“That rug really tied the room together.”

Roger Ebert once said, “There are two things you can't argue in film: comedy and eroticism. If something doesn't make you laugh, no one can tell you why it's funny, and it's difficult to reason someone out of an erection.” The Big Lebowski doesn’t fit into the later category but by many, can be considered one of the most brilliant comedies ever made, with no real reason why.

Written by Joel and Ethan Coen and directed by Joel Coen, The Big Lebowski was a curious choice for the duo, which had just made the Oscar winning hit Fargo. Maybe why The Big Lebowski works is it truly aspires to be nothing more than the sum of it’s parts, or even less. Maybe it’s the overall laid-back approach to the film that’s so in tune with the character of The Dude, as performed wondrously by Jeff Bridges. Maybe it’s the subtle parody of film noir it hints at. It’s really hard to say why so many enjoy this comedy.

The film’s story (which takes many plot elements from the 1946 film noir The Big Sleep) follows The Dude (Bridges) during a short time of his life in 1991. Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski enjoys the simple life: bowling, whale sounds, and the occasional acid flashback. He hangs with his two friends, the Vietnam-vet on the verge of a breakdown Walter Sobchack (John Goodman in his best screen role) and the quiet, humble Donnie (Steve Buscemi). The Dude’s life is fine until one day, two strangers break into his house, demanding owed money, and piss on his rug. “This unchecked aggression will not stand,” says The Dude, as quoting George Bush Sr. From there, it follows a twists and turns of a money scheme, a ransom, and a botch full of characters that really add up to nothing.

One of the reasons The Big Lebowski can be considered a good film are all the excellent supporting performances. There’s Phillip Seymour Hoffman as an calm, cautious assistant to a millionaire. John Turturro as a skilled bowler who also exposed himself to an eight-year-old child. Peter Stromare appears as the leader of a group of German nihilists. Julianne Moore plays an erotic artist who uses Jeffery in quite amusing ways, turning sex into simply an intellectual experience. All these performers, characters, and story arcs in a way have absolutely no addition to the main plot, but essentially, it’s the side plots like these that make The Big Lebowski so enjoyable.

The Big Lebowski in a way is the least ambitious film ever set to date. That in its self makes it ambitious. It’s never afraid to try something completely out of context (take the extremely inspired dream sequence) or just simply have these moments of truly no development. There’s a scene in a bowling alley where Walter has claimed to seen an opponent step over the line. Though the opponent is sure he didn’t, Walter decides to pull out a gun in order to make sure the “right thing” is set. As Walter says, “This isn’t Nam, this is bowling. There are rules.” In the greater scheme, the opponent never appears, the consequence of the bowling alley is really never seen, and it doesn’t develop Walter as a character, but it’s too ridiculous and enjoyable not to laugh at.

A lot of this film hinges on the performance of Jeff Bridges as The Dude and it works perfectly. Bridges is able to show a wide range of emotions while still being, well “dudeish.” He truly becomes remains this chill guy in every scene, despite all these ridiculous things that are going on around him. He walks into every scene with a nonchalant grace that’s completely unmatchable by any other actor. Bridges might have given the one of the funniest performances of all time.

When I first watched The Big Lebowski, I was to say the least slightly disappointed. The film just wasn’t that funny. But repeated viewings have led me to reconsider this. It’s really about nothing, and to understand that, makes the film so much more enjoyable. The film begins and ends with a mythical cowboy played by Sam Elliot. At the end, he remarks, “it was a purty good story, dontcha  think?   Made me laugh to beat the band.” There is no way to explain why The Big Lebwoski is so funny. It just is.