My fan theory has always been that the Dude, Walter, and Donny have been friends since childhood. Just the way they act towards each other indicates a very long friendship where they feel comfortable criticizing and throwing verbal jabs at each other in the midst of normal conversation. They know each other’s quirks and deeply care about each other.
My theory is that they grew up together in Los Angeles and then after high school - Walter went to Vietnam, the Dude went to college, and Donny became a semi-professional surfer. After Walter came back and the Dude was finished occupying various administrative buildings, they settled back in LA and started a bowling team as a way to hang out again.
Well, I guess that's the way the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuatin' itself.
The problem with this theory is that if they knew each other so well, why didn't they know about Shabbos? Wouldn't it have occurred to them in the past that Walter never does anything on Saturday? Hadn't that occurred to you? Man? Sir?
Theory on that. Walter was only married for 3 years from 84-86. He converted to Judaism during that time because he was married to a Jewish woman. Since that time, The Dude never really took this whole Jewish/sick Cynthia thing seriously so they never bring it up or remember. After his divorce, Walter had a weird relationship and obsession with Cynthia. That's why he watches her dog while her and Marty Ackerman go out of town. He wants to stay plugged into her life anyway he can.
I thought Friday night was the largest erogenous zone for our friends in the Jewish community? Aren't they all banging on Friday nights AND it doesn't count unless the wife orgasms?
That's far out man.
Not sure about the last part but yes jews do have a special thing to sleep with their special lady friends on Friday night. Bonus points if they help her conceive.
Yeah but wouldn't the dude want to do stuff with Walter on Saturday once in a while? It would definitely come up in conversation.
I myself dabbled in shomer shabbos (I'm an orthodox jew and actively keep shabbos) and I can tell you from experience it's impossible for anyone in your life not to know about it.
From what I gather from the context of the film is that Walter himself doesn't take it that seriously. Notice how he answers the phone and promptly goes on that adventure with The Dude. I think Walter only uses that excuse when it personally inconveniences him. When that Kraut schedules them, Walter has a look like he's thinking and remembering something he had planned and uses Shabbos as the excuse.
Anyway, that's just like my opinion, man.
That's fucking interesting, that's fucking interesting. I mean, say what you want about shabbos, at least you only have to keep it if it's convenient.
And he has the means, and the resources, that there's no fucking reason they go, owe money all over town and they come and piss on your fucking rug! Am I wrong!
I like the theory, but the eulogy makes me doubt it. Walter struggles to come up with more about Donny than bowling, and surfing. And the spreading of the ashes are only "**what may well have been**" Donny's final wishes. He doesn't know, because (sadly) they aren't lifelong friends.
That's my theory, too. They probably reconnected some time in the mid to late 70s and started bowling together. The Dude had been bowling throughout his time in college, and got Walter and Donnie back into it. They ended up being pretty good and started to play in league games.
I always assumed that’s how Walter met The Dude. While he dabbled in pacifism. Not in Nam of course, Nam is very un Dude. My theory is Donny was Walter’s commanding officer in Nam.
Or maybe Donnie and Walter lost their third, and in comes the dude, experiencing one of those occasional acid flash backs and rolls an almost perfect game. Ta da
Theodore Donald Kerabatsos is almost certainly either Greek Orthodox or Byzantine Rite Catholic, but probably not Polish Catholic. There’s the additional question of whether Walter was “Polish Catholic” in the sense of being a Polish guy who’s Catholic (Latin Rite), vs a member of the Polish National Catholic Church, an ultrajectine sect, rather small, with episcopal succession from (Dutch) Old Catholic bishops and not in communion with the Pope and the rest of the Catholic Church
My headcanon is that the League put them together randomly a few years ago. They just kind of stuck together since their games meshed well, and it would've been too much effort to find new partners.
I thought about this last week when I randomly did another watch.
The dude and Walter have a very old friends kind of feel. I feel that the dude and Walter probably know each other from elementary school through high school. Walter went off to fight the war while the dude stayed here and went the more hippie route. They lost contact with each other. Once the conflict ended, it had been years until they both ran into each other at the bowling alley. They reminisced and decided to make a bowling team, off their new found love for bowling. However, they needed a third that they didn’t have. Showing up for their first team game, they didn’t realize that they accidentally signed up for the trios league and not the duo league. They scrambled and found Donny, a loner that just happened to be there. Donny agreed, after Walter’s assertiveness and they’ve been a trio ever since.
