I have a great love for pop culture. Huge parts of my personality have evolved from the movies and TV shows that I watch over and over again. My wife has movie amnesia. (She will insist repeatedly that she's never seen a movie we watched together the previous week.) I have the opposite. I have an almost uncanny ability to memorize line-for-line any movie that grabs me in a single viewing. (In high school I once orated 'The Matrix' word for word to the kid who sat behind me in math)
While there are many great movies, and the debate over the best movie ever will never truly end, my personal favorite movie of all time is The Big Lebowski. If you have not seen this masterpiece, stop right now and watch it. This article may contain spoilers, and you need to experience the majesty this great work of art has to offer. Go watch it now.
Best movie ever? That's just like, my opinion man.
Wasn't that great? The movie is hilarious, but only through repeated viewing did I pick up a few of the greater one-liners in the film. (Brother Seamus? What, like an Irish monk?) I have seen the movie several dozen times, and phrases from this movie still make it into everyday conversations I have. (whenever I see some new decoration at a friend's house, I will tell them how it "really brings the room together") But after doing some research, I found that this movie has one of the most dedicated fan bases of all time.
The movie was not a record setter by any means. It only made 46.7 million at the box office, off of a budget of 15 million. It didn't win any major awards, it wasn't even nominated. (though it is certified fresh on rotten tomatoes, and is on imdb.com's best movies of all time list) Most of its popularity came after its release to home video, as word of mouth spread.
The reason that, to me, this is the best movie ever, is because it is still making appearances in pop culture, despite the fact that it came out almost 25 years ago. (The Shawshank Redemption is my 2nd favorite movie, but no one talks about that anymore) Content creators are still making references to this masterpiece, and they never fail to make me laugh.
A screenshot from My Little Ponies - The Dude's cutie mark is a rug!
The more you dig into The Big Lebowski, the more there is to find, and the more impressed I am at how big an impact this movie made.(Side note: at this point, I had to take a break to make myself a White Russian.) Every year there is a gathering of like-minded people at a festival called Lebowski Fest. Members of the cast are known to attend the fest, with Jeff Bridges even performing music from the movie with his band. (His band is called Dude and the Abiders.)
But this movie has gone beyond the physical into the spiritual. That's right, this movie spawned its own religion - Dudeism. Over 600,000 people have been ordained as Dudeist Priests, and the religion is pretty much exactly what you might expect. Their major tenets are relaxed lifestyle and pacifism. And of course, the dude himself shows these traits exceptionally well. Opening of the movie, two thugs break into his house, break a door frame and the bathroom floor, shove his head in his own toilet , and piss on his rug. And all the dude has to say in response is a few cutting sarcastic remarks. (Hey, at least I'm Housebroken!) I seriously doubt I could have responded so coolly. I would have been inarticulate with rage.
Dudeism.com - the official website of the religion if you are so inclined.
My wife and I have this adorable(I think) habit of naming our pets after our favorite fandoms. We currently have 2 dogs: our oldest is Penny, named after The Big Bang Theory. Our puppy is now about 7 months old, and we named him Jeffrey Lebowski. Of course we call him the dude, duder, or el duderino if we're not feeling into the whole brevity thing. I love everything about this movie, and I intend to love it for the rest of my natural life. Well, I finished my White Russian. Be right back, I'm just gonna go find a cash machine.
Dudee
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