'The Dude' comes to the Palouse

Jan. 14—White Russians were the drink of choice Saturday when fans around the region gathered to celebrate 25 years of "The Big Lebowski."

Film buffs didn't take it lightly when they were prompted to dress up for Moscow's Lebowski Fest. Many went all-out to emulate their favorite character — even the favorite beverage of "The Dude" dressed for the occasion.

The festival was hosted by Palouse Cult Film Revival in partnership with Moscow Comedy. Other community organizations like Zeppoz, the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce also contributed.

The event included bowling at Zeppoz and a screening of the film at the Kenworthy. There were also cash prizes for the best costume, trivia and bottomless White Russians.

Mike O'Brien, founder of Moscow Comedy, said it's been a lifelong dream of his to host a Lebowski festival. He said he's been a fan since it was first shown in theaters and will never get tired of the unconventional comedy.

Eric Billings, founder of Palouse Cult Film Revival, on the other hand, isn't a huge fan of the movie. He said though it's not his favorite, he still wanted to engage the community with the cult classic.

"We wanted to do something interactive and find new ways to experience cult films," Billings said. "The idea of going bowling, having White Russians and then to the movies was totally my style."

The Palouse's first Lebowski festival got a lot of attention, Billings said. About 100 people bought tickets to bowl and around 175 pre-purchased seats for the screening.

O'Brien said the event was so popular, both organizations are thinking about making the festival an annual occurrence.

Dan Boucher and Sue Branting, of Moscow, celebrated their 21st anniversary by going to the festival. They came wearing matching yellow and brown bowling shirts, and enjoyed plenty of White Russians.

Branting said they are both big fans of the film, and she even refers to Boucher as "her dude" from time to time.

"What a coincidence, we're celebrating The Dude and my dude," she said.

Alys Lease, of Moscow, said she wanted to dress up for the festival but also stand out from other costumes. She came as a White Russian, which is coincidentally one of her favorite drinks.

Anthony Casteel and Emily Mountford drove up from Lewiston to show off their costumes of The Dude and Maude. They said even though they're terrible bowlers, they still couldn't miss the occasion.

Casteel loves the movie so much his girlfriend, Mountford, got him The Dude's sweater as a birthday gift. He said he dresses up as The Dude almost every Halloween.

Charlie Taylor, of Moscow, said his costume would be perfect if he grew out his hair. He added he debated buying a wig, but knew The Dude wouldn't have.

"It's the best movie on the planet," Taylor said. "But if you don't like it, that's just like, your opinion, man."

Ben Harlow and Sue Ann Ramella, of Moscow, said they're teaching their children lines from the movie because they like it so much. Ramella said "The Big Lebowski" is more than just a film, but a movement.

"With the divide in America right now, we need religion like 'The Big Lebowski' has to offer," Ramella said. "To unite us under 'the dudeisms.' "

The Palouse Cult Film Revival will be holding its annual film festival Feb. 14 showing "Showgirls" and Feb. 24 debuting "The Room." Visit palousecultfilms.org for more information.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com