THE BIG LEBOWSKI is a film that possesses ultimate rewatchability. I could honestly watch that movie five times a week and not get bored. One of the best parts of the Coen brothers' classic comedy was the introduction of John Turturro's Jesus Quintana, the smack-talking, bowling ball licking, Hispanic lothario. As much as I loved that character I never in a million years thought we'd ever get a spin-off film, let alone one twenty-two years after THE BIG LEBOWSKI released. However, I never thought people swallowing Tide pods would ever be a thing but here we are.
In just a few weeks Jesus Quintana's story will be told in THE JESUS ROLLS, and today Screen Media Films dropped a bright and shiny new trailer for your viewing pleasure. I have to say the film looks like a vastly appealing buddy/comedy road trip with a stylish flair. If anybody knows this character it's Turturro who also wrote the screenplay for THE JESUS ROLLS. In addition, John Turturro took on directing duties, his first time helming a project in seven years. For those of you wondering what antics Jesus Quintana and his compatriots will be getting up to, here is a brief 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.
If the plot of this film sounds familiar to you cinefiles it should. Aside from being a spiritual sequel to THE BIG LEBOWSKI, the movie is also a remake of Bertrand Blier's 1974 French film GOING PLACES. It's a movie Turturro highly reveres and apparently felt Jesus' escapades were a great way to retell Blier's tale. Whether or not the film resonates with audiences remains to be seen however.
THE JESUS ROLLS starring John Turturro, Bobby Cannavale, Jon Hamm, Audrey Tautou, Christopher Walken, Tim Blake Nelson, Pete Davidson, and Susan Sarandon rolls into theaters February 28.