 Set in
1991, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is surprised by two thugs in his
home in Venice, California, attempting to collect a debt Lebowski's
supposed
wife owes to Jackie Treehorn. After the thugs rough up the Dude and
urinate on
his rug, which, in the words of the Dude and his friends, "really tied
the
room together", the Dude points out that they're looking for a
different
person of the same name. At the suggestion of his friend Walter, the
Dude decides
to seek compensation for his urine-soaked rug from "the
other Jeffrey
Lebowski, the Millionaire." The next day, the titular "Big"
Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, gruffly refuses the Dude's
request
despite Dude's assurance that he "isn't trying to scam anyone." After
craftily stealing one of the Big Lebowski's rugs, the Dude meets Bunny
Lebowski, the Big Lebowski's nymphomaniacal trophy wife on his way off
the
property.
Days
later, the Big Lebowski contacts the Dude, revealing that Bunny has
been
kidnapped and asks him to act as a courier for the million-dollar
ransom, the
Dude being in the unique position of being able to identify the
rug-soiling
thugs, the suspected kidnappers. Back at his apartment, the  Dude naps
on his
new, stolen rug, only to have his apartment burgled again, the
criminals
knocking him unconscious. Following a musical dream sequence, the Dude
wakes up
on his bare wooden floor, his new rug missing. Soon after,
when Bunny's
kidnappers call to arrange the ransom exchange, Walter Sobchak, the
Dude's
unstable friend and bowling teammate, tries to convince the Dude to
keep the
money and give the kidnappers a "ringer" suitcase filled with dirty underwear - a plan the Dude rejects. During their
argument, the exchange is
bungled, leaving the Dude and Walter with the million, the ringer
having been
flung out the car window by Walter, who subsequently jumps from the
moving car
in an attempt to apprehend one of the kidnappers. The kidnappers
escape,
however; Walter, seemingly unperturbed by this turn of events takes the
Dude
bowling. Later that night, the Dude's car is stolen, along with the
briefcase
filled with money. The Dude receives a message from the Big Lebowski's
daughter, Maude, who admits to stealing the Dude's rug which he stole
from the "Big"
Lebowski's home, as it has sentimental value for her. At her art
studio, she
explains that Bunny is a porn starlet working under producer Jackie
Treehorn
and confirms the Dude's suspicion that Bunny probably kidnapped
herself. She
asks the Dude to recover the ransom, as it was illegally withdrawn by
her
father from a family-run charitable foundation for orphans, offering
him a
finder's fee in exchange for his services.
 The Dude
(Jeff Bridges) talking to the Big Lebowski (David Huddleston) about
compensation
for the rug.The Big Lebowski angrily confronts the Dude over his
failure to
hand over the money. The Dude claims that he made the pay-off as
agreed, but
the Big Lebowski responds by handing the Dude an envelope sent to him
by the
kidnappers which contains a severed toe, presumably Bunny's.
The Dude
is enjoying a relaxing bath when he receives a message that his car has
been
found. Mid-message, three German nihilists invade the Dude's apartment,
identify themselves as the kidnappers, and interrogate and threaten him
for the
ransom money, throwing a leashed ferret in his bathtub. The Dude
returns to
Maude's studio, where she identifies the German nihilists as Bunny's
friends
and pornographic co-stars (as well as members of the industrial-rock
ensemble
"Autobahn"). The Dude picks up his car from the police, and based on
evidence he finds in the front seat, he and Walter track down the
supposed
thief, who turns out to be a teenager apparently suffering from mental
retardation. Upon returning home without any clue about the whereabouts
of the
ransom money, Jackie Treehorn's thugs return to bring the Dude to
Treehorn's
beach house in Malibu, where Treehorn inquires about the whereabouts of
Bunny.
When the Dude confesses he has no such information, Treehorn drugs the
Dude's
drink and he passes out, leading to a second, more  elaborate dream sequence,
starting as the opening credits of a movie named "Gutterballs." Upon
awakening once again, the Dude finds himself in a police car and then
in front of
the sheriff of Malibu, who berates him for coming to Malibu and ruining
the
peace. The Dude arrives home and is greeted by Maude Lebowski, who
hopes to
conceive a child with him. During post-coital conversation with Maude,
the Dude
finds out that, despite appearances, her father has no money of his
own, as
Maude's late mother was the rich one, and she left her money
exclusively to the
family charity. In a flash, the Dude unravels the whole scheme: When
the Big
Lebowski heard that Bunny was kidnapped, he used it as a pretense for
an
embezzlement scheme, in which he withdrew the ransom money from the
family
charity, kept it for himself, gave an empty briefcase to the Dude (who
would be
the fall guy on whom he pinned the theft), and was content to let the
kidnappers kill Bunny.
 Meanwhile,
it has by now become clear that the kidnapping was itself a ruse. While
Bunny
took an unannounced trip, the nihilists (her friends) alleged a
kidnapping in
order to get money from her husband (It is left unclear whether and to
what extent
Bunny was an active collaborator in this scheme). The Dude and Walter
arrive at
the Big Lebowski residence, finding Bunny back at home, having returned
from
her trip. They confront the Big Lebowski with their version of the
events,
which he counters but does not deny; Walter however manages to embarass
them by
surmising that Lebowski is not really  wheelchair-bound and making him fall from
his contraption, thus being proved wrong. The affair apparently over,
the Dude
and his bowling teammates are once again confronted by the nihilists,
who have
set the Dude's car on fire. They are still demanding the million
dollars,
despite the fact that the Dude does not have the money and Bunny has
not even
been kidnapped. Walter viciously fights them off, biting and severing
an ear
out of one of them, but their third teammate, Donny, suffers a fatal
heart
attack (despite having taken not an overly active part in the fight).
Walter
and the dude take his ashes to a beach (in an alluminium coffee can
after
having refused to pay for an urn) where Walter offers a lengthy eulogy
complete
with incoherent Vietnam War references. He scatters Donny's ashes, but
a gust
of wind blows much of the ashes onto the Dude's face. Upset, the Dude
lashes
out at Walter. Walter apologizes and hugs the Dude, before suggesting,
"Fuck it, dude. Let's go bowling." As the movie nears its end, the
Dude sums up his situation and philosophy with the phrase, "The Dude
abides."
 Jeff
Bridges as Jeffrey
"The Dude" Lebowski, a single, unemployed slacker living in
Venice, California, who enjoys cannabis,
Creedence Clearwater Revival, White Russians, and bowling.
Reflecting his very laid-back approach on life, he has no job and seems
unconcerned with money. Jeff Bridges had heard or was told by the Coen
brothers
that they had written a screenplay for him. The Dude is mostly inspired
by Jeff Dowd,
a member of the Seattle Seven, and a friend of the Coen
brothers, Pete Exline, a Vietnam War veteran.
(Wikipedia)
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