Big Lebowski spinoff raises questions

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/07/09/big-lebowski-sequel-raises-que.html

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I really hope they find another rug that ties the room together.

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Just one question raised for me: why? I mean, okay Turturro, I get that you are going to use the character to explore some boundaries, and the long-term success of “The Big Lebowski” will get you some extra eyeballs, but this sort of cheap hook has a long history of backfiring very badly.

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Um, phrasing?

Not sure Turturro is the right man for this job…

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Not particularly.

“It shows how stupid men are. That’s what the movie is kinda about – the women are the stronger, more together characters. I had to tweak it a little bit but now I feel really good about it. It’s basically an exploration of Jesus getting out of jail [after he is framed as a paedophile]. It’s a comedy but a very human comedy.”

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No.

Nobody fucks with The Jesus.

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The pedophilia charges may have been a frame job, but we all saw what he did to that bowling ball.

image

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As my dear old dad used to say, “Holy balls!”

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That’s an interesting bit of retconning, indeed. I guess making a spinoff about a guy who exposes himself to 8-year-olds would be a tough sell.

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Walter is the kind of guy who would pass along unsubstantiated rumors as well.

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Maybe the script will address why an Italian American calls himself Jesus Quintana?

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I can’t imagine, deep down, that Turturro was happy with that being the defining feature of his most famous role.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa… The Big Lebowski is pretty popular, but “the defining feature of his most famous role” is still clearly “robot urine”.

And the defining feature of his most critically popular role is still being sweated on by John Goodman in Barton Fink

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It could be interesting, but it’s obviously clutching The Big Lebowski’s coattails in a death grip.

Is this a character anyone would care about if it weren’t for that movie? Heck. Thinking back over the movie, he’s not someone that I wanted to learn any more about.

And without any of the Lebowski cast/writers/directors making an appearance or contributing to the project, it makes me wonder what they think of it. “It’s your money, dude.”

Mmmmmmkay. So it’s like most couple centered sitcoms from the last… long damned time.

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No Coens? Hard pass.

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And that’s the title of a bunch of reviews for Jesus Rolls if Turturro fucks it up.

I have nothing against John Turturro, but, I am not at all confident that he won’t stumble backwards into a whole bunch of problematic moments in this movie. And then double down on them by saying something stupid like “PC culture is killing art and comedy”

I really fucking hope I’m wrong, but the whole thing just seems like an inevitably depressing shitshow. A shitshow that we all know the lyrics too already.

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Well. . . . .

The Coens made some stinkers too (even Tom Hanks couldn’t save “The Ladykillers”), and plenty of other writers and directors make good films, so I will reserve judgement until I see the finished product.

I think a lot of us here automatically cringe at the thought of a lame spin-off damaging the perfection of the original, but I respect Turturro, he might be able to pull off something interesting with such a weird and flawed character.

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The Coens have given the movie their thumbs-up and John Turturro is an award-winning writer & director. Whether the movie’s any good or not remains to be seen, but it’s definitely in talented, Coen-augmented hands.

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There’s money to be made, or at least someone thinks there is.

Same as it ever was.

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giphy

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