Why The Big Lebowski is Essential to Some and Why It’s Overrated

I recently saw the 2014 Paul Thomas Anderson film Inherent Vice. It’s a film that generated a lot of buzz in 2014 and one aggregation ranked it number 10. I was immediately struck by how this film is begging to be analyzed side-by-side with The Big Lebowski. The two films have so much in common that it’s as if Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen Brothers started from the same points in some sort of film workshop and worked outwards. For further reading, here’s an excellent essay:

Today, out of boredom, I decided that I would post if anyone else thought “The Big Lebowski was a good film but not worth this insane level of a cult following” and I got one positive and negative response, so I thought I’d address them both.

One person said that it was her son who didn’t get the hype, so that’s why it was written to her son.

I would say to your son almost no movie can live up to its hype on first viewing when the hype reaches a certain level. Ever heard of a movie called Citizen Kane? It has long been considered the greatest film in American history (I know the American Film Institute solidified that status in 1998). And since then, 90% of people who I know who’ve watched the film have been disappointed. So it’s best not to measure a film against hype.

I’d say the cleverness of the film isn’t apparent on first viewing, and it’s through outside sources (whether from other films, discussing with friends, or reading an essay about it)…