Lebowski's so great cause he's do damn lazy. His goal is to get back his rug, and I'm not even sure he really cares about it. Also, there's an artist who paints bowling pins of like pretty much every character from the film (including the nihilists, Liam-Jesus' bowling partner). It's pretty great. Here's a link of some of them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29737388@N04/2814615820/

For me, the biggest obstacle to really enjoying this film is that it's difficult to care about The Dude. His motives, his goals, his life seem so small and petty -- he's just a guy who wants his rug back and preserve a shred of whatever dignity he may have had (judging by how he's introduced in the beginning, I'm guessing very little.)

What makes him great? He's 180 degrees opposite of everything you read by the so-called gurus. Did I care about him, his motives or his supposed goals (or lack of)? You could ask the same thing about the bag lady on 42nd street who suffers from schizophrenia - but a yes or no answer isn't going to stop you from watching.