TOP 5: Jeff Bridges

I'm a very big Big Lebowski fan. Aside from having seen it a number of times that left the lower double digits in the dust quite some time ago. It's arguably the greatest work from two very important directors and its endlessly quotable to the point where you're friends irritation at hearing 'nobody fucks with the Jesus' for the thousandth time will take physical form. Which will likely connect with your face. But it doesn't seem to matter to us because the movie's world is one you can wonderfully lose yourself in. So it is much to my delight to see Jeff Bridges pay homage to the Dude by slightly retooling him for The Men Who Stare at Goats, the review of which will be up this weekend. In celebration of this, here's the four-time Oscar nominee Bridges five best roles in film according to me and yes there is no Starman here because that film blows. Also I may have given the number one spot away in this prattle though. Just maybe.

5) Lightfoot, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

It seems like an off the wall choice, given the fact that the film is a fairly run of the mill Clint Eastwood 70's action/thriller type deal, even if it is by Michael Cimino. But Bridges rises above the material and gives a deservedly Oscar nominated performance as a headstrong and erratic young criminal. Its a hard sell given the movie's title and all but he really is very good.

4) Ted Cole, The Door in The Floor

Bridges most successful stepping into Indie movie territory, or at least the indie movie as we've come to know it. He plays a self-absorbed, borderline misogynist writer (is there any other kind) to great effect, and while the movie certainly mines familiar territory, good performances from Bridges and co-star Kim Basinger make it worth it in the end.

3) Jack Lucas, The Fisher King

He has always played assholes to great effect, possibly due to the subversion of his naturally affable screen presence (I have vocab), but this is probably my favorite of them. He provides a very credible, pleasingly cynical presence in a movie that might otherwise have been crushed by its own unleashed whimsy.

2) Jackson Evans, The Contender

Not to be confused with the Sly Stallone produced boxing reality series of the same name. This is one of those underplayed movies centering around political intrigue and scandal. Bridges terrific performance as the charmingly seeming, but deftly manipulative President Jackson Evans won him his most recent Oscar nomination, but is so good it still feels under-valued.

1) The Dude, The Big Lebowski

I think I've blown my below picture blurb for this already. So just watch this instead.