The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York • 64

20 GUSTO THE BUALO NEWSRiDAY MARCH 6 1998 Movie Up their alley The Coens strike for humor in the ultimate bowling movie MOtfE The Big Lebowski Rating: fear of contradiction 439 8081 DARK CITY DTS (R) KISSING A POOL (R) THE ROMOWERS (PG) HUSH (R) WEDDING SINGER (PG 13) TITANIC DTS (PG 13) US MARSHALS DIS IPG 1 3) ON A ROLL The Dude (Jeff Bridges left) and Walter (John Goodman) NOW (i SHOWING I 2001 Ito AMHERST 3 NORTH PARK the newest comic hal by Joel and Ethan Jeff Bridges John Goodman Julianne Moore and Steve Bus cemi in Joel and Ethan Coen's movie about intrigue and bowl ing in Los Angeles Rated opening today in area theaters THE ULL MONTY (R) WELCOME TO SARAJEVO (R) NIL mWUin (K ROCKY HORROR PICTURE By JE SIMON News Critic SARANDON HACKMAN WEOniCHIIWTlW tmiiiwiftMWwnflCWS Wi lOIHllIliiiifl ill HKHISRSimB MAPLE RIDGE 8 MAPLE SW ET HOME 8339500 Watch Hn Aeaiinrriy Awwi on A MCKINLEY 6 MCKIHLE'Z MILE STRIP RDS 894 3479 TRANSIT CENTER 16 TRANSIT WEHRLE OR 633 0859 WNtAAL C'NlM walden galleria no exo st Ml 4550 LIX THEATERS 4901 mhSIT Ml GENERAL CINEMA WALDEN GALLERIA 490 EXIT 52 Ml 4550 and get restitution for his urine stained rug Whereupon the Big Lebowski hires the little Lebowski to handle few things This is the modern low life version of Ray mond Chandler's LA of course so matters become hopelessly muddled by all manner of agents There is for instance the artist daughter who hears her biological clock ticking but in the meantime paints ab stract expressionist canvases by fly ing around nude in a harness and flapping her arms like a bird Then there's Walter the best buddy a big beefy greedy screw up still fighting the Vietnam War in his head Walter is a guy who brings his 45 to the bowling alley in case a dispute over scoring There is no situaton that Walter make worse with surprisingly little effort With kidnapping and ransom in the offing things are made im measurably worse for the Dude Throw in some nihilists and a bowling pederast named Jesus who dresses in skintight cobalt blue jumpsuits and you have Big 1 ebowski lucination Coen Without by a living soul 1 can say fear lessly that this is unquestionably the Great American Bowling Mov ie the only one to show for in stance the sport's great metaphys ical moment when the alley man with trusty spray can freshens the shoes every morning This is the Coens at their most playful Even though it follows it was written before and kept on a shelf until Jeff Bridges was free to play the Dude and John Goodman was free to play Walter the truculent trouble prone pal Coen regular Steve Buscemi Julianne Moore the countess of indie ville and John Turturro as the bowling pederast Jesus lend their He has effortless style humor and heart' liter Timers ROLLING STONE ITS LIKE this see: There happen to be two Jeff Le bowskis One is a no account long haired pothead bowler in LA who sleeps in his bathrobe drinks White Rus sians (which he gets all over his mustache) and is such a stoner and doofus that when he buys a quart of milk from his local super ette he writes them a 69 ccnt check He calls himself So to be charitable do all of his similarly rio7account bowling buddies Then there's the other Lebow ski Big Lebowski" a Pasadena rich guy in a wheelchair with a multimillion dollar estate' and a bikinied young wife who lounges by the pool waiting for men who look as if they might want to paint her toenails One day some dumb leg break ers get the two Lcbowskis con fused They descend on the Dude thinking the Big Lebowski and ask for immediate restitution of money owed They shove his head into the toilet relieve them selves on his Persian rug and leave him mortified terrified and even more confused than usual So little Lebowski goes to sec the Big Lebowski to clear it up GENERAL CINEMA MARKET ARCADE DOWNTOWN THEATRE DISTRICT 8S6 3022 In this seductive smart Jim Wilson OX IV REGAL TRANSIT CENTER 1 TRANSIT WEHRLE DR MAPLE RIDGE 8 MAPLE SWEET HOME 833 9500 RECAL TRANSIT CENTER 16 PMNStf WfH DR a blusters Walter with his jjusual anger get you a The Coens I think have creat ed one masterpiece And made two su perb films unlike anything else by anybody and Big on that level but is wonderfully funny anyway The Coens know a great secret about the American Dream that for a lot of Dudes and Walters just burgers some beers a few and a few frames down at the local bowling alley In Coen countiy the Dude is just as big a Lebowski as the Big Lebowski LOCKPORT MALL CINEMA 8 UGALCmtMAS ELMWOOD CENTER 16 9001 ELMWOOD AVE 81 Q792 UX THEATERS 4901 TRANSIT RD 66GLIX Mjtf is a craitling iwte Bstapilli a Inly smatal Jeff Craig SIXTY SECOND 7ACADEMY AWARDNOMINATIONS INCLUDING BESTPICTURE Mill MBW Iffi milBffl IRfelgSH SOUraiMCXMSIJMMMlMdMLDEl ABERICAMCORDS inimitable selves to the proceed ings It is often hilarious in the Coen way But so too is it self indul gent which is an odd problem when there are two creative selves being indulged There are some dream scenes for instance which as delightful as they are could easily have been cut down But in American movies the Coens are the reigning eccentric poets of the loser class Who else could get away with quoting Theo dore Herzl in a bowling alley? Who else could write a scene where a bunch of lunkheads to prove their seriousness in kidnap ping mailers discuss the availabili ty of intimidating body parts to send back to victims want Nit'SNpiw1 11 AVAUEIVII II award NOMINATIONS INCLUDING BEST PICTURE WNYTHMEvf 3500 MAIN ST 834 7655 RECORD BREAKING 26W WffKt NOMINATED BEST PfCTUtf 1997 2:00 400 6 00 IU 00 1:30 3:30 5 30 7:30 9 30 I 45 4 15 700 930 SHOW (R) RI AT MIDNIGHT 1428 MEftTEL AVE 836 741 1 NOMINATED MST ACTOR 1997 ROBERT DUVALL THE APOSTLE (PG 13) EVES 700 9 35 SATSUN 100 4 00 7 00 9 35 titanicmoviecom Ipg STARTSTOPAY HO PASSES Ofl DISCOUNT COUPONS ACCEPTED OR THIS EHGAGEMENT 671 0722 REGAL ELMWOOO CENTER 16 2001 ELMWOOO AVE 871 0722 GENERAL CINEMA McKinley 6 MCMINIH MILES SWM i 824 3479 AMC MAPLE JUDGES MAPLE SWEET HOME 833 9600 GENERAL CINEMA WALDEN GALLERIA 90 EXH 82 £yj 55S0 it tai get much better than Jim erguson KMSU TV RI 4 50 7 30 9 40 SATSUN 1:30 415 7 30 9 40 MON THUR 4 50 7:30 RI 9 40 SATSUN 9 40 MON THUR 7 35 RI 5 00 7 00 SATSUN 1:20 3 10 5:00 7 00 MON THUR 5 00 RI 4:55 7 30 9 30 SATSUN 1 35 4 15 7 30 9 30 MON THUR 4 55 7 30 RI 4:55 7 25 9:30 SATSUN I 30 4 10 7 25 930 MON THUR 4 55 7 25 RI 4 15 fl 00 SATSUN 1230 4 15 8 00 MON THURS4 10 7 45 R14 25 7 10945 SATSUN 1 35 425 7 10 9 45 MON THUR 4 25 7 15 GOOD WILL HUNTING (PG 13) RI 430 7 20 9 45 SATSUN 1 40 4:30 7 20 9 45 MON THURS 430 7 20 AS GOOD AS TT GETS (PG 1 3) RI 4 25 710 9 45 SATSUN 1 404 25 7 10 9 45 MON THURS 4 25 7 15 As Good as it Gets A BL wty Il A ''iY 1 1 rar nwv a i Jfn S' ST 1 MLaa i i (a I 'I' wL A 7 dL 1 XvS T1IHIE NORTH PARK 7ACADEMY AWARDnominations ructuniNG BEST PICTURE.