Nobody messes with the Jesus except, of course, for Turturro
When last we encountered Jesus Quintana, the bumptious Latino bowler was going door to door in his new neighborhood, meekly sharing that he was a registered sex offender. That was in 1998, the year the Jesus (John Turturro, at his most inspired) cameo-ed in Joel and Ethan Coen's feverishly adored stoner noir "The Big Lebowski."
Turturro reprises the role in the farce "The Jesus Rolls," which opened Friday, on Turturro's 63rd birthday. The film — which he wrote and directed with the Coens' blessing — is loosely based on Bertrand Blier's 1974 movie "Going Places," in which two French knuckleheads steal cars, grope women and boink themselves into existentially richer moments of being. I spoke with Turturro about resurrecting the Jesus, zealous disciples and more. Here are excerpts from the conversation.
Q: The Jesus of "Lebowski" has just served six months behind bars for what a rival bowler calls "exposing himself to an 8-year-old." Ethan Coen told me that after he and his brother conceived the Jesus in a "purple onesie," it was a short step to making him a pedophile.
A: I never dwelled much on that aspect of the Jesus. I was more embarrassed by the codpiece Joel and Ethan made me wear when I went door to door.
Q: In the new movie, how do you turn a cartoonish child molester into a cartoonish non-child-molester?
A: Pedophilia is a real thing, a horrifying thing. But "The Jesus Rolls" is a comedy, so I said let's address the crime and move on. A flashback in the opening scene reveals it was all a big misunderstanding involving the Jesus' penis.
Q: How big a misunderstanding?
A: Big enough to get him arrested.
Q: Another distinguishing feature of the Jesus is his voice, which is gentle and disarmingly high.
A: I first...