15 years after The Big Lebowski and the Dude’s bigger than ever
Posted by staff / March 15, 2013 film criticPeter HowellThe Big Lebowskithe DudeToronto Star
Peter Howell is the film critic who at one time, was best known for panning The Big Lebowski, and he is now recanting in a big way in an article in the Toronto Star. He says he was “underwhelmed” at first by the film and the day it opened at Sundance the publicist for the company that released it called him and was furious with his review of it.
He is now stating for the record that he has changed his mind and now considers it one of his top favourite films ever.
Mr. Howell was asked recently why this Lebowski story endures and what he thinks now of the Dude. Here is his answer:
…I think The Dude represents the happy sloth in all of us, the person who is content to just enjoy a life of sleeping, bowling and consuming White Russians (Kahlua and milk). As the world gets ever more frantic and threatening, The Dude’s gentle charms get more attractive.
The author discusses how this was a cult film that grew in the old-fashioned cult-film way – by word of mouth. There was no Twitter or FaceBook or Vine. There was no studio-manufactured buzz. People just talked about the movie and the characters and the film grew in its cult following and this likely makes it more enduring. Not to mention that most of us have an inner sloth.
Will there ever again be a cult movie as big as The Big Lebowski in our immediate and interconnected world? Doubtful, he says.
Read more: Toronto Star.
Information about the movie at Wikipedia.
Photo credit: adimas – Fotolia.com
It was very undude of Peter in the beginning, glad to know he realizes that the Dude abides.
Will someone please tell Peter what really goes in a White Russian?
Peter had to end the interview with another comment he’ll have to one day retract.
“Will there ever again be a cult movie as big as The Big Lebowski in our immediate and interconnected world? Doubtful, he says.”
Have no fear, Maryellen!
My bartender son caught the typo (so did many Lebowski cultists), and it is now fixed!
And to MarkDee: I’ll be happy to be proved wrong again.