'The Jesus Rolls' trailer full of 'The Big Lebowski' nostalgia as Susan Sarandon, John Turturro leave prison
Few films from the turn of the millennium are as iconic as the Coen Brothers neo-noir comedy ‘The Big Lebowski’. Almost 22 years later, even without “The Dude”, Walter, Theodore, Bunny, Brandt and the others, we can still come to experience the magic of this movie in the form of ‘The Jesus Rolls’.
The title, perhaps a play on “the Dude abides” phrase made popular in the movie, refers to none other than Jesus Quintana, the iconic character from the 1998 film played by John Turturro. Jesus, in ‘The Big Lebowski’, was the eccentric bowler from the Dude’s rival team and had allegedly spent time in prison for exposing himself to an eight-year-old.
Per the film’s official synopsis, “Hours after being released from prison for good behavior, Jesus Quintana (John Turturro) reunites with his best friend and fellow underachiever Petey (Bobby Cannavale). In the first in a series of rapidly escalating bad decisions, they steal a vintage car parked in front of an upscale salon and hit the road for a no-holds-barred joyride — until the car’s gun-toting owner (Jon Hamm) catches up with them, wounding Petey. Fleeing the scene with fiercely free-spirited shampooist Marie (Audrey Tautou), Jesus and Petey continue their adventure in a series of stolen cars, cementing their partnership with an epic petty-crime spree and a three-way romance.”
Apart from being a ‘The Big Lebowski' spin-off, the film is also supposed to be a loose adaptation of the 1974 French comedy ‘Les Valseuses’, whose English title was ‘Going Places’.
The full-length trailer of ‘The Jesus Rolls’ doesn’t quite reveal the plot as much as it does some amount of fan service. We see Jesus being released from prison. We also see his classic move -- licking a bowling ball before going for the shot. We see John Hamm shooting Bobby Cannavale and we see a wild ride that also has Susan Sarandon and Pete Davidson as well.
One has the right to be apprehensive about the film, as merited for unofficial spin-offs. After all, it is unfortunately not a Coen Brothers film. But the trailer reassures at least one thing: Turturro, who has written and directed ‘The Jesus Rolls’, seems to have gotten the essence of that one small role he played years ago absolutely right.
In an interview with The Independent last year, Turturro said that while the directing duo had no part in creating this sequel (of sorts), he had their blessing: “They’re my friends, close friends, and were supportive when I said I wanna explore this character more. They said you gotta do it cause we’re not doing it! If I have something to show, I show it to them if they’re around.”
Speaking about the film, Turturro added, “It’s a bit of a racy movie. It shows how stupid men are. That’s what the movie is kinda about — the women are the stronger, more together characters. I had to tweak it a little bit but now I feel really good about it. It’s basically an exploration of Jesus getting out of jail. It’s a comedy but a very human comedy.”
‘The Jesus Rolls’ will hit select theaters on February 28, and will be available on-demand on March 6.