It's probably best not to read too much into The Big Lebowski. The biggest pleasure in this film (or at least for me, anyway) was watching the manic energy/chemistry/wackiness between the Dude (Jeff Bridges) and Walter (John Goodman) that left me wondering how they got through each take without cracking up every time. Never mind the craft (pitch perfect in terms of delivery and timing) and let me be honest for a minute - by the end of the movie, I was laughing my ass off. Alone. In the middle of the night.
I wish I had more thoughtful things to write about the movie but because it's such an acid trip of a film (and partly because my brain is so fried from watching it) I feel it's best, at least for now, to prevent myself from dissecting it so as to not egregiously offend anyone who belongs to the church of Lebowski. Is it a satirical statement about the not-so-perceptive warmonger/pacifist debates in post-Gulf War society? A subtle send-up of noir and Westerns in Ken Kesey-esque fashion? Maybe. Probably. I don't know and, to some degree, I don't care to know. I know The Big Lebowski was written by smart people (the Coens brothers, for Hay-Zeus' sake), acted in by smart people and, in it's own inane way, it's a very smart film. But I'm not going to be pretentious and say that I enjoyed it for all the smart reasons. I enjoyed the goofy parts dammit, especially the part with a Folger's can taking the place of a cremation urn (hence the laughing alone in the middle of the night).
I'm not even going to bother writing a synopsis of the labyrinthine plot and just say that it involves mistaken identity, kidnapping, nihilists, postmodern pseudo-artists, seedy pornographers and bowling. Lots and lots of bowling. If you don't like The Big Lebowski, it's because it's either too above or beneath you, but it definitely can't be anywhere in between.
I have no idea how this movie got made. No bankable stars (except for Pacino), no female parts (which equals no sex), no action, no feel-good comedy. Really? An all male cast who share the screen just to...talk? I'm guessing Jerry Tokofsky, the producer of the film, probably had this running conversation with every studio exec at the time when he was making the pitch:
Tokofsky: Hey, I got this great project in development! It's called Glengarry Glen Ross. We already got Al Pacino to commit. Studio exec: Great! What's it about? T: It's about these salesmen who try to sell land. (awkward pause) SE: Uhm, ok... T: Oh, and the script's by David Mamet! SE: Mamet? I loved House of Games! So it's like a mystery/thriller, then? With a crazy plot twist? T: No, not exactly... SE: Then what is it? T: It's about, uh...guys who try to sell land. (Long awkward pause) T: Did I mention we got Pacino to commit?
To no one's surprise, no major studio wanted to finance this film. The funding came from multiple small cable and video companies, a German television station, an Australian movie theater chain, several banks, and New Line Cinema. All the actors took pay cuts and despite the moderate budget, the film flopped at the box office.
We're probably not going to see another movie like this being made in the near future. And it's a shame, really, because everything that is fundamental to movies (or, I should say, good movies) is found in Glengarry Glen Ross. Great acting. Superb writing. You'll be hard pressed to find a movie with a cast and script half as good as GGR's. Despite the thin plot (there's a burglary in the second act and not much else) and real estate jargon (the word leads is probably said 300 times and it's meaning didn't dawn on me til the 150th), the movie captivates the audience's attention because of the aforementioned performances and writing. If you're an aspiring filmmaker, please (please!) pay attention to what makes GGR so great.
Let's start with the cast. Jeez, what a cast. The movie was made circa 1992 - Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey were relatively newcomers, Ed Harris had done a couple big features (The Right Stuff, The Abyss), Al Pacino was Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon was an old Hollywood vet, and Alan Arkin was the immaculate character actor you always recognized in a film you can't quite remember (oh yeah, he was in the Rocketeer! So that's where I've seen him!). Throw in Jonathan Pryce (who proves, yet again, that Brits are better at acting American than real Americans) and you've got what's possibly the greatest acting ensemble ever. Check that list again - there's not a fraud in there. Compare a film like this with Valentine's Day and you see why casting is so crucial to a movie. Big names don't beget good movies; great actors who fit their roles do. Consider, for example, the scene where Shelley Levine (Lemmon), tries to sell a pitch to one of his leads:
Could you imagine anyone else who could play Levine? Sure, you could get another actor, possibly more famous, but you won't get the same result. Notice the way he leaves the man's house after he's failed - a quick raise of the eyebrows, a sad glance back and you sense the quiet desperation that is growing inside him, even though he hasn't spoken a word.
I could go on and on about each individual's performance and how they light up the screen (the opening ten minutes of Baldwin's rant has become iconic, as evidenced by a hilarious parody in an SNL skit) but I'll end with a note on the film's screenplay. The script, adapted from David Mamet's play, is all kinds of wonderful: poetically profane, scathingly witty and filled with awesome one-liners that are impossible to forget ("Put that coffee DOWN!"). Some might complain that real people don't talk the way they do in GGR, but that's the point - when do you ever see people talk the way they do in movies? I hate dialogue when it's treated like a mere contrivance to push the plot forward ("Oh no, we need to diffuse this bomb in thirty seconds or the place is gonna blow!") so it's a real treat to see a film where dialogue is the main attraction. Each line in GGR is worded and timed so precisely that it takes more than one viewing to get the full admiration it deserves:
"Pa-tel?! Ravadahm Pa-tel?!" A great line, from a great movie. Do yourself a favor and watch it.
**** The Big Lebowski (1998)