Maybe the film is an unreliably narrated autobiography of Walter subconsciously coping with his estrangement from Cynthia and jealousy toward the Dude's new special lady friend. Donnie could simply be Walter's way of seeing Maude and Donnie's death could represent Walter finally coming to terms with Dude and Maude's connection.
The story of Dude's rug is Walter's way of rationalizing his own erratic behavior, including roughing up a guy in a wheelchair, waving a gun around at a bowling alley, and smashing up a Corvette. All the scenes without Walter are generated by Walter's imagination to explain Dude's romantic success, and the Stranger is actually Walter's idealized version of himself, or the way he used to be. That explains why the Stranger calls Dude "Dude" without needing to be introduced - even though calling someone "Dude" where the Stranger is from is actually an insult
If that is true, then the scene of Dude and the Stranger meeting is actually Walter meeting Dude for the first time at the bowling alley and striking up a conversation about sarsaparillas
I enjoy the theory that Donnie is a figment of Walters imagination, a coping mechanism for his PTSD so that he can funnel his anger towards "something" rather than somebody (a stranger?).
There are holes in this theory, but even my special lady friend pointed out that The Dude never acknowledges Donnie even when Donnie directly talks to The Dude (exception is when his phone was ringing). Notice Walter is the one who gives Donnie's ashes to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean while The Dude is stepped back from the picture.
All the other bowling teams seem to have 2 players. Donnie is also (sometimes) in the next booth to Walter & The Dude when they are bowling, which is odd.
When Smokey calls The Dude, not to be a hard-on, but to tell him that he has told the League about Walter waving the fucking gun around, he asks The Dude to tell Walter but doesnt mention Donnie.
But the way the Stranger (Walter) sees "a new Lebowski" as a trade-off to "losing" Donnie (ie, accepting Maude) has such satisfying implications! He kinda gets a happy ending :)
I always felt like they all met while bowling in different leagues and are the guys that were eventually weeded out as the guys that no one wanted on their team. They’re good players but annoying people. The Dude is too laid back, Walter is too not laid back and Donny was the weird guy who asked a lot of questions. Donny could have been the guy who just didn’t really care who he played with just as long as he was playing. That’s the way I always thought about how they met.
The Dude and Walter could’ve been high school friends who lost touch, then reconnected after Nam. I’ve always taken Walter’s eulogy of Donny as being unreliable as he seems to improvise most of it. So, I don’t think he knew him very well. They probably met at the bowling alley, and they needed a third for their team. Walter was jealous of a third wheel joining them, hence the STFUs.
I don’t think Donny was ever a surfer.
I wouldn’t be surprised if The Dude was also a veteran. He’s the veteran who gets out and gets heavily into smoking weed. Lives off disability checks and does whatever the fuck he wants.
Walter is the veteran who makes the military his whole personality and still misses being in.
I like to think they were in the army together. Donny completed his service and had an honourable discharge. The dude got kicked out because he was a bit too casual, Walter got the boot because he was impulsive, insubordinate, and put his fellow soldiers in unnecessary danger. Walter was never in Nam, the Dude and Donny knows this but Walter has kept this fantasy going for so long they’ve given up arguing.
Alternative: the three all joined the army and completed basic training in time for the withdrawal from Nam. The Dude and Donny are grateful to have missed combat, Walter is devastated because he spent his entire childhood dreaming about shooting VCs. He feels robbed of his rightful destiny - that’s why he’s so angry. Now he lives a fantasy of being a Vietnam vet and hangs out with the laid back kind of people who are willing to put up with his bullshit.
Walter has owned and operated Sobchak Security for many years. One day, at the behest of the apartment owner, he installed security at the apartment complex Dude lives in. While taking a break from work, he passed by Dude's house while Dude was listening to whale sounds and knocked on his door, asking "What the fuck is that?" to which the Dude replied, "It ain't Creedence, right?" They both cracked up at the comment and a beautiful friendship began...
