Rating: *** [3 out of 4]
Quick Look:
In rural Idaho, spazzy nerd Napoleon Dynamite must battle bullies, cheerleaders and his evil Uncle Rico. Does he get the girl and the respect he deserves in the end? Should you care? Find out.
Review:
There are very few films out there quite like "Napoleon Dynamite".
That's not to say "Dynamite" is an original masterpiece. Instead, "Napoleon Dynamite" is a sitcom, transformed into a film.
Many people come out of this feature and immediately comment about where Napoleon could go after high school. Some suggest college, others suggest the business workforce of New York City.
Others see Napoleon's future wrapped around some sort of fast food establishment. All of the above are strong possibilities. Why do people feel this way?
Napoleon is such a strong character that it's very likely he could move on to any one of those places. He's a strong leading man. Unlike NBC, who has pigeonholed 'Joey' into a state of perpetual auditions mixed with dumb jokes making him an uninteresting lead, Napoleon is so versatile that we believe he's capable of just about anything.
The character at hand here is a 'spaz'. He's not smart. He's not cool. He's actually rather mean and defensive. Napoleon is weird. He's interested in odd things and he lies about virtually every facet of his miserable life. He is partnered with two unlikely friends, Pedro, a Mexican transfer student and Deb, a photo nut who also appears very out of date. Together they take on the world's many obstacles.
To describe the plot of "Napoleon Dynamite" would be nearly impossible as there is no coherent narrative. Rather, "Dynamite" is strewn together with three smaller plots; an origin story, the prom and the student class election. Running about thirty minutes a piece, each story has an opening, rising action and a climax. Only the election story has any real falling action.
The advertisements are slightly misleading; leading one to believe that the film takes place in the early 80s. Napoleon actually appears to be living in present day Idaho. What makes this town so interesting is that it's as though the town hasn't culturally evolved. Instead, each member lives life in whatever way they please. Napoleon's Uncle Rico lives life as though it was still 1982 and he was still a high school football star. Rex, a kung fu instructor, lives life like its post Desert Storm while the cheerleaders dance to the Backstreet Boy's early work from the 90's.
This could all just be a miscommunication between the set designers and the director, but it appears quite intentional. One would probably need to live in Idaho to truly enjoy the silly nature of this film.
Since the story leaves little to be desired, the film ends up placing all of its eggs into one basket. "Napoleon" relies on the character's different quirks for laughs. It's strange since there is virtually no characterization to speak of yet these characters feel so alive. It may take two viewings to really get into them, but there's a lot to learn beyond the surface level.
One major discomfort felt during the films short running time is that we're not watching these guys beat the bullies. We're watching them and mocking them. This is, for the most part, a new age "Revenge of the Nerds", and like that film, we are made to feel bad for them... kind of. Most of the jokes that make us laugh though are jokes geared towards each character's deficiency. It's often very, very funny, but your moral bone, the one connected to your funny bone, might start to feel some pain by the end.
Additional cheers to Jon Heder, Tina Majorino , Aaron Ruell and Jon Gries as Napoleon, Deb, Napoleon's brother Kip and Uncle Rico. There are literally hundreds of quotable lines to choose from between these four. Though the entire cast is great, these guys are the standouts.
"Napoleon Dynamite" is guaranteed to become a cult hit despite its flaws. One would hope that that director/writer, Jared Hess will stick with this character and develop him further either in cinema or televised form. Napoleon needs to return and the sooner, the better.
*Scorecard*
As entertainment: * * * 1/2
As a film: * *
Overall: * * *
Napoleon Dynamite, as played by Jon Heder, is perhaps the most pathetic individual you've ever seen in a film. That is until later in the same film when you meet his older brother Kip. And then his Uncle Rico. This then is the peculiar allure of "Napoleon Dynamite" as written and directed by Jared Hess. In a world of wildly diminished expectations it doesn't take much to be a hero.
