Movie #18

18: The Big Lebowski

And The Dude just wanted his rug back. This is one that you really have to follow and watch over and over again to fully appreciate. Quite a few lines are repeated throughout the movie (for example, George Bush is seen on TV saying "This aggression will not stand," and The Dude later repeats this to the Big Lebowski, and "That rug really tied the room together...") It's classic Coen Brothers writing, using a lot of dark comedy. There are a ton of great quotes from this one, so I'll just share a few of my favourites.
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[Maude shows the porn video starring Bunny to the Dude]
Sherry in 'Logjammin': [on video] You must be here to fix the cable.
Maude: Lord. You can imagine where it goes from here.
The Dude: He fixes the cable?
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The Dude: What's in the fuckin' carrier?
Walter Sobchak: Huh? Oh, that's Cynthia's dog. I think it's a Pomeranian. I can't leave him home alone or he eats the furniture. I'm watching him while Cynthia and Marty Ackerman are in Hawaii.
The Dude: You brought the fuckin' Pomeranian bowling?
Walter Sobchak: What do you mean brought it bowling, Dude? I didn't rent it shoes. I'm not buying it a fucking beer. He's not taking your fucking turn, Dude.
The Dude: Man, if my fuckin' ex-wife asked me to take care of her fuckin' dog while she and her boyfriend went to Honolulu I'd tell her to go fuck herself.
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Younger Cop: And was there anything of value in the car?
The Dude: Oh, uh, yeah, uh... a tape deck, some Creedence tapes, and there was a, uh... uh, my briefcase. Younger Cop: [expectant pause] In the briefcase?
The Dude: Uh, uh, papers, um, just papers, uh, you know, uh, my papers, business papers.
Younger Cop: And what do you do, sir?
The Dude: I'm unemployed.
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Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is the ultimate LA slacker, until one day his house is broken into and his rug is peed on by two angry gangsters who have mistaken him for Jeffrey Lebowski, the LA millionaire, whose wife owes some bad people some big money. The Dude becomes entangled in the plot when he goes to visit the real Lebowski in order to get some retribution for his soiled rug, and is recruited to be the liason between Lebowski and the captors of his now "kidnapped" wife.

The Big Lebowski was nominated for no Oscars, and I think I can understand why. It was nominated for a bunch of European shit, and won Best Foreign Film as decided by the Russian Guild of Film Critics. Those Russians have great taste in movies, I must say.