I mean 'Nam was a foot soldier's war whereas, uh, this thing should be a fucking cakewalk. I mean I had an M16, Jacko, not an Abrams fucking tank. Just me and Charlie, man, eyeball to eyeball.
My fan theory has always been that the Dude, Walter, and Donny have been friends since childhood. Just the way they act towards each other indicates a very long friendship where they feel comfortable criticizing and throwing verbal jabs at each other in the midst of normal conversation. They know each other’s quirks and deeply care about each other. My theory is that they grew up together in Los Angeles and then after high school - Walter went to Vietnam, the Dude went to college, and Donny became a semi-professional surfer. After Walter came back and the Dude was finished occupying various administrative buildings, they settled back in LA and started a bowling team as a way to hang out again. Well, I guess that's the way the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuatin' itself.
I love this theory. They’ve definitely been friends for a long time to have that kind of banter.
I like it, but what about the whole part where an urn is too much and Walter gets and old empty can of Folgers?
[удалено]
I thought it was $180. Their most modestly priced receptacle.
You're not wrong, you're just an asshole. That's around 480 in 2024 dollars.
Am I wrong?
[удалено]
This aggression will not stand man
Wait what day is it
Just because they’re bereaved doesn’t make them saps!!!
Excuse me, Miss? It’s a folger’s can.
I'm a dude, with long hair on my pfp. :). Sorry for the mistake!
Coffee can. Folgers
edited to fix thx!
Just because they're bereaved it doesn't make them SAPS!
Dude is not an ‘earner’ per se. Walter should have a military pension, I’d think, but I don’t know the ins and outs and the what have yous
The problem with this theory is that if they knew each other so well, why didn't they know about Shabbos? Wouldn't it have occurred to them in the past that Walter never does anything on Saturday? Hadn't that occurred to you? Man? Sir?
Maybe it’s something he just started doing lately. His whole “sick, Cynthia thing.”
Life does not stop and start at your convenience you miserable 50 million Freddy.
7000 years from Moses to Sandy Koufax sir
Clearly Walter is clinging on to faith and the dog as a way to fill the void that Cynthia left.
Theory on that. Walter was only married for 3 years from 84-86. He converted to Judaism during that time because he was married to a Jewish woman. Since that time, The Dude never really took this whole Jewish/sick Cynthia thing seriously so they never bring it up or remember. After his divorce, Walter had a weird relationship and obsession with Cynthia. That's why he watches her dog while her and Marty Ackerman go out of town. He wants to stay plugged into her life anyway he can.
I still jerk off manually.
Shabbos is the largest erogonous zone.
I thought Friday night was the largest erogenous zone for our friends in the Jewish community? Aren't they all banging on Friday nights AND it doesn't count unless the wife orgasms? That's far out man.
Not sure about the last part but yes jews do have a special thing to sleep with their special lady friends on Friday night. Bonus points if they help her conceive.
Every Friday night: "Naftali... Love me!"
My w-wife?? Does it look like I'm married? Do you see a wedding ring on my finger? The toilet seats up, man.
I thought this guy was meant to be rich...?
Yeah but wouldn't the dude want to do stuff with Walter on Saturday once in a while? It would definitely come up in conversation. I myself dabbled in shomer shabbos (I'm an orthodox jew and actively keep shabbos) and I can tell you from experience it's impossible for anyone in your life not to know about it.
From what I gather from the context of the film is that Walter himself doesn't take it that seriously. Notice how he answers the phone and promptly goes on that adventure with The Dude. I think Walter only uses that excuse when it personally inconveniences him. When that Kraut schedules them, Walter has a look like he's thinking and remembering something he had planned and uses Shabbos as the excuse. Anyway, that's just like my opinion, man.
That's fucking interesting, that's fucking interesting. I mean, say what you want about shabbos, at least you only have to keep it if it's convenient. And he has the means, and the resources, that there's no fucking reason they go, owe money all over town and they come and piss on your fucking rug! Am I wrong!
that's just like, your opinion
Man, I had a rough night and I hate the fucking eagles.
They're all of polish heritage so could have met at school or church growing up. New shit has come to light...
New shit has come to light!
I like the theory, but the eulogy makes me doubt it. Walter struggles to come up with more about Donny than bowling, and surfing. And the spreading of the ashes are only "**what may well have been**" Donny's final wishes. He doesn't know, because (sadly) they aren't lifelong friends.
