Lebowski Fest: Achieving Greatness

Every Achiever has a theory, but none seem to have an answer.

Why? Why do they celebrate “The Big Lebowski” so enthusiastically, so obsessively, so abidingly?

Is it the quirky characters?

Is it the plethora of quotable lines?

Is it the general sense of absurdity, which appeals to a generation that learned comedy from “The Simpsons,” “South Park” and Conan O'Brien?

Regardless of why, each year the Achievers — as the most ardent loyalists to the 1998 film call themselves — raid thrift stores and art supply shops to create costume homages to their most beloved movie.

They'll seek the perfect tan vest, the most ragged robe, the kitschiest bowling shirt. Some don't stop there — they delve much deeper into the film for inspiration, to turn an offhand quote into a conceptual costume, the better to stump the drunks and the newbies. They come together at Lebowski Fest and surround themselves with other weirdos.

They're the most loyal of a loyal fan base that few films enjoy. (As far as we know, for example, fans of “Shakespeare in Love” and “Armageddon” don't get together like this.) These are the highest achieving Achievers.

Sure, you don't have to be an obsessed fan to appreciate it, to drop the occasional quote — “you are entering a world of pain” or “phone's ringing, Dude” — into a conversation.

The Achievers, however, give up entire weekends to dress in the most ridiculous costumes, to drink White Russians and revel in a movie that the noted Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan dismissed as “disjointed, incoherent and even irritating” when it premiered in 1998.

Fans like Daniel Stuber.

Three years ago, Stuber first stumbled on the ideal purple track suit at a thrift store so he could become The Jesus, an obscure character who occupies just a few minutes of screen time in a 117-minute film.

Here's what you need to know about The Jesus: He's a narcissist, a great bowler and a sex offender. A pederast, in the parlance of our times.

“He's the most ridiculous of all the characters,” said Stuber, a Spanish teacher at St. Xavier High School. “He's just so over the top. He's also the most costumey of all the characters who's not in a dream sequence.”

Get all that?

Stuber, who estimates he's seen the film at least 30 times, is a late bloomer among the Achievers. His introductory viewing of “The Big Lebowski” produced none of the passion that now draws him to don a purple track suit and a hair net and act like, well, a narcissistic pederast with a chip on his shoulder. Because the first time Stuber rented the movie — on the recommendation of a friend — he didn't get it.

Stuber was vaguely aware that “The Big Lebowski” had earned a small but fiercely loyal cult following among college students, stoners and hipsters, who seemed to find a deep connection with the Coen brothers' shaggy film noir sendup about an indolent L.A. slacker nicknamed The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and a wild case of mistaken identity.

“I was just confused,” Stuber said of that first viewing some eight years ago. “What was going on? Who were these characters? What does this all mean?”

Around that time, a pair of Louisvillians decided it would be fun to host a “Big Lebowski” theme party at a rundown South End bowling alley. That small party became an annual rite, and now Lebowski Fest draws hundreds of Achievers each year, to the original fest here in Louisville and to fests around the U.S. and Europe.

When Stuber found out that one of the co-founders, Will Russell, happened to be a St. X classmate from back in the day, it prompted him to give “The Big Lebowski” a second chance.

This time, something clicked, and Stuber was hooked. He declared himself an Achiever and became a Lebowski Fest regular.

“It's the characters,” he said. “That's what makes ‘The Big Lebowski' so awesome. You can love the characters, and if you can learn to spend an hour and a half with these characters, you'll love the movie.”

As the ringleader of the circus alongside fest co-founder Scott Shuffitt, Russell has spent hours trying to figure out why “The Big Lebowski” has such a fiercely loyal fan base. He's constantly asked to wax on the topic by amused journalists, befuddled bowling alley owners and curious friends. He even co-wrote a guide to the movie, “I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski,” that has sold well in the U.S. and several other countries.

But after nine years and scores of Lebowski Fests, Russell can still only venture at a guess when asked why fans are willing to dress as ridiculous characters in a 12-year-old movie.

“That's the million-dollar question,” Russell said. “First off, the movie is hilarious — I guess it's because the Coens are amazing directors and writers — and it's well-cast.”

A recurring theme among hardcore Achievers is the way they rejected the film before eventually submitting to its grip. (Even Russell admits he didn't love “The Big Lebowski” the first time he watched it.)

Consider the curious case of Tom Esterline, who fell asleep on his couch the first time he watched it.

“I dozed off,” he said sheepishly.

But then came the night about seven years ago when a customer at the Indianapolis watering hole where Esterline tends bar started going on about how much the laid-back barkeep resembles The Dude. It prompted Esterline to see the movie again.

“The second time I watched it, I was blown away,” he said.

He quickly evolved from being a fan to becoming a full-blown Achiever. When you add sunglasses and a gaudy Cowichan sweater to Esterline's stringy hair and goatee, he transforms into a spitting image of Jeff Bridges in the film.

A regular at the Louisville fest, he eventually stopped entering the costume contest in order to give the other Dudes a chance. His commitment to the character caught the eye of Russell and Shuffitt, who befriended Esterline and recruited him to go on tour with the fest.

“I like the way it relates to my life,” Esterline said. “I have a bunch of slackers as friends. I'm pretty easygoing. The Dude just stumbles through good things happening, bad things happening — but the Dude still comes out just fine.”

Esterline is more than a Lebowski Fest regular — he's a bit of a star among the Achievers. Because of his uncanny resemblance to The Dude, he can't move about the party without being stopped for a photograph. He has never considered coming as anyone else.

It is that little taste of celebrity that seems to compel this non-drinking, non-drugging, exceedingly polite Midwestern dad to dress and act like his polar opposite at this annual bacchanal.

“I am The Dude, man,” he said. “That's what they call me.”

In the years since joining the Cult of Lebowski, Esterline has noticed the film's stature rise, buoyed by Lebowski Fest and a stream of critical reappraisals from publications that once overlooked it. All are welcome, he said, but he's wary of “The Big Lebowski” being co-opted by bandwagon jumpers who truly don't love and appreciate the movie.

“They're just amateurs,” he said. “Amateurs in Achievers' clothing.”

Other Achievers share similar stories.

Dave Bibelhauser grew to love the movie upon repeated viewings — “I think I still get a little more from it each time I see it. Plain and simple, it's a great movie — a lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what-have-you” — then took the next step and began showing up at Lebowski Fest dressed as Walter, the blustery, Vietnam-obsessed bowling buddy portrayed by John Goodman.

Like Esterline, Bibelhauser bears an eerie resemblance to the character, and, like Esterline, he eventually retired from the costume contest. These days, he dons Walter's iconic hunting vest and yellow sniper glasses at the request of Russell and Shuffitt, who hire him every year to help out at the fest.

“I am not a person that likes to watch movies again and again, but there's something about this one that never gets old,” he said.

Lyndi Lou Curtis, meanwhile, discovered “The Big Lebowski” through her friendship with Russell and Shuffitt. A striking 6-foot redhead, Curtis is perfectly suited to be a Valkyrie, the costumed character that Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) becomes during a dream sequence in the movie.

She said she watched the film while working at a video store during her high school years, but didn't really get it. Later on, Russell and Shuffitt's enthusiasm for all things Lebowski persuaded her to give it a second chance. Before she knew it, she was attending one fest after another in an elaborate Valkyrie getup.

Ironically, Maude happens to be Curtis' least favorite character. Although she, like Maude, is an artist, their perspectives are much different, Curtis said. “Maude is what I hate about the art world,” she said. “She's snotty. I most identify with The Dude, honestly.”

Achievers do not limit themselves to the more identifiable characters in “The Big Lebowski.” Partygoers are known for creating costumes based on offhand references, quotes or images from the film, showing up at fests dressed as beavers, severed toes and the pope.

And then there's Mrs. Jamtoss, a character who never actually appears in the film and is only referenced for a second as the name of a teacher on a sheet of homework that serves a crucial part of the plot.

With no visual cues to go on, Janey Christine Faith decided to go the “sexy schoolteacher” route, wearing a leather miniskirt and an oh-so-tight blouse. The idea came to her on the eve of one recent festival, as she wracked her brain for a creative costume idea. “I didn't think anyone would get it,” said Faith, who by day is a psychiatric nurse.

They did, and now Faith's sensual take on Mrs. Jamtoss is part of Lebowski Fest lore.

This is what lends a certain Trekkie-like ambience to “The Big Lebowski.” More amazing is that, unlike “Star Trek,” which has spurred a slew of TV shows, films, video games, books and collectibles, “The Big Lebowski” is just one little movie that somehow manages to captivate a still-growing number of people.

Russell said he's still surprised that so many fans attend the festivals — and that the enthusiasm hasn't really died down eight years after that first fest in that seedy bowling alley on Seventh Street Road.

“I think all the hubbub with Lebowski Fest does pique people's interest,” he said. “I don't hear this all the time, but some people hear about Lebowski Fest, watch it and then it clicks.”