Well I just watched it for the first time - this movie is awful. From the very intro voice over it was presumptuous and annoying. The characters were thinly drawn, the dialogue pretty terrible, and we're being forced to buy-in to the "wacky and crazy" world of "The Dude" and his circle of wacky friends. "Oh, look, he drank the milk in the store!" "Oh, that crazy Vietnam Vet pulled a gun in the bowling ally!" "Oh, that Jesus guy is so crazy - he's wearing purple!!". The whole thing felt VERY amateurish and VERY unlike someone with the talent and writing skill to produce the brilliant "Fargo" just two years before. I've ready MANY comments where guys gush over this move, The Dude, and how "quotable" it is. I have to say I seriously doubt your collective judgement and sense of humor. And the quotes? It's irritating when you watch a movie and the stilted, un-funny, forced dialogue, some of which is SUPPOSED to be funny (there wasn't one laugh in the movie), is INTENDED to be considered a "great quote", is then - somehow - considered a "great quote" later on by cultist fans. (My idea of great, well-written quotable movies? "Blazing Saddles", "Pulp Fiction", "Airplane".) It's not that I don't like "The Big Lebowski" - I despise it. It's insulting to intelligent viewers, in that we're being being presented a steaming pile of crap and asked to believe it's filet mignon. And so many talented actors - wasted. (Though I do not include Jeff Bridges in the "talented" group.) And, despite many comments that say, "you have to watch it a few times", any good \ great movie I've seen I've "gotten" the very first time, and they only get richer with additional viewings (i.e.,"Fargo"). My time is far too important to watch this Coen Brothers mistake again.