Since 2002, Lebowski Fest has summoned fans of the Coen brothers’ follow-up to their Oscar-gobbling thriller-drama Fargo. Attendees bowl. They drink White Russians. They dress as characters, like Peter Stormare’s Uli Kunkel when he’s in a Kraftwerk-y Krautrock band and when he’s in the porn-film-within-the-film Logjammin’. They watch the infinitely rewatchable The Big Lebowski, presumably while yelling stuff at the screen. Now the founders are trying to do the same thing for another classic laidback comedy: 1980’s golf comedy Caddyshack.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Will Russell, who co-founded Lebowski Fest, is hoping to launch Caddyshack Fest next summer. The former began in Louisville, Kentucky, where Russell is based, before spreading across the country. So it’s not surprising that the latter while begin there, too. But why Caddyshack — a more slovenly, adlib-heavy comedy than the air-tight Lebowski? Russell told EW:
“Bowling really ties Lebowski Fest together … It’s great to have an activity. I was like, ‘What’s another movie that has an activity? Caddyshack!’ It’s a f—ing great movie. It’s hilarious. It’s so quotable, just like Lebowski. I’m hanging out with my friend Matt Davis, and he’s always quoting Lebowski and Caddyshack, and I was like, ‘Dude, you want to do this Caddyshack Fest with me?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, man! Let’s do it!’
So there you have it.
The Big Lebowski dramatically underperformed when first released in 1998, confusing Fargo champions like Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert but turning into a cult sensation on home video. Meanwhile, Caddyshack was the 17th highest grossing film of 1980. It even inspired a sequel seven years later that failed to lure back [deep breath] stars Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Bill Murray, or even technical star Michael O’Keefe. (The sometimes prickly Chevy Chase returned for a few scenes where his mind is clearly on all the money he’s getting, rather than his lines or being funny.)
This will go well with the newish Caddyshack bar owned by the Murray brothers. Still, though Caddyshack is definitely the lesser picture of the two, it does have this: the finest final line in 123 years of cinema.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
