This Could Be A Lot More Complex, by Tyler Smith

THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)
Written and Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi

“I, I, I, I… this could be a lot more, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, complex. I mean, it’s not just- it might not be just such a simple… uh… you know?”

This line is uttered by the protagonist about halfway through the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski, and it pretty much tells you all you need to know about the character. Jeff Lebowski, known mostly as “The Dude,” is an unemployed, middle-aged pothead who stumbles into an old-time film noir plot, involving kidnapped women, corrupt millionaires, and constant double-crosses.

To those of us who love film noir, this is already funny. Usually the hero in these stories is a hard boiled detective who is perpetually one step ahead of everybody, with the audience trying hard to keep up. Here, though, we have a hero who is always lagging so far behind the plot that he doesn’t think twice about taking a break from the action to go bowling or have a drink.

The Coens have always been fans of film noir (just look at Blood Simple and The Man Who Wasn’t There), but are not above exploiting the comic potential that the genre contains. They take every cliche and turn it on its ear. Rather than have a Sam Spade-type protagonist, who puts everything on the line for his cases, we have The Dude, for whom the case is such a low priority, he specifically states that he won’t partake in it while participating in the local bowling tournament.

The film takes its cues from The Dude. In a scene where his bowling team’s main adversary in the tournament is revealed, the film takes such care in introducing him, and because he’s played by John Turturro, we feel like he will play a part in the kidnapping plot. But, no, he’s just their bowling competition and nothing more. But, because this is important to The Dude, the film treats the character as just as much a threat as the kidnappers. Maybe even a bit more.

The writing is wonderful in this film. There are so many noir references here that one might actually want to view some of the staples of the genre (The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity) before watching it. Every time I see The Big Lebowski, I love it a little more. In fact, a short while ago, I thought of something new. Something that actually inspired me to write this blog series.

In Double Indemnity, the main character’s apartment door opens out, into the hallway. In real life, no door opens like this. But, for the film, it had to, in order to hide a character that is standing in the hallway. The Coens, ever so subtly, reference this as The Dude devises a crude way to brace his front door against intruders, only to find that his door opens out. It’s funny, because it makes him look stupid. But, when we realize that no other door opens out like that, we see that The Dude has every reason to think that his brace would work.

But, what he fails to realize is that, through a simple case of mistaken identity, he is no longer in the real world. He has stumbled into the world of James M. Cain and Dashiell Hammett; a world of complex, shady dealings and life-and-death consequences. Consequences that he never quite seems to truly grasp.

And, as The Dude and his friends try to interact with this world, we just sit and shake our heads, wondering how the Coens came up with this.

Oh, and we laugh.

A lot.