Napoleon Dynamite
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Movie Reviews of Napoleon Dynamite
Movie Review: Napoleon Dynamite: Not Another Teen Movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Napoleon Dynamite" is among the surprising wave of successful independent films that America has seen over the past year. It was written by Mormon filmmakers Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars newbie Jon Heder in the title role, accompanied by a stellar cast including Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez, Aaron Ruell, and Tina Majorino.
The story takes place in the quirky town of Preston, Idaho, where everyone seems to be inexplicably stuck in the fashions of the early 90's. As for a substantial plot... the movie has little in this department. The vague idea of a battle between the "popular kids" and the "geeks" is present throughout, but is not really the main focus of the film. Napoleon Dynamite is more like a collection of various scenes from the odd life of one very strange boy. The film reaches its peak with the student body president elections and the unconventional self-actualization of Napoleon himself.
This film is, on the surface, a comedy geared towards a teenaged audience. But, as the saying goes, this is not another teen movie. It is refreshing in its originality. Many teen films glorify the underdogs and the unpopular kids, but Napoleon Dynamite delves deep into the existence of those real people, the stereotypical "freaks and geeks", making no apologies for the great amount of painful awkwardness and cringe-worthy moments.
Compared to other top movies of the season, Napoleon Dynamite may or may not be a worthy competitor. It certainly has uniqueness going for it, not to mention an enormous cult following in both the teen and college age groups. However, it may not appeal outside of the trendy, offbeat scene because it lacks typical blockbuster appeal. While some see the film's lack of profanity, sex, or violence as a positive thing, this type of good clean fun doesn't always sell.
So what is Napoleon Dynamite really trying to tell us? While the aforementioned "power to the unpopular" message is strong and loud, the film is by no means a tear-jerking homage to the little guys. It seems to strive more for a good laugh and a quotably fun time with your friends. However, the audience is not laughing at Napoleon so much as they are enjoying the fact that the main character can be so glaringly "un-cool" and still be so... cool! The lovers of this film want to be Napoleon, and so the message becomes one of encouragement to revel in your own originality. It's cool to be a dork now.
If you are surrounded by fans of this movie who quote it all day long and can't seem to talk about anything else, then you might have been avoiding it. You may be thinking that it can't be all that great... And no one seems to be able to put their finger on exactly what makes this movie so fabulous. In truth, Napoleon Dynamite is one of those movies that you will either love or hate. So is it worth your time and money? Absolutely. There's a chance that it will be your favorite movie ever. And if it's not, at least you got to see what all the fuss is about.
Movie Review: This 33 year old physician laugh more than he has in years.
Summary: 5 Stars
For people like Roger Ebert who pan this movie... you just don't get it.
I'm not claiming any intellectual superiority or great film taste... it's just that I get it.
Perhaps because I see elements of Napoleon Dynamite in me. For instance... his response on the bus "whatever I feel like. Gosh!" When I was in 4th grade I moved from a northern town in Illinois (Geneseo) to a small town called Lousville (pronounced Lewis-ville) in very southern Illinois where the culture was very different and people had Alabama-like accents. When I was riding on the schoolbus, my first day in mid-semester, I was petrified. Everyone stared at me as they stopped at my delapidated trailer to pick me up. A little girl turned around and asked "What's your naaaaame?" To which I replied uuuuuup!" And from that day on was greeted by everyone in unison shouting "HI SHUUUUUTUUUP" as I walked on the bus. My reply was out of a vain effort at self-defense... not mean-ness.. and so was Napoleons.
Napoleon's journey was a remarkable, willful transformation, as was that of Deb and Pedro. Kip was amusingly transformed, but not so much with self-awareness. Uncle Rico was the only static character, which made it all the more funny because he had not changed since 1982.
Of all the lines, the one where Napleon told Deb to get her stuff because there wasn't enough room for his nunchucks made me laugh the most histerically.
Almost all the humor, other than "the dance" was rooted in hilarious subtlety and satire. I mean, how could I not be floored by someone bragging about chatting with hot babes online.... ALL DAY!
The bizarre time-period (An elegant collage of the 70's, 80's, and 90's) gives this film a wide audience and uses silly things from all decades to make it more hilarious.
My conclusion is that people who don't like this movie are either 1) TOO nerdy to realize they are only the one side of the nerdy characters 2) They ARE Summer Wheatley 3) People like Roger Ebert who are absolutely clueless about the level of subtle humor in this film.
To the people comparing this to laughing at clowns... their reviews had me laughing as much as the movie... it's a total comedy in itself. ND is not a clown, he's flippin Superman in moonboots with a fro!
The ONLY other DVD I own is Monty Python's the Holy Grail... which also has incredibly intelligent subtle humor woven into the surface silliness.
For the intellect and the funny bone, I give ND a 5/5 stars. As far as those complaining about the "terrible" soundtrack, I wish I could give it 6/5 stars for having "Forever Young" by Alphaville and "The Promise" by When In Rome as too of the main songs in the soundtrack.
This thing just gets funnier the more I watch it.
P.S. Dear Roger Ebert... please watch this film again, then watch the piece of junk that "Garfield" is, and look at yourself in the mirror and cry.
Movie Review: A Dynamite Film (With Skills)
Summary: 5 Stars
"Napoleon Dynamite" is a film by Jared Hess and stars Jon Heder. It's an independent film, more or less, featuring quirky characters, but unlike so many other independent films in this vein, it's not depressing or malicious. It's a lighthearted comedy with heart and personality, and a very quotable one at that. I don't remember it coming out in theatres here in Australia (I first heard about it here on amazon), but it has gone on to be a big hit on DVD. I've even seen a "Vote For Pedro" t-shirt or two being worn up in the city.
Napoleon Dynamite lives in an American country town. He loves to draw mythical beasts, dreams of numchucks and bo skills, plays tetherball, feeds his aunt's llama every day and doesn't have many friends. After going to a self defense course with his brother Kip, he is told that he has to have someone to watch his back. Fortunately, there's a new kid at school, a Mexican immigrant called Pedro. There's also Deb, a girl who left a whole box of merchandise she was selling on his doorstep for college money. The school dance is coming up, so is the school election, and Napoleon's uncle Rico is in town, a man who is stuck in 1982, in his glory days as a footballer. Also on the calendar is a meeting between Kip and La Fawnduh, his internet girlfriend. Do Napoleon, his family and friends have the skills to get through the year?
The film has a tacky, domestic kind of setting, and in that way it reminds me a bit of the Australian TV series "Kath and Kim", though that show doesn't feel quite as detatched and awkward as this film does. It's a good detatched and awkward though, it goes with and adds to the characters I think. They're all a bit out of the ordinary, but there's a kind of sense to what they're doing. Some of the fun I had watching this was trying to figure out what the characters were thinking and how they really felt about each other (Napoleon and Deb's friendship, for instance). Being set in Jared Hess' home town helped a bit, I think. He would have known where to go, what backdrops he wanted against the plot.
I could relate to a few of the characters in this film. I don't know anyone exactly like Napoleon, but I know a few people who have a few "Napoleon" elements. I know back in high school I used to draw pictures of weird creatures, and of girls in my class (though I never sent pictures to the girls like Napoleon did). I knew people who were way into the self-defense stuff, and one or two people who have Napoleon's way of replying. Maybe there's a bit of Napoleon (or Kip or Deb or Pedro) in a lot of people.
Special features on the regular edition include a making of the after-credits scene, and an audio commentary with Jared Hess and Jon Heder, recalling anecdotes and influences for the film. A lot of it is actually from Jared's life, it seems.
Definitely worth a look if you're interested.
Movie Review: Great Theatrical Release, Great DVD Release!
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie when it was raking in the bucks in the theaters. I sat there in the theater, laughing hysterically through the first ten minutes of "Napoleon Dynamite," simultaneously thinking "How long til this one-dimensional nerdy shtick gets old?
How long? No... it never got old!
This film accomplishes what the makers of the ancient "Revenge of the Nerds" series only wish they could have accomplished. You take a very nerdy adolescent in Napoleon, whose nerdiness is outdone only by his thirty-two year old brother Kip, who still lives at home, and spends his days chasing babes on the Internet, and dreaming of the day he will become a cage fighter.
Jon Heder delivers up a Napoleon who possesses a sloth-like delivery and a hysterical vapid gaze. Napoleon meets a kindred spirit at high school named Pedro, and the two take off on... well, adventure would be overdoing it, but let's say they have an awakening without even realizing they're having an awakening. Turning the twosome into a trio is Deb, their female equivalent, who has the odd combination of jobs: homemade keychain salesgirl and glamour photographer. Somehow these three characters achieve an unlikely charisma by way of lacking any charisma at all. Logic says they should have bored me to sleep, yet their hysterical monotone delivery cracked me up and pulled me in.
The genius of this movie is not so much the plot, though. What is amazing is how the folks who made this film ---from the director and editors as well as the actors--- keep it fresh enough to turn "Napoleon Dynamite" into a full length feature. The multitude of eccentric characters in this movie are reminiscent of the many "Saturday Night Live" characters who are hysterical in 10 minute TV sketches, but horrid when showcased for two hours on the big screen. The characters in "Napoleon Dynamite" beat these odds, and beat them bigtime! The results give us one of the funniest and most polished low budget films ever.
Oh--- in case a Napoleon Dynamite fanatic has yet to fill you in. Don't pop the DVD out of the player when the movie ends... there's more fun after the final credits roll.
The DVD release gives you the option of full screen or widescreen, and the extras featured are an absolute blast for the plethora of Napoleon Dynamite fans out there. The selection of cutting room floor scenes are excellent, the majority of which would have fit nicely into the final cut.
My personal favorite extra feature was the short documentary on the filming of the wedding scene. It is short, sweet, and shows the actors sharing their thoughts on the film, and just letting their hair down and having a blast.
This may not be an Oscar-Sweeper, but Napoleon Dynamite won me over all other the other critically acclaimed releases of 2004.
Movie Review: One of the Most Quotable Movie of the Last 10 Years
Summary: 5 Stars
And I say that with complete flippin' sincerity. Anyone who disagrees should just get out of my life and shut up!
Anyone who loves off-the-wall comedy will enjoy this movie. I had never heard of this movie until a buzz emerged, that it was a movie you could quote all day. As a lover of comedy dialogue, from Caddyshack to There's Something About Mary, I could not pass up the opportunity to annoy my coworkers with some fresh one-liners.
This movie is not Adam Sandler/Saturday Night Live funny, it's not Farrelly brothers 'gross-out' funny, and it's definitely not Woody Allen 'thoughtful' funny. It's Kids in the Hall 'weird' funny, but the humor is also very light, very innocent. There is not a single phrase of profanity spoken the entire film. Once you understand the movie's vibe - if you're not laughing after the first scene on the school bus, then forget it - you'll never want it to end. I had the movie for a week and probably watched it 10 times (and I work full time and go to school at night). Some, in fact most, of the lines are so dumb they're funny.
Napoleon is the ultimate nerd. He's such a Poindexter, that even the 'cools' don't know what to do with him. And his gang are all characters who have been alienated, usually by choice, with the exception of Uncle Rico, who blames his failure on something his high school football coach did back in '82. If you were ever picked on in school, ever been ridiculed or teased for ANYTHING, had ever felt lonely or unpopular, then you will identify with Napoleon. If you were a bully and pushed people around, then you'll definitely remember Napoleon!
Yes, this movie basically has no plot. There is no army to defeat, no bomb to diffuse, no girl to seduce. It's a slice-of-life movie where it doesn't matter what happens - we've only been given a window into this bizarre world. And a window is all we'll need.
I was surprised when some of my "hippest" friends thought this movie was terrible. Shocked when one told me she turned it off halfway through, and saddened when others told me they just didn't get it. One the other hand, nothing makes me happier than hearing Napoleon being quoted at work, school or out in public. It's like you can exchange Napoleon lines with complete strangers and laugh with the knowledge that you're `in the know.'
People don't like this movie, sure. But they seem to be the cynics who overanalyze, and expect every movie to change their life. Napoleon Dynamite isn't about sweeping the Academy Awards, or appearing in the Top 10 of all-time movies. It's not about sitting on the edge of your seat...It's about "your mom goes to college!"
AND DON'T FORGET THE SECRET ENDING AFTER THE CREDITS!!!
Mark McGinty is the author of "Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy"