British sister pretending to be American.
ReplyDeleteThat she pulls it off without the viewer ever getting lost to me makes it one the best performances by a child actor ever.
And it's a nifty little comedy to boot.
I agree with your comment about Gwyneth Paltrow -- I thought she was terrific in the now underrated Shakespeare in Love, and my wife and I used to go see her in anything at least through The Royal Tenenbaums. And then she just sort of stopped working except for the occasional appearance as Pepper Potts.
Realized I posted anonymously when I didn't mean to yesterday! Whoops.
ReplyDeleteParent Trap '98 is a good time. This chat makes me want to revisit it; I saw it a ton of times as a kid.
I've been meaning to show my girlfriend "Shakespeare in Love" -- I think she'd be all over it. It's such a charming film, and when is the last time we had a more literate, sweet romantic comedy with actors of that caliber? The fact that it was among the ten highest grossers of the year is wild to me. Not that it wasn't deserving of a great audience, but how different the filmgoing landscape was in the late 90s is wild to me (I was a little kid in those days, not seeing much beyond Disney movies).
I hope Paltrow will find it in herself to team up with a great auteur (or even just a solid director) for some non-Marvel material one day. I was really taken aback with her performance in 05's "Proof". I thought she had wonderful depth of emotion and played against type so well in that. Even if she doesn't -- her 90s to early 2000s run is more than solid in my book.
If it helps sell it, tell your girlfriend the Mythical Monkey says Shakespeare in Love is probably the best-written, most literate rom-com since Billy Wilder at his peak!
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