Napoleon Dynamite Movie Review

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

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Written by: Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess (written by)
Directed by: Jared Hess
Starring: Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Diedrich Bader, Tina Majorino, Haylie Duff
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he deals with his bizarre family life back home.

Verdict
It's certainly a strange and unique movie. A lot of its timing rests in the moments that a typical movie would cut. This is more a collection of scenes than a movie, and these scenes capture Napolean's incredibly awkward life. This is one of those movies you need to see twice. The first time consists of getting used to this movie, as it doesn't conform to the usual comedy. It's very quotable.
Watch It.

Review
The first time I saw this, I didn't think much of it. Over the next few days quotes from the movie kept popping into my head and I realized this movie had more to offer than I realized.

Watching this again so many years later, half the fun is knowing what's coming. This is a strange movie about a very strange kid. It's kind of dumb, silly, and simple, but it has a charm. It's definitely a movie that needs a second watch. It's just different from nearly every other movie, from the the lack of plot to the characters.

Efren Ramirez and Jon Heder play Pedro and Napolean

Napolean (Jon Heder) is an incredibly awkward kid that lies all the time to impress people. The lies aren't malicious. Unfortunately his lies are so silly there's no way someone wouldn't see through them immediately. It's things like stating how he can't fit his nunchucks into his locker anymore. Napolean is that kid that wants to be accepted but has no idea how to fit in. At home Napolean deals with his brother Kip who's busy chatting online and his Uncle Rico stuck in the past. When this movie is set is a bit of question. The credits show a student ID that indicates 2004 or 2005, but the fashion and style is completely 80s or early 90s.

Nearly everything the characters say is quotable. Everything is so out there, but once you understand this movie it's fun. It's overcoming that hurdle that can be the problem. There isn't an overarching plot. At one point we get a random scene of Napolean tasting milk for defects. It's related to school, but this scene appears out of nowhere. Rico starts a business selling plastic containers, and later buys a time machine so he can back into the past. This is basically a week in the life of Napolean, almost as a series of vignettes.

There's a reason this became a cult classic. It's one of those movies that is difficult to market. Jared Hess's goal was to capture all the awkwardness of his adolescence and he did that with the out of touch Napolean.