Napoleon Dynamite
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Movie Reviews of Napoleon Dynamite
Movie Review: Very bizarre, very funny
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife and I drove 110 miles each way to see this movie yesterday. We weren't disappointed. Napoleon is a totally clueless but very sympathetic teenager searching for love and self-esteem. He's stuck in a nowhere town populated by oddballs, such as crazed farmers who drink egg yolks by the gallon, and FFA officials who run tainted milk contests. He lives with his grandmother,who is a dedicated meat eater and hell raiser, his older brother Kip, who is a chat room addict, and their pet llama, who is the sanest member of the family.
The film has a loose plot, revolving around Napoleon and his friend Pedro trying to get dates and run for class president. However, it's generously interspaced with bizarre, disjointed scenes that give it an almost surreal feel. There are hundreds of little gems that add to its humor, ex. the trailer-style decor of Napoleon's home, the tee shirts and shoes he wears, and the local restaurant his Uncle Rico eats at: it looks like an abandoned Dairy Queen from the 1950's.
My favorite character was, in fact, Uncle Rico, a middle aged loser who lives in the past. He's filled with get rich quick ideas, such as selling mismatched tupperware-style bowls door to door (each set comes with a free model ship) and peddling herbal breast enhancers out of his serial killer style van. He's obsessed with his glory days from the early 1980's, when he was a football player in high school. At one point he buys a "time machine" off the Internet, so he can return to the '80s. Napoleon decides to try it out - I won't tell you what happens, but the entire audience almost fell out of their chairs, they were laughing so hard.
The bottom line: this one is worth seeing in the theater, even if you have drive a good distance to see it.
It looks like independent films are coming into their own at last. Hollywood keeps turning out one formulaic loser after another, as is evidenced by the series of bombs I've suffered through this summer. Meanwhile, films like Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11 (both excellent and extremely well done, whether you agree with the premises or not) are making money and drawing big crowds. Maybe the major movie companies will learn something from all this and start producing good films again. But I doubt it.
Movie Review: This is an important movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
Roger Ebert must have been having a bad day when he reviewed this film, because he completely whiffed this one.
There is a great deal more to Napoleon Dynamite than may appear with one viewing.
Every once in awhile, a movie comes along that demonstrates an understanding of humanity that is profound. I believe this is one of those movies.
On the surface it is a funny movie about nerdy kids and their daily lives. The movie is not laugh out loud funny, nor is it a "nerd kids strike back at the system" formula movie. There are no Hollywood stars or Hollywood pretentiousness. The story is small, local, evenly paced and engaging.
Beneath the surface there is an important message about the inherent nobility and value possible in every human being, no matter what their surface appearance.
Napolean is pushed around and mocked by classmates, but he seems to accept it as part of his existence. He seems perfectly content with who he is and seems to, accurately, believe the problems are with who everyone else thinks he is. When he has the opportunity to "pay back" those humiliating him, he does it in an entirely creative and satisfying way. There is no violence and no humiliation in his response to his peers. He wins because he demonstrates nobility, talent and loyalty to his friends that raises him above those who demean him. He uses his inate humanity to shine a bright light on the shallowness of those that would place themselves above him.
His friends and relatives, each on the surface a "loser," get the opportunity to individually rise above the audiences automatic expectations of their "loser-ness" and become fully important and credible people.
I would highly recommend this film as an excellent family film, especially for families with kids in middle school and high school. The film asks you to examine your perceptions of others around you. Are you one of the people who mock those who you perceive as nerds, or are you more like Napolean? Perhaps a little of each? Either way, the movie is a refreshing affirmation of the best aspects of humanity and hopefully you can watch it and apply its lessons to your own life.
Movie Review: Napoleon Dynamite Is Just That...Dynamite!
Summary: 5 Stars
In the state of Idaho, nothing exciting happens to teenager Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), except for the daily beatings he endures by his fellow classmates. Which, might I add, are totally uncalled for. After all, Napoleon has an awesome 'fro, cooler than cool moon boots, a pocketful of taters, and an array of skills that can't be beat. Yet Napoleon still has to endure days filled with avoiding his cage-fighter-wannabe brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), whom spends his days chatting online with hot babes; and his slimy, scheming Uncle Rico (Jon Gries). But when Napoleon meets a new kid named Pedro (Efren Ramirez), the only kid at school with a mustache; and then runs into shy, creative Deb (Tina Majorino), the three friends put together a plan to elect Pedro for class president. But to beat spoiled, stuck-up Summer (Haylie Duff), Napoleon will have to unleash his super-secret weapon. One that no one knows about.
I will admit right now that I'm not often dragged into movies with such oddball characters as the one found in NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. But there was something about the trailers that got me interested in this one. Luckily, I ended up enjoying this movie more than I could have ever imagined. Jon Heder is a fabulous actor, who is sure to make his mark as a comedian after his performance as Napoleon. His two strange friends, Tina Majorino (ANDRE and CORRINA, CORRINA) and Efren Ramirez (RACE and KAZAAM) couldn't be better as the two oddball sidekicks who show up whenever they are needed, to express strange comments about various situations. Haylie Duff's (IN SEARCH OF SANTA) performance was quite good as the at-times vicious, popular girl, Summer. While Napoleon's unfortunate family members, Aaron Ruell and Jon Gries (REAL GENIUS and JACKPOT) are absolutely hilarious. Ruell's performance as the annoying older brother is right on target; while Gries' role as the scheming Uncle stuck in 1982, couldn't be funnier. I rarely say this, but NAPOLEON DYNAMITE is sure to go down in cult-classic history, as are it's many quirky stars.
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
Movie Review: Dude, you got like 2 feet of air.
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the earlier reviewers did an excellent job of critiquing the frequently clueless Roger Ebert for his complete misunderstanding of this character and this movie. Napoleon is a rural supernerd who doesn't want or need the acceptance of those around him. He doesn't long to be popular, he doesn't really care what people think of him, he just wants the space to be himself.
What's great about the character is that Naploen doesn't really change at all through the course of the movie. Sure, he helps a friend win a student election and manages to find a girl; but these are the result of Napoleon being who he is, not because he changed or grew into something else. He starts the movie as an almost monotonal, oblivious, strangely dressed little boy - and that's exactly how he is at the end of the movie. He doesn't even seem to realize it, but he's changed a lot of the people around him. Pedro gets some self confidence, Deb finds a guy who accepts her, Kip is happy, and even uncle Rico manages to stumble into a good deal.
Not that I care one way or the other, but the movie manages to be enormously entertaining without resorting to potty humor or wholesale swearing even once. An impressive feat considering the status quo of "comedies" these days.
My only gripe would be with the "extra" scene that was added in after the credits when the movie started earning some bucks. It really just seems tacked on and kind of pointless. I would have rather seen a few more minutes at the chicken farm, or some time spent showing how Rico met his girlfriend, or even some more of Napoleon as the biggest kid on the school bus. The tetherball game was the perfect ending for this movie, and nothing was gained by the addition of the new post-credits scene.
If you want something to compare it to, it carries a lot of the same pleasantly deluded loser vibe that "Bottle Rocket" had, along with a similarly great soundtrack. It's a great date movie, and a superior original low-budget comedy.
Now if I can only get my hands on a D-Qwon's Dance-grooves VHS, I'll be OK.
Movie Review: Life, love, and Tater Tots
Summary: 5 Stars
For those of you who think Napoleon Dynamite is a teen movie, you are (happily) mistaken. It's more like the opposite, the antithesis of every teen comedy you've ever seen. Not exactly a parody, but far from an homage.
This begs the question, what the hell is Napoleon Dynamite, anyway? Is it a straight comedy? An art flick? A social commentary? An original take on an old theme? Or is it something completely different altogether? Well, I guess its a bit of everything. Rushmore's little brother, if you will.
The story is, for the most part, pointless. It basically follows two weeks in the life of the title character, a manic-depressive social outcast with a gangly sub-afro of red hair. He's not exactly a nerd, he just doesn't really give a (...). He whiles away the school days drawing mythical creatures, getting beat up by steryotypical jocks, and alienating pretty much everyone in sight, except for Pedro, the new kid at school who has (according to our a hero) the greatest bike ever. He lives with his 32 year old brother Kip, whos spends his days chatting on line. There's also his uncle, a door-to-door tupperware/pill salesman who wants to build a time machine so that he can revisit his glory days as a high school football player. Maybe he can even turn pro.
And so what whacky events ensue? Nothing much, really. Napoleon falls in love. Kip considers taking Rex-Kwon Do. Pedro runs for class president. The world keeps turning.
Nihlistic? You bet your sweet (...).
The cinimatography is stark and featureless, the set pieces drab and taky. The characters are either distant and emotionless or so peppy and bright that you know they're faking it. There is practically no background music, no fancy camera angles, no cursing, no nudity, and everything's a cliche. The movie is so honest, so featureless, so free of gimmicks you can't help but love it. You can't help but applaud the fact that Napoleon Dynamite has literally no point to it. And then you'll burst into tears when you realize that the world Napoleon Dynamite depicts is the one we live in.