One Battle After Another, from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, is definitely one of the best movies released on the 2025 movie schedule, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance (which he has said was partly inspired by The Dude) is a big reason why. The whole time I watched the white-knuckle action, I just couldn’t help but wonder if his character, “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun/Bob, is the same person as The Dude from The Big Lebowski. Like, if we’re talking about in an alternate timeline where The Dude (Jeff Bridges) got more radicalized after his role in writing the Port Heron statement (not the compromised second draft).
The Bathrobe Really Ties The Characters Together
The iconic opening scene of the Coen Brothers classic features The Dude walking through Ralph’s in his bathrobe, and, along with his sweater, it became one of the character’s signature looks. Like The Dude, Bob (I’m just going to stick with “Bob” from here on out), spends most of the movie in a robe. Instead of mixing White Russians and investigating a fake kidnapping, Bob is running for his life and trying to save his daughter.
Where The Dude seems to have spent most of his life bowling and listening to Creedence, Bob has spent most of his time hiding from the authorities after his involvement with the radical leftist political terrorists The French 75. The Dude got into the music business (as a roadie for Metallica), while Bob was taking extreme political action along with his girlfriend, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor).
Both Stick To A Strict Drug Regiment And Have A Problem With Authority
Even when things get intense, both Bob and The Dude fall back on smoking a little weed to stay calm. It doesn’t really work for either, but it works a little better for The Dude. Of course, the stakes aren’t quite as high (pun intended) for The Dude, either. How either of the characters operates effectively after smoking all that weed, I’ll never know, but somehow they do.
Both also have a serious problem with authority. Obviously Bob has an ongoing battle with Lockjaw (Sean Penn), and while the chief of police of Malibu isn’t hellbent on killing The Dude, his personality doesn’t seem that far off from Lockjaw’s. Like Bob to The Dude, Lockjaw is a more extreme version of the Malibu chief. Both are real reactionaries.
Neither Seems Like Father Of The Year Material
I’ll give Bob some credit here, he is trying to be a good father to Willa (Chase Infiniti). The Dude has no interest in being a father and tells Maude (Julianne Moore) as much after they enjoy coitus at The Dude’s house. Bob isn’t a great father in most ways, but his motivations are pure as he’s just trying to protect Willa.
If I’m honest, neither would be anyone’s first choice for a dad, right? Still, when Willa runs off to Oakland to protest at the end of One Battle After Another, it makes me happy. Just like knowing there is a little Lebowski on the way at the end of The Big Lebowski also makes me happy.