Napoleon Dynamite -- and there is no suggestion that this is not his real name -- is the kind of guy who was born to be slammed into a high school locker for no apparent reason. Unless, of course, you count his big glasses, bigger teeth, bad blonde 'fro and his uber-geek hobbies of sketching mythological creatures and playing tetherball by himself. When challenged, Napoleon can kick into a rough approximation of an alpha male, talking about his proficiency with nun-chucks, his totally sweet girlfriend who lives in another state and his summer spent hunting wolverines in Alaska. He can even verbally assault someone without uttering a single profanity. It's like watching a Mormon trying to cop a 'tude. But the film provides no one to look up to -- not the knobby kneed older brother who lives in online chat rooms, nor the uncle who is so desperate to live in the past that he buys a homemade time machine on Ebay. There's no teacher, student or parent with anything to emulate. I don't even recall most of these people having a name. Leaving it to Napoleon, a meek girl named Debbie and a laconic new Mexican student named Pedro to form a loose alliance in order to carve out a little niche of self-respect.
"Napoleon Dynamite" is a funny film. Often very funny. The laughs are unexpected until you start to figure out that the film aspires to be nothing more than idiosyncratic. One of the hot buzz films from the Sundance Film Festival, "Napoleon Dynamite" appears to have been specifically geared to the Sundance audience, famous for rewarding the aggressively quirky and not penalizing for twinges of smugness. While it laudably refuses to overplay the triumph of the nerd story arc, it still leans heavily on proven devices, including the assumption that white middle-class small town Idaho is inherently funny, and thus Mexicans will be inherently threatening. The film also borrows an off-brand Duff, Hillary's sister Hayley Duff to play a straight-up version of the popular high school blonde we can root against. There's even a sunny someone-for-everyone finale.
Still, props must be paid to Jon Heder for creating a singular character and delivering the goods in an audacious dance solo. Napoleon Dynamite isn't the most sympathetic hero. And on second thought, he's really not that pathetic after all. Even if we are laughing at him more than with him, I never for a moment worried that our man wasn't going to come out of this with his 'fro intact.
Rating: ******** [8 out of 10 stars]
Ever since Sundance 2004 we have been hearing raves about a little 80,000 dollar indie called Napoleon Dynamite. The film about a nerdy Idaho kid and his weird family and friends has been a hit at arthouses and online where fansites spout dialogue and debate the film's deeper meanings, if there are any. Finally after months and months of buzz this little indie that could is finally opening to wider audiences and you can believe the hype, Napoleon Dynamite is friggin' sweet.
Napoleon Dynamite is unique because it is essentially plotless. Jon Heder plays Napoleon, a highly unlikable, antisocial misfit with thick glasses, snow boots in summer and a shock of orange curly hair that looks like a David Lynch creation. His family is equally odd. His brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) is a mousy nerd who spends all his time on the net chatting with his "girlfriend." Both Kip and Napoleon are the type of guys who have girlfriends no one else has ever met.
Napoleon's uncle Rico (John Gries) is a traveling salesman who lives in his van and can't get over his high school memories of imagined football glory, he never actually got on the field. Then there is Napoleon's grandmother, unseen for most of the film after she is injured in an extreme sports accident. Napoleon's only friend is Pedro (Effren Ramirez), a new kid in town who seems shy and reserved but has no fear when asking out Summer (Haylie Duff), the most popular girl in school. She turns him down.
Despite being highly unlikable, Napoleon still attracts the attention of Deb (Tina Majorino) who sells crafts door to door and takes glamour shot photos. What she sees in Napoleon is anyone's guess, but hey it's a movie. It's not necessarily a romance but this is not necessarily a movie where any kind of conventional plot is involved.
The key to Napoleon Dynamite is getting through the rather dreary first 25 minutes of the film. Once you get past the introductions, writer/director Jared Hess quietly begins piling absurdity on top of absurdity until the film's climax, which is an absolute laugh riot of a dance sequence. The film is structured so that every odd detail leads to another and the laughter builds to the climax by which time you just can't stop laughing.
The whole thing is played completely serious. Deadpan is an understatement, every outlandish detail from Napoleon's hip hop dance lessons and Pedro's campaign for class President to Rico and Kip's time machine are all played without a hint of irony. There are plenty other quirky subplots like Kip's girlfriend, Deb's glamour shots and the school dance.
The strangeness extends to the film's setting, a small town in Idaho on the Utah border, which looks entirely stuck in the 80's. All of the characters, especially Napoleon, look as if they were aliens from 1983. The only way to tell the film is not from the 80's are references to the Internet and the film's unusual pop soundtrack. The timelessness is just another in a film overflowing with quirks.
Hess and his cast do not condescend to winking at the audience and that makes every layer of weirdness that much funnier. These characters are completely committed to every last bit of oddness in this story. Even Haylie Duff has a scene where her dignity is tossed to the wind and she plays it as straight as possible with no pop star pretension.
Jon Heder is terrific as Napoleon especially considering that he is never likable. Napoleon is rude, dull-witted and not the most handsome guy. He has zero social skills, it's truly a chore to root for him and yet by the film's climactic dance sequence you can't help but cheer him on. That is if you can stop laughing, which is hard.
Movies like Van Helsing or Day After Tomorrow may rake in big bucks but where those films are disposed of within days of their release, Napoleon Dynamite is the kind of cult phenomena that will be around for years to come. This one may not be for everyone but those who love will watch it again and again. I know I will.
Rating: *** [3 out of 4 stars]
In the "Director's Statement" that was distributed to the press at the Sundance Film Festival's screenings of this movie, cowriter-director Jared Hess's feature debut, Hess recalls, "One day on the streets of Chicago, I met an old Italian man who had the best name I've ever heard of in my life: Napoleon Dynamite. I decided then that it would be the title of my first feature film." Cute story, but a rather curious one to those of us who remember that the singer Elvis Costello was using the name Napoleon Dynamite as a playful alias back in 1986, when Hess was all of six years old. Well, maybe the old Italian guy was a big Costello fan. Or maybe Costello himself met the old Italian guy on the streets of Chicago and stole his name! Or maybe Hess is completely full of it!
I probably shouldn't be so hard on Hess--a superegoless instinct for self-promotion is something of a necessity for fledgling filmmakers today. The more germane issue is that, as catchy a movie title as it makes, Napoleon Dynamite is a rather inapt name for this picture's title character (played by newcomer Jon Heder), a swizzle-stick towhead teen geek whose eyeglass frames are wider than his shoulders and whose open-mouthed gape is so constant that you'd be surprised he doesn't pull whole flies from between his teeth when he flosses. Like all of the other principals in this film, Napoleon is not unlike a cartoon character. And here's where the good news starts.
Contrary to any reports that the flat midwestern milieu and outlandish characters of this high-school--outcast--makes--sort-of-good movie bear any resemblance to the work of Todd Solondz or Wes Anderson or any other live-action filmmaker, Napoleon Dynamite is doing something completely different. While Solondz's world is a hell hole and Anderson's Rushmore is a place of high-toned and often poignant whimsy, Napoleon Dynamite's unceasing burlesque creates a world that is pretty much a cartoon--and it's a damn funny cartoon to boot. Its goofy characterizations and nonsensical sight gags may not hew to the Aristotelian unities, or have anything to do with The Way We Live Now (it's hard to believe, for example, that any high school in the country, be it in a red state or a blue one, is as thoroughly devoid of sexual intrigue as the one depicted here), but by golly, they did make me laugh. And as Roger Ebert once observed, when you're reviewing comedies, the only thing that really counts is whether they're funny. (I'll admit for the record that I thought Home Alone was pretty damn hilarious the first time I saw it.) Napoleon Dynamite is, finally, too funny for me to stay ticked off at--funny enough that I'll refrain from describing the gags that made me laugh, lest I spoil them for you.
Grade: B+
Rating: *** [3 out of 5 stars]
SUNDANCE REVIEW
Napoleon Dynamite lives in a rural town of Preston, Idaho, and though I did not always appreciate this film's humor, there is no doubt that Napoleon will be remembered as one of the more memorable screen characters in recent memory. "With a tight red 'fro, some sweet moon boots, and illegal government ninja moves, he is a new kind of hero." Hard to disagree, this is as a unique a teen comedy I've seen, and one that I respect. It got its laughs with some stupid and sophomoric stunts, but it never was lewd or disgusting. I don't recall too much profanity, if any. This is a story of Geek, Geeker, and Geekest. I'm still not sure who is the geekiest. Napoleon's family consists of his loser geek brother Kip, who is looking for love in online chat rooms; Uncle Rico, who, like almost everyone else, is stuck in the 80s when he was a high school football star; and Grandma, who enjoys going out to the dunes on her quad-runner. When his friend Pedro decides to run for class president, they must defeat ever popular cheerleader, stuck on herself, Summer Wheatley. Jon Heder gives a truly awe-inspiring performance as the titular character. Writer-director Jared Hess and co-writer wife Jerusha Hess deserve recognition for a truly unique and in the end heartwarming story, though one you have to be willing to open up to and take the good with the bad
Rating: * [1 out of 5 stars]
Five minutes into Napoleon Dynamite, and I'd already had it. The slack-jawed main character, the dead-eyed supporting cast, the monosyllabic dialogue, Jon Gries wearing seventies porno-chic jumpsuits with fake cleavage sewn on and hair that looks like it belongs to Erik Estrada circa "ChiPs"--all add up to what seems like the longest Sprite commercial ever.
The title character (Heder) lives in Preston, Idaho, with his grandmother (who's into dune buggies) and his 31-year-old unemployed brother, Kip (Ruell), who spends his time chatting with his chat room girlfriend, LaFawnduh. Sporting a red 'fro and soda bottle-glasses, Napoleon Dynamite ambles down streets and hallways doing anything but living up to his name. Tall and lanky, like one of those clowns on stilts, he hardly looks like a "Napoleon." Always peering out from half-closed eyes, playing tetherball by himself, or standing in the middle of a room with his mouth hanging open, he's hardly dynamite, either. And yet, he's strangely confident, fully self-possessed as if he were in on a joke that could never hope to make sense to the rest of the world.
When his grandmother is injured in a dune buggy accident, Napoleon's uncle (Gries--re: those outfits? My god.) moves in with them. Uncle Rico is one of those entrepreneur-wannabes without capital or business sense but a stubborn pipe dream of striking it rich. His plan of action? Door-to-door sales. He recruits a reluctant Kip to sell plastic bowl sets (kind of reminds you of a certain scheme that rhymes with "Flupperware," yeah?), and the expected hijinks proceed.
Meanwhile, Napoleon has become friends with a new student, Pedro (Ramirez, giving Heder a run for his money in the sleepwalking department). After his request to go to the school dance with cheerleader Summer (Duff, giving the best, least mannered performance in the film) is denied--she gives him a coy note with the word "NO!" scrawled inside--Pedro decides to run against her in the class presidential election. With the help of Napoleon and Deb (Majorino), a mopey local girl who sells homemade weave bracelets to save up money for college, Pedro mounts his campaign.
What follows is yet another the-geeks-will-inherit-the-earth story whose stiffness is matched only by the characters on screen. Napoleon Dynamite feels like a vaudeville routine put on by a group of sixth graders. The players are smart enough to get the humor, just not observant enough to understand the concept of nuance. Everyone speaks in an uninspired somnambulistic style, as if they think they invented the notion of the Teenage Wasteland. Heder's Napoleon may bring to mind Bill Haverchuck from TV's "Freaks and Geeks," except without Bill's emotional depth or the joy in Martin Starr's performance. "Freaks and Geeks" also cared for its characters. I'm sure Napoleon's director, Jared Hess cares as much about his, but it doesn't show. Napoleon Dynamite acts like it's a shrine to misfit culture, but the key ingredient that's missing is empathy. Hess seems more interested in fitting as many non-sequiturs and sight gags into his film than in giving us characters or a story that has any emotional bite to it. So the picture limps along, not quite billing itself as a stoner comedy but definitely targeting that audience. Thing is, stoner comedy, when done right, is gold. It's when the movie itself is as stoned as its audience that a problem arises. And Napoleon Dynamite is the thousand-yard stare in movie form.
Moral Rating: Good
Moviemaking Quality: **** [4 stars out of 5]
Primary Audience: Teens
Expecting a film about the nineteenth century French emperor? If so, the movie could entail a fabricated story about how the fascist leader tried unsuccessfully to invent explosives. But the title of that flick would be "Napoleon Blownapart." No, Napoleon Dynamite is a totally new, modern character, and as authentic and uniquely drawn as the film that is named after him. In this forum, you'll be infused with independent cinema and explode with laughter.
Perhaps adhering to the idea that it's "chic to be geek," newbe director, Jared Hess, has spared no expense in celebrating his anti-hero, Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), a completely socially inept high school student in a small Idahoan town. Napoleon lives with his gruff, four-wheeling grandmother (Sandy Martin) and his thirty-two year old effeminate brother, Kip (Aaron Ruell), and is the epitome of the passe idea of "nerd." Centered around typical teenage issues involving high school dances, student government elections and frustrated adolescent love, the uncomplicated plot is clearly a platform to highlight the quirkoholic character Napoleon.
As conventional as some of the story choices are, they work, and the film is so well built with other refreshingly original choices that it's nothing to scoff at. Beyond his name, Napoleon amuses us with his usual abrasive tone and fantastