Jeff Bridges’ Best Film Is Coming Back To Theaters
Jeff Bridge's The Big Lebowski is coming back to theaters on April 16 and 20, 2023.
The Dude is back! The Jeff Bridges classic The Big Lebowski is headed back into theaters for its 25th Anniversary thanks to Fathom Events. Fathom is bringing back the R.I.P.D. actor, along with Walter, Donny, and the whole crew, on April 16 and 20, 2023.
The 1998 film stars Jeff Bridges as stoner Jeff Lebowski, AKA The Dude, who gets mistaken for a millionaire with the same name, the titular Big Lebowski. The Cohen Brothers’ screwball crime caper also stars John Goodman as The Dude’s Vietnam vet bowling partner Walter and Oscar winner Julianne Moore as the real millionaire’s daughter Maude Lebowski.
The movie starts with a group of nihilists peeing on The Dude’s rug and only gets wackier from there. There’s a botched kidnapping attempt, a severed toe, and John Turturro as a bowling ball-licking sex offender named The Jesus. Meanwhile, Jeff Bridges, arguably the movie’s sanest character (it’s a low bar) spends The Big Lebowski imbibing White Russians and trying (and failing) to remain zen.
The Big Lebowski was only a mild success when it was released, grossing $46.7 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million. The film, however, became a massive pop-culture phenomenon when it was released on DVD. The Jeff Bridges film has gotten so popular that The Big Lebowski has its own version of Comic-Con.
Lebowski Fest, according to its Wikipedia page, is a celebration that first formed in 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky. The two-day festival includes screenings of the movie as well as live music. The highlight is a bowling party attended by fans dressed as their favorite characters from the movie.
But Lebowski Fest is nothing compared to the very real Church of the Latter-Day Dude. Jeff Bridges has made a lot of movies, but so far, only The Big Lebowski has inspired its own religion. Dudeism is a religion inspired by The Dude and promotes itself as a modern-day version of Chinese Taoism.
Both nights of the Fathom event will include insights from noted movie critic Leonard Maltin. Maltin will offer an exclusive commentary on the 25-year-old Jeff Bridges film, making this the definitive Big Lebowski viewing experience for fans. Some viewers may disagree, but “that’s just like their opinion, man.”
Recently Jeff Bridges has had his hands full with the action drama The Old Man. Bridges plays a very un-dude-like retired CIA agent on the FX series. The Old Man follows Bridges’ Dan Chase as he gets thrown back into the game against his wishes when someone from his past comes back to haunt him.
While some fans of The Dude will be disappointed that Jeff Bridges and The Big Lebowski are only coming back to theaters for two days, most will be happy just to see the movie on the big screen again. Or, for the very first time, in the case of all the young Dudes born since the movie first came out.
There aren’t many things the country can agree on these days, but one thing can unite everyone, whether they’re red, blue, or something in between. The Dude abides.
