Day 9: "A film that you hate that everyone else liked."
Well, today's choice comes with a long-winded DISCLAIMER. When I first saw this film, I was not only disappointed by it, but I REALLY hated it. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998). Yup. That's right. This film by the Coen Bros. came after FARGO, which I LOVED, and I already was a fan of the Coen Bros. already. So, I was looking forward to THE BIG LEBOWSKI. But, man, I just... did not get it. Not only did I not get it, I simply hated it. HATED it. I didn't find it funny. Even the use of the F-word seemed indulgent to me. Ugh!
And then, some time later (a few years?), it came up in a conversation at work (Great Arrow Graphics, so 2002-2003 maybe, towards the end of my time there) and I said how I HATED that film, and boy, people were getting in line to correct me! Especially Mike Bartolotta and Jim Cole: "Dude, you are WRONG." Based on that emphatic response, it made me want to at least check out the film again.
But before I did, I came across one of the BFI classic books about THE BIG LEBOWSKI. I love this line of books, so I bought it. Reading that book REALLY made me want to see the film again.
And I did.
Now I really LIKE the film, but it was definitely a process getting there!
I think one of the major things that went over my head was the fact that part of the film was a parody, not only of detective films, but specifically Howard Hawks' THE BIG SLEEP, a film that I'm actually a fan of! D'oh!
On another subject, as far as I can tell, this isn't the right "confessional" film question for me. Instead, it should be "what film that everyone else has seen but you still HAVEN'T," and MAN, do I have several embarrassing answers for that question! For instance, and in no particular order:
THE SHAWSHENK REDEMPTION
SAY ANYTHING
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
POINT BREAK (1991)
STRIPES
SPACEBALLS
ETC., ETC., ETC.
Meanwhile, to anyone keeping track, yes, I have skipped Day 8, "a film where you liked the soundtrack more." I simply couldn't think of any. However, in doing research (mostly trying to see if a film fits that criteria that I forgot about), I came across a few films worth checking out that I haven't seen yet. So, I hope to return to Day 8 with an actual answer before I'm done with this challenge... Although, having said that, at this rate who knows if I'll even finish this challenge...
#30DayFilmChallenge
