Cinema: Short Takes: The Big Lebowski

There are, difficult as it may be to believe, two Jeff Lebowskis living in the Greater Los Angeles area. There's the rich, shady one (David Huddleston) ensconced in a Pasadena mansion, who gives The Big Lebowski its title. His opposite number is better known as "Dude." Played by Jeff Bridges, he's a burned-out beach bum whose mental clock stopped sometime in the '70s. But when some thugs, mistaking him for his namesake, invade his pad, beat him up and, worse, ruin the rug that ties the whole living room together, he seeks redress. Or at least some replacement carpetry.

Since the...