all the dude wanted was his rug back.

Caveat Lector: Spoilers, for real yo.

The other day while enjoying a few brews with some friends we began to talk about one of my favorite movies and what it actually meant. To those of you unfamiliar with "The Big Lebowski"  it's a quaint little film that begins simply enough with a case of mistaken identity. The film starts with the dude (one Jeffery Lebowski) returning from a trip to Ralph's and finding that two thugs have broken into this house and are waiting to ambush him. During the beat down and subsequent swirly the dude finds out that the thugs are looking for the other Jeffery Lebowski (the millionaire) in order to collect the sizable debt that his wife bunny has run up with local pornographer Jackie Treehorn.

Wow... this is like five minutes into the movie.

Anyway this is a perfect example of what the Coen brothers where reaching for when they penned this modern epic. A truly cosmic scale of  unpredictability and mystic realsim. Like Jeff Bridges says many times throughout the movie "all the dude wanted was his rug back" but the cosmos simply will not let him. In order to fulfill his quest to redeem his prized rug the dude has to fight off a trio of crazed nihilists, find an elusive trophy wife, and recover a missing briefcase containing a cool million dollars. All this just because he happens to have the share the name Jeffery Lebowski with a narcissistic miser with a preference for the finer things in life... and a butler named Grant.

The reason I find this movie so entertaining and enlightening is because it mimics real life in the most honest way possible. Everybody has those days where nothing goes right, the alarm doesn't go off, you spill coffee on your shirt, you get rear ended on the way to work by a guy who not only does not have insurance but is wanted in 3 other states for vehicular manslaughter, when the police arrive you realized that you left your wallet at home, as you arrive home to retrieve your wallet you find that you have locked your house keys inside because you had to take them off to get a copy made so you could give a spare key to a neighborhood friend just in case you lock yourself out of your house. While the dude's adventure lasts a few days longer and takes some very divergent paths, the journey is ultimately the same. However, it is the dude's cheerful and upbeat attitude that makes the film so enjoyable. Despite everything that happens to the dude from getting beaten up and drugged and beaten up again and crashing his car, he's able to put it all behind him and say "fuck it, let's go bowling"

So why don't we all listen to what the dude has to offer? Just forget about the bad things you are dealing with and go do something you truly enjoy for a little while. As for me, I'm going to partake in a little "what have you" and watch my favorite movie.

Until next time fearless readers

MW