Review: Napoleon Dynamite


Looking every bit the major dork (and then some!), newcomer Jon Heder stars as the title misfit, a lanky, somewhat surly teen with a somewhat crummy existence- He’s forever being slammed into lockers at school, his thrill-seeking grandma (don’t ask) is often absent, older brother Kip (Aaron Ruell- in a truly remarkable performance) is an internet chat room fanatic and one of the biggest losers I’ve ever seen, and his loser uncle Rico (“Real Genius” co-star Jon Gries) has come to stay, and try out his latest door-to-door scam in between reminiscing about his football-playing days. He’s a has-been who never quite was in the first place. So when his only friend, a sleepy-looking Hispanic named Pedro (Efren Ramirez) finds political ambitions, Napoleon decides to help him become class president. And yes, that really is just about all the plot this movie has. A loser with a losery (not a word, but sue me!) existence finally finds something slightly less losery than usual to be interested in…for a while. Throw in Hilary’s big sis Haylie Duff as the bitchy cheerleader Pedro is sweet on (named Summer, of course), and Tina Majorino as the female equivalent to Napoleon (side ponytail and all!), and you’ve got yourself a movie. What kind of movie, I’m still not sure.



Deliberately off-putting 2004 debut by director Jared Hess might be more fascinating than likeable. Napoleon may earn sympathy for being picked on, but he’s not exactly agreeable, but I knew many people like that in high school- some were my buddies, actually and I couldn’t stand them sometimes. Certainly this cult flick is an acquired taste, but it sure is unique. I can’t say that spending 90 minutes with Napoleon and his oddball friends and family was a highly entertaining experience, but it’s unusual, and yes, there’s a little of Napoleon in all of us, if you ask me (And if you’re being picked on all the time and have no social life, why should you be nice all the time? Life kinda sucks for adolescent nerds, and sometimes you just don’t feel like having a spring in your goddamn step, OK?). At the very least, you will have gone to school with someone like him, only Hess and star Heder (in an unforgettable performance, no matter whether you like it or not) have combined a whole lot of nerdy behaviours and mannerisms to create one uber-nerd.



My main problem, however, is that there’s actually not a whole lot to it, story-wise. Some people have even accused it of being self-consciously quirky and a tad smug in its focus on oddball characters and tone rather than plot. Still, you’ve never seen anything like this unexpected cult hit, and you’ll want to see it at least once. Scripted by Hess and wife Jerusha, it’s certainly a conversation piece.



Rating: C+

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