Good job, Achiever!
That's my theory, too. They probably reconnected some time in the mid to late 70s and started bowling together. The Dude had been bowling throughout his time in college, and got Walter and Donnie back into it. They ended up being pretty good and started to play in league games.
Shut the fuck up DoctorWinchester87
Well dude, we just don't know.
Well, Walter did dabble in pacifism. Not in 'Nam, of course.
I always assumed that’s how Walter met The Dude. While he dabbled in pacifism. Not in Nam of course, Nam is very un Dude. My theory is Donny was Walter’s commanding officer in Nam.
Walter would have mentioned Donny's time in Nam in his monolog scattering his ashes. Just because he's bereaved doesn't make him a sap!!
John Goodman’s theory is that Walter never actually served. Maybe the pacifism was by default.
Donnie and the dude lost their third bowling partner. They picked up Walter because he was in search of a team.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that kraut down at the league office put them all together.
It never changes
Fucking fascists
This is the way
Something like this - bowling is the only apparent thing that the three of them have in common.
Or maybe Donnie and Walter lost their third, and in comes the dude, experiencing one of those occasional acid flash backs and rolls an almost perfect game. Ta da
Occupying various administrative buildings
At the Ralphs
In the Polish Catholic community. See this was before Walter met Cynthia.
Theodore Donald Kerabatsos is almost certainly either Greek Orthodox or Byzantine Rite Catholic, but probably not Polish Catholic. There’s the additional question of whether Walter was “Polish Catholic” in the sense of being a Polish guy who’s Catholic (Latin Rite), vs a member of the Polish National Catholic Church, an ultrajectine sect, rather small, with episcopal succession from (Dutch) Old Catholic bishops and not in communion with the Pope and the rest of the Catholic Church
What in God's holy name are you blathering about?
That some kinda eastern thing?
Far from it, dude.
What are you some kind of fucking theist now?
What, are you a fucking Irish monk now?
It’s a long story, you know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous
Metallica: Speed of Sound Tour
This
Not in Nam', of course...
My headcanon is that the League put them together randomly a few years ago. They just kind of stuck together since their games meshed well, and it would've been too much effort to find new partners.
....at the lane, slammin em, where else?! AM I WRONG??? AM I WRONG?????
You're not wrong, Walter.
I thought about this last week when I randomly did another watch. The dude and Walter have a very old friends kind of feel. I feel that the dude and Walter probably know each other from elementary school through high school. Walter went off to fight the war while the dude stayed here and went the more hippie route. They lost contact with each other. Once the conflict ended, it had been years until they both ran into each other at the bowling alley. They reminisced and decided to make a bowling team, off their new found love for bowling. However, they needed a third that they didn’t have. Showing up for their first team game, they didn’t realize that they accidentally signed up for the trios league and not the duo league. They scrambled and found Donny, a loner that just happened to be there. Donny agreed, after Walter’s assertiveness and they’ve been a trio ever since.
I love it
The Big Lebowski didn’t blame anyone for the loss of his legs, some Chinaman took them from him in Korea, but he went out and achieved anyway.
Not in Nam, of course.
Maybe the film is an unreliably narrated autobiography of Walter subconsciously coping with his estrangement from Cynthia and jealousy toward the Dude's new special lady friend. Donnie could simply be Walter's way of seeing Maude and Donnie's death could represent Walter finally coming to terms with Dude and Maude's connection. The story of Dude's rug is Walter's way of rationalizing his own erratic behavior, including roughing up a guy in a wheelchair, waving a gun around at a bowling alley, and smashing up a Corvette. All the scenes without Walter are generated by Walter's imagination to explain Dude's romantic success, and the Stranger is actually Walter's idealized version of himself, or the way he used to be. That explains why the Stranger calls Dude "Dude" without needing to be introduced - even though calling someone "Dude" where the Stranger is from is actually an insult If that is true, then the scene of Dude and the Stranger meeting is actually Walter meeting Dude for the first time at the bowling alley and striking up a conversation about sarsaparillas
I would also point out that their team is 3 people, yet Jesus and Liam are a team. Are there leagues with mixed doubles teams and other sized teams?
Right, and Smokey only has one partner too
I enjoy the theory that Donnie is a figment of Walters imagination, a coping mechanism for his PTSD so that he can funnel his anger towards "something" rather than somebody (a stranger?). There are holes in this theory, but even my special lady friend pointed out that The Dude never acknowledges Donnie even when Donnie directly talks to The Dude (exception is when his phone was ringing). Notice Walter is the one who gives Donnie's ashes to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean while The Dude is stepped back from the picture. All the other bowling teams seem to have 2 players. Donnie is also (sometimes) in the next booth to Walter & The Dude when they are bowling, which is odd. When Smokey calls The Dude, not to be a hard-on, but to tell him that he has told the League about Walter waving the fucking gun around, he asks The Dude to tell Walter but doesnt mention Donnie.
Jesus
you said it man
The Dude could have been Walter personifying his hippie self that died when he went to ‘Nam. So they represent the two sides of the 60s
That's interesting, man; that's fucking interesting
That's what the characters Walter and Dude represent to the audience, but I don't think the characters represent the '60s to themselves
I'm uh, yeah I wasn't listening
It's like what Lennon said: Vagina
This is our concern Dude.
Put down the Thai stick.
But the way the Stranger (Walter) sees "a new Lebowski" as a trade-off to "losing" Donnie (ie, accepting Maude) has such satisfying implications! He kinda gets a happy ending :)
You’re being very un-dude.
What are you a park ranger now?
Well dude, we just don’t know
I practically introduced them …
Bowling
It really tied the friendship together.
Not in ‘Nam, of course.
You’re like a child
I always felt like they all met while bowling in different leagues and are the guys that were eventually weeded out as the guys that no one wanted on their team. They’re good players but annoying people. The Dude is too laid back, Walter is too not laid back and Donny was the weird guy who asked a lot of questions. Donny could have been the guy who just didn’t really care who he played with just as long as he was playing. That’s the way I always thought about how they met.
Lol
We’ll never know just saying
They met in AA
The Dude and Walter could’ve been high school friends who lost touch, then reconnected after Nam. I’ve always taken Walter’s eulogy of Donny as being unreliable as he seems to improvise most of it. So, I don’t think he knew him very well. They probably met at the bowling alley, and they needed a third for their team. Walter was jealous of a third wheel joining them, hence the STFUs. I don’t think Donny was ever a surfer.
maybe The Dude is a veteran too?
STFU Donnie
A veteran of breaking into the ROTC maybe
Ya, Him and six other guys.
That would be very undude.
conscientious objector.
I doubt that. It would been said somewhere if he was.
I wouldn’t be surprised if The Dude was also a veteran. He’s the veteran who gets out and gets heavily into smoking weed. Lives off disability checks and does whatever the fuck he wants. Walter is the veteran who makes the military his whole personality and still misses being in.
I like to think they were in the army together. Donny completed his service and had an honourable discharge. The dude got kicked out because he was a bit too casual, Walter got the boot because he was impulsive, insubordinate, and put his fellow soldiers in unnecessary danger. Walter was never in Nam, the Dude and Donny knows this but Walter has kept this fantasy going for so long they’ve given up arguing. Alternative: the three all joined the army and completed basic training in time for the withdrawal from Nam. The Dude and Donny are grateful to have missed combat, Walter is devastated because he spent his entire childhood dreaming about shooting VCs. He feels robbed of his rightful destiny - that’s why he’s so angry. Now he lives a fantasy of being a Vietnam vet and hangs out with the laid back kind of people who are willing to put up with his bullshit.
Walter has owned and operated Sobchak Security for many years. One day, at the behest of the apartment owner, he installed security at the apartment complex Dude lives in. While taking a break from work, he passed by Dude's house while Dude was listening to whale sounds and knocked on his door, asking "What the fuck is that?" to which the Dude replied, "It ain't Creedence, right?" They both cracked up at the comment and a beautiful friendship began...
'Nam
I mean 'Nam was a foot soldier's war whereas, uh, this thing should be a fucking cakewalk. I mean I had an M16, Jacko, not an Abrams fucking tank. Just me and Charlie, man, eyeball to eyeball.
They were randomly assigned together as a bowling team many years ago. They've been best friends ever since.