Movie Review: Napoleon Dynamite

Jared Hess - Writer/Director
Jerusha Hess - Writer
Jon Heder - Napoleon Dynamite
Jon Gries - Uncle Rico
Aaron Ruell - Kip Dynamite
Efren Ramirez - Pedro Sanchez
Diedrich Bader - Rex
Tina Majorino - Deb
Haylie Duff - Summer Wheatley

Kip (aspiring Cage Fighter) practices his technique against his brother Napoleon.


Every once in a while, a special movie comes along that changes our lives. It makes us question our values, makes us feel alive and for a couple of hours in the dark theatre, the world outside is lost to us. Sometimes a film shows us characters so sorry and pathetic that we gaze up to the heavens and say a thank you for our own genetic makeup. Napoleon Dynamite does the latter.

Napoleon and his brother Kip live with their grandmother in Preston, Idaho. The film never alludes to the wherabouts of their parents, not that it really matters for the story. Things are shaken up when grandma has to go to the hospital and Uncle Rico has to stay at the house to watch them for a few days. Who's gonna feed Tina?? During this time a new student named Pedro joins Napoleon at school. Pedro decides to run for student president, but he'll need Napoleon to unleash his secret weapon to defeat the oh-so popular Summer Wheatley! Will Pedro win? Will uncle Rico drive Napoleon crazy? Who is Kip's chat room girlfriend? And what is Napoleon's secret weapon??? A thick plot, indeed.

Napoleon Dynamite is unlike anything I have ever seen. About 20 minutes into the movie, I began to realize that the film had no real plot whatsoever and that it wasn't going to. I didn't mind so much. Usually in films where the characters are rock stupid, the audience is provided with the Straight Guy, the normal one to whom the audience relates. You'll find no such thing here. The small town of Preston, Idaho where the story takes place might as well be on another plane of existence. Everything in the movie looks like it was bought at a thrift shop. The movie is completely, one hundred percent populated with characters that most people would refer to as "losers." There's not really any conflict, no drama, no jokes, no action. Just losers. For those of you who know him, I would compare the title character Napoleon Dynamite to a young man named Eric Cheeseburger. Eric does have more energy and enthusiasm though.




Napoleon Dynamite and Eric Cheeseburger: Two peas in a pod.



Everyone, at some point, has gone to school with someone like Napoleon Dynamite. He sketches magical animals and warriors. He tells obvious bullshit stories ("There's a buttload of gangs at this school. A few of them wanted me to join 'cause I'm pretty good with a bo staff.") For his current events report, he talks about scientists placing explosives in Loch Ness and local wizards casting a protective spell to defend our friend below the sea. Uncle Rico reminds me of Al Bundy, only not funny or entertaining. Al Bundy once scored four touchdowns in a single football game in high school. Of course, he's a shoe salesman now but that doesn't matter.

What it boils down to is that the film entertained me. I get a kick out of watching Napoleon and listening to him talk. Many people will not. This film is a one trick pony, and the credits rolled just as it was wearing out its welcome. This movie will not appeal to the masses I think, and I'd only reccomend it to a select audience. Namely, those who have joined this blog.

Napoleon Dynamite scores 3 Cheeseburgers out of 4