The Big Lebowski
Movie, 1998, The '90s, Set in Los Angeles, 1991
The Big Lebowski is #7 of 21 in release order and #7 of 21 in chronological order in the The Coen Brothers.
The story
Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.
The Big Lebowski recap
The Big Lebowski (1998) follows a Los Angeles slacker who is mistaken for a millionaire with the same name and drawn into a kidnapping scheme. Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) has his rug ruined by thugs collecting a debt owed by the wife of the other Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston), a wheelchair-using philanthropist. Seeking a new rug, the Dude is hired to deliver ransom for the young wife, Bunny, who has gone missing. His bowling partner Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), an angry Vietnam veteran, wrecks the handover, and the briefcase vanishes along with the Dude's car. Pornographer Jackie Treehorn, a gang of German nihilists, the artist Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) and a rival bowler, Jesus Quintana (John Turturro), all pull at him. Donny (Steve Buscemi) tags along, and a cowboy called the Stranger (Sam Elliott) narrates. The Coens wrote and made it as their seventh feature, after Fargo.
The Big Lebowski ending explained
The Big Lebowski ends with the Dude still bowling and Maude pregnant with his child. Bunny was never kidnapped; she went out of town, and the rich Lebowski took the chance to steal from his charity, sending a briefcase with no money. The nihilists confront the Dude and Walter outside the bowling alley, and Donny dies of a heart attack. Walter scatters his ashes from a coffee can, and the wind blows them over the Dude. The Stranger closes the film. John Turturro's spin-off, The Jesus Rolls, came out in 2019.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Big Lebowski has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski is streaming on Pluto TV in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 79%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Fargo, before O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
- Chronological order: after Fargo, before O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
Cast
- Jeff Bridges as The Dude
- John Goodman as Walter Sobchak
- Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski
- Steve Buscemi as Donny
- David Huddleston as The Big Lebowski
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt
- Tara Reid as Bunny Lebowski
- Philip Moon as Treehorn Thug
- Mark Pellegrino as Treehorn Thug
- Peter Stormare as Nihilist
- Flea as Nihilist
- Torsten Voges as Nihilist
Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen.