Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski (Bridges) is an easy-going man. His life in LA is so laid-back as to be almost flat. His answer to most problems is "Let's go bowling". However, when his house is broken into by two gangsters who pee on his favorite rug, he finds himself becoming quite angry. Then, when he discovers that they think they are chasing Jeffrey Lebowski - "the Big Lebowski" ("Big" as in millionaire), whose wife owes them a lot of money - he's furious. The Dude sets off to demand compensation (or at least rug-cleaning) from the Big Lebowski, only to find himself enmeshed in a series of events that span a kidnapping scenario, the art world and the porn industry.

The Coen Brothers' zany humour delights in weird characters - or characters so normal that they're weird. In this, their first (and possibly only) bowling movie, Dude's biggest bowling mate Walter Sobchak (Goodman), is a Vietnam vet who attributes every cause and effect in life to the USA's involvement "over there". He does it when he's bowling, and he does it when he says he's not doing it. Donny (Buscemi), the other bowling mate, could be weird or "normal", but we'll never know as the mere opening of his mouth provokes the order to "Shut the .... up". Another Coen-inspired weirdo is Jesus (Turturro), a Latino bowler with a rare door-to-door mission.

Like the Dude, the Coen's movie doesn't really want to go anywhere, but it makes sure we are happy to bowl along with it.

One comedy that definitely fell under the radar. A story about a man who could care less, because that was the dream back when you could be the "dude" and not care. Nowadays if you don't care you'll end up homeless or dead, so it's nice to go back and remember the times when being lazy was cool and funny and, well just being a "dude".