In 1996, the Coen brothers released Fargo. After five straight critically adored films, the brilliant jet black comedy was hailed as a masterpiece. At that point it was determined that the Coen brothers could do no wrong, and we all waited with baited breath to see what they would come up with next. Two years later they came up with The Big Lebowski, a silly, wandering narrative packed with self-conscious performances and hollow fantasy sequences. Yes, it was anchored by Jeff Bridges’s hilarious turn as the Dude, but otherwise this was a real head-scratcher from the geniuses that had brought us Fargo.

Now, a decade has gone by, and The Big Lebowski has become one of the most quoted, referenced, and beloved comedies in memory. Bridges’s Dude has joined the pantheon of great film characters, and the supporting turns of John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro are also renowned. Nearly every person I’ve asked admits that they were disappointed by The Big Lebowski, only to fall in love with it over time. We all have movies that suffer from the “Lebowski syndrome,” though few are as universal as Lebowski itself. Here are three other titles, along with the aforementioned adventures of the Dude. All are considered to be good films, worth seeing again no matter how you felt about them the first time.

Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, and John Goodman in The Big Lebowski. (Courtesy photo)

The Big Lebowski (1998, rated R): This Coen brothers trifle is so filled with excess nonsense that it’s almost impossible to notice the clever Chandleresque plot underneath. The Dude—real name Jeffrey Lebowski—is a veteran stoner mistaken for a different Lebowski. In an effort to retrieve his stolen rug, the Dude is dragged into a bizarre mystery. The Dude’s bowling partners (Goodman and Buscemi) try to help, but they only cause significantly more damage. The mysterious Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) seems like she may have some answers, but has far more sinister motives. Soon The Dude is scuffling with private detectives, mobsters, and a gang of nihilists. By the time it’s over, the Dude has managed to solve a different mystery from the one he was dragged into.

Once the initial frustration passes, the excess scenes of The Big Lebowski are easy to fall in love with. And on repeated viewing we realize they are far less extraneous than they first seemed. Jeff Bridges should have won the Oscar that year (who wouldn’t like to yank it back out of Roberto Benigni’s hands?). And Lebowski has become a rite of passage for all aspiring stoners. It’s now considered a classic, and probably seen far more often than the more acclaimed Fargo.

Minnie Driver and John Cusack in Grosse Point Blank. (Courtesy photo)

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997, rated R): John Cusack co-wrote this hit-man comedy with three high school buddies, then costarred with close friend Jeremy Piven and siblings Joan and Amy Cusack. Imagining Cusack as a contract killer attending his 10-year high school reunion was a nice way to flip Cusack’s reality: a major movie star attending his 10-year high school reunion. Grosse Pointe Blank was a moderate success at the time. I found it enjoyable, but was put off by the uneven action and a broad, clumsy turn by Dan Aykroyd as a fellow hit man. Still, I enjoyed it enough to give it a positive review and to see it again a few years later. What I liked best the first time had gotten only stronger: the evocation of the high school reunion. And as was the case with Lebowski, the parts that frustrated me were easily forgiven. Aykroyd is still bad, but now you know he’s coming. The action is far less important than the wonderful interplay between Cusack and Minnie Driver, who plays his unfulfilled high school romance. Grosse Pointe Blank shares a trait with many movies that suffer from the Lebowski syndrome. It is not easily categorized; it takes us a viewing to acclimate. Once prepared, though, one can’t help but love it.

Hugh Grant. (Courtesy photo)

About a Boy (2002, rated PG-13): Here is another film that I didn’t truly love but reviewed positively. And it’s another movie that isn’t easily categorized. About a Boy stars Hugh Grant at his scruffiest, but is not really a comedy. This Nick Hornby adaptation has some pret­ty dark elements and a minimum of laughs. I liked the relationship between Grant’s loner and young Nicholas Hoult as Marcus, the boy who draws out the human in Grant’s character. I was less taken by the overused narration and the lack of big laughs. It wasn’t much fun to watch Grant romance single mother Rachel Weisz and her annoying son, or deal with Marcus’s suicidal mom (Toni Collette). What I objected to, of course, was the film’s substance. Directors Paul and Chris Weitz (American Pie, In Good Company) take a very light hand to even the heaviest of material, but that suits Grant’s reluctant vulnerability well. About a Boy turns out to be a sweet, satisfying film about a man learning to grow up in a very unexpected way.

Eight Men Out. (Courtesy photo)

Eight Men Out (1988, rated PG): When John Sayles first released this take on the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, I tried hard to like it. I admire Sayles, and I love baseball. But the movie felt stuffy, and the little on-field action hardly looked convincing. But the film kept showing up on best-sports-movie lists, and years later I took another look. It turns out that when you pay attention, the stuff on the field is far less interesting than everything else in Eight Men Out. Sayles manages to fashion a movie that honors the sport as opposed to vilifying it. The real villains, of course, are the team owners. When a number of White Sox (later nicknamed the “Black Sox”) players ultimately took bribes to throw the World Series, it was hardly dignified. But it was understandable. Sayles, and Eliot Asinof’s source novel, actually create a tribute to baseball and its players.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California, and works for the Cartoon Network. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.