If you love movies like The Big Lebowski, then the following list will take you on many more strange mysteries and misadventures.
The Big Lebowski is about a perpetually baked middle-aged slacker, Jeffrey âThe Dudeâ Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) who is drawn into a kidnap plot after some goons mistaking him for his millionaire namesake pee on his rug…
The Coen Brothersâ cult classic has even inspired its own religious cult, Dudeism. Itâs a favorite amongst stoners and is one of the most quotable movies of all time, but at heart, itâs an offbeat homage to Raymond Chandler.
10 Cult Classic Movies Like The Big Lebowski
1. Inherent Vice (2014)
Inherent Vice is the only place to start on a list of movies like The Big Lebowski. It shares so many similarities â a baked hero on the case, LA location, and outlandish situations with a stellar cast.
Itâs Los Angeles, 1970, and a stoner private eye investigates his ex-girlfriend’s disappearance and a drug-smuggling ring called The Golden Fang, forming an unlikely alliance with an ultra-square cop…
Another masterpiece from Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice has a notoriously complex plot that loses many people. But who cares when the mystery is so fun and the characters are this crazy?
2. Clerks (1994)
Two convenience store clerks spend their day talking about movies, annoying their customers and doing as little work as possible…
Kevin Smithâs influential debut is shot in crude black and white and looks dated, but the foul-mouthed and hilarious dialogue still hits the spot.
Clerks is a slacker classic that paved the way for movies like The Big Lebowski, as well as introducing us to cult icons Jay and Silent Bob.
3. The Nice Guys (2016)
Back to 1970s LA again, where we join an alcoholic private eye and a menacing enforcer on the case of a murdered porn star and a missing girl who might be next…
Director Shane Black has been honing his mismatched buddy movies for the past 30 years, and has created his masterpiece with The Nice Guys, centered around the inspired pairing of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.
The mystery itself is no great shakes but Gosling shouldâve had an Oscar nom for his performance, and Crowe displays unexpected comic chops. Their chemistry makes The Nice Guys endlessly rewatchable.
4. Kingpin (1996)
A superstar bowler loses his hand thanks to his nemesis, Ernie McCracken. 17 years later he gets another shot at glory, but once more McCracken stands in his way…
The Farrelly Brothersâ gleefully raunchy and gross Kingpin features hilarious turns from Woody Harrelson as the one-handed old pro and Randy Quaid as an Amish bowling prodigy, but Bill Murray runs off with the movie as the detestable McCracken.
Cinema has largely overlooked the sport of ten pin bowling, so thankfully movies like The Big Lebowski and Kingpin show it in all its glory…
5. The Long Goodbye (1973)
…and weâre back to â70s LA as private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould this time) gets into a heap of trouble by helping a friend to the Mexican border while taking a parallel case involving an alcoholic writer and his alluring wife…
Robert Altmanâs jazzy riff on Raymond Chandlerâs classic novel is matched by a similarly free-form performance from Gould as the famous detective.
Movies like The Big Lebowski and The Long Goodbye pay homage to the great novels of Chandler while also putting a modern twist on the material.
6. The Big Sleep (1946)
Itâs an oldie but a goldie, but without The Big Sleep there arguably wouldnât be movies like The Big Lebowski, which plays like a stoned remake of Howard Hawksâ classic detective thriller.
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by a millionaire to stop a blackmailer threatening his wayward young daughter. The case goes far deeper, involving gambling rings, double-crosses and murder…
Forget trying to follow the infamously twisty plot and just bask in the crackling dialogue and the silver screen aura of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
7. Harold & Kumar Go to the White Castle (2004)
Two friends get stoned and get a powerful craving for White Castle burgers and go on a surreal odyssey across New Jersey to satisfy their munchies…
Rude, crude but ultimately rather sweet, Harold and Kumar has become a stoner classic. John Cho and Kal Penn are two very likeable guys to hang out with, and the comedy still works even if youâre not high.
Like the Dude, our baked heroes encounter many oddballs on their quest. Unlike The Big Lebowski, the only mystery is when theyâll get their burgers…
8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
A manic journalist and his monstrous lawyer go to Las Vegas in search of the American Dream, and take ridiculous amounts of drugs in the process…
Terry Gilliamâs crazy visuals are perfect for this hallucinatory adaptation of Hunter S. Thompsonâs counterculture novel. Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro feast on the scenery as the two anarchic protagonists.
Movies like The Big Lebowski and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are ready-made for a cult audience thanks to the drug-addled misadventures of their central characters, and reward repeated viewings.
9. Dazed and Confused (1993)
A group of high schoolers celebrate their last day by cruising around and hitting parties, knowing that when the dawn comes up theyâll have to start thinking about their future…
Richard Linklaterâs Dazed and Confused is a classic hangout movie â nothing much happens, but thatâs largely the point. It also features Matthew McConaugheyâs breakout role as a parking lot lothario with a thing for high school girls.
Dazed and Confused is more about hanging out with the characters than any kind of plot, which is why it makes this list of movies like The Big Lebowski.
10. Fargo (1996)
A salesman arranges for a couple of crooks to kidnap his wife so he can claim the ransom from her father, but things go disastrously awry.
Whenever thereâs a conversation about the best Coen Brothers film, movies like The Big Lebowski and Fargo frequently top the list.
Trading sunny California for snowy Minnesota, this pitch-black comedy shares one of the Coensâ favourite tropes â a bunch of desperate characters scrambling for a bag of cash. Frances McDormand won an Oscar for her role as the heavily pregnant police chief on the case.