Hang out with The Dude tonight at The Garland

You can't buy much for $1 anymore. Oh, if you scour the aisles at your local grocery store, or stop by a Dollar Tree location, you can find everything from shampoo to party supplies, all for just that single Washington.

But movies? Not to date myself or anything, but I can remember $.25 movie matinees (which is what I paid one Saturday to see the Charlton Heston version of "Ben-Hur"). These days, though? Even The Garland Theater charges $5 for general admissions anymore ($2.50 on Wednesdays).

Not for select showings during the summer, however. Tonight at 9:30, The Garland will screen the Coen brothers' 1998 film "The Big Lebowski" for the admission price of, yes, $1. In fact, the Garland-area theater is boasting a whole selection of summer showings for that same discounted price.

If you haven't seen "The Big Lebowski," you should know that it's a typical example of the Coens and their offbeat attitude. Jeff Bridges plays The Dude, a pot-smoking guy who gets mistaken for someone and finds himself involved in a scheme that … well, let's let Roger Ebert explain: "It involves kidnapping, ransom money, a porno king, a reclusive millionaire, a runaway girl, the Malibu police, a woman who paints while nude and strapped to an overhead harness, and the last act of the disagreement between Vietnam veterans and Flower Power. It has more scenes about bowling than anything else."

First time I saw "The Big Lebowski" I was disappointed. The second time, some 20 years later, I connected with the humor and laughed all the way through. Either way, you're likely to find something about the movie that's entertaining.

Especially for a buck.