Large or lean, Jeff Bridges is loaded with charisma, even when he's The Dude, who wants nothing more from life than a little weed and a lot of bowling. He's the sort of nowhere man who gets caught up in This Huge Plot and spends the whole time yearning to return to his leisurely life of restricted activities because he is, after all, The Dude. The Dude's bowling buddies are Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buscemi). Walter is a huge, bombastic veteran who's still obsessed with Vietnam, Donny is a sweet little guy who hardly ever talks.

The Dude's life is forever changed when Bad Guys vandalize his crummy dump, beat him up and, worst of all, pee on His Rug! The Bad Guys are looking for a Jeff Lebowski, which is The Dude's actual name, but he knows he's not That Jeff Lebowski. He wants justice. He wants to find The Big Lebowski (David Huddleston). And most of all, he wants A New Rug! As if the opening narrative weren't goofy enough, it gets even goofier after that. Along the way, the Dude meets an assortment of oddballs, played to the hilt by a lustrous cast. Like the Dude himself, the plot doesn't really lead anywhere. The fun for fans of the Coen Brothers will be reveling in every twist and turn their vivid imaginations take them. Jeff Bridges is luminous as The Dude: If his character is lazy and unmotivated, he is not, and it is his multitextured performance that makes us care what happens to The Dude for every second of the 127m. running time.

© 2007 - Monica Sullivan - Air Date: 4/18/07