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
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.
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.
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.
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, the two got to talkin'
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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