A cult is born at ‘Lebowski Fest’

MSNBC News ^ | July 22 | AP

[jjbrouwer]

< snip> LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Real Lebowski lives. And people love him. Jeff Dowd, the inspiration for the main character in the Coen brothers’ 1998 mistaken identity comedy “The Big Lebowski,” joined more than a thousand fans at the second annual Lebowski Fest — a celebration of bowling, white Russians and all things Lebowski.

< snip >.

[jjbrouwer]

White Russian flag...

[Petronius]

"That wasn't her toe Dude..."

[jjbrouwer]

I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. That, or Duder. His Dudeness. Or El Duderino, if, you know, you're not into the whole brevity thing...

[general_re]

"You can imagine where it goes from here."

"He fixes the cable?"

"Don't be fatuous, Jeffrey."

[jjbrouwer]

"Lady, I got buddies who died face down in the mud so you and I can enjoy this family restaurant..."

[lowbridge]

bump

[general_re]

"Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here!"

[jjbrouwer]

The Dude minds, this aggression will not stand, man...

[Ichneumon]

The dude abides.

[jjbrouwer]

I want to get to that point where I can talk about JJ in the third person...

[jjbrouwer]

You want a toe? I can get you a toe by three o'clock this afternoon - with nail polish...

[general_re]

"How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm once they've seen Karl Hungus?"

[jjbrouwer]

Walter: "Germans, nothing changes..."

[Ichneumon]

Maude Lebowski: "My father's weakness is vanity, hence the slut."

[jjbrouwer]

You may fool a fox in the league office, but you don't fool Jesus... (Warning: some bad language)

[jjbrouwer]

Donny: Are these the Nazis, Walter?

Walter Sobchak: No, Donny, these men are nihilists. There's nothing to be afraid of.

[Petronius]

I thought Fargo was a good movie, but I didn't laugh out loud during it. The first time I saw Lebowski I came perilously close to rupturing myself: it was the hardest I've ever laughed (without any unnatural stimuli). Lebowski is, beyond certainty, my favorite movie of the last 50 years (I won't say it's better than the Marx Bros. simply because I don't think you can really compare movies from two different worlds).

Critics gave it a lukewarm reception; audiences shunned it. I felt alone. In time, I began to come across the rare visionary who, like myself, recognized it for the watershed, the masterpiece that it is. I always wondered: Are there more? This article confirms it. Thanks.

[jjbrouwer]

Yeah, it is a classic. The only Coen brothers movie which comes close is Barton Fink. That is pretty funny too.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

I found Raising Arizona very funny, as well.