The Dude Lives On

Cathleen Falsani at Laguna Beach Books March 5, 2010, 6 p.m. Free event 1200 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach :: 949.494.4779 :: lagunabeachbooks.com

“Sometimes there's a man... I won't say a hero, 'cause what's a hero? But sometimes, there's a man – and I'm talkin' about The Dude here – sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time and place.”

That’s really all the introduction we get for Jeff Bridges’ character, Jeffrey Lebowski, in the Coen brothers’ masterpiece, The Big Lebowski. But if you ever got the feeling that The Dude and his bowler-turned-pawn-in-a-staged-kidnapping-all-without-spilling-his-Caucasian plight was a metaphor for something much bigger, you’re not the only one.  

On March 5, Laguna Beach Books will be presenting an evening with one of the best investigators of Joel and Ethan Coen’s filmography, Cathleen Falsani. Falsani, journalist and author of The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers, will make an in-store appearance to tackle the metaphors and meaning behind all the Coen brothers' films, from Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski to No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man. Trust me, there is plenty to examine there. And if you don’t believe me, well then, may somebody piss on your rug. Preferably one that really ties the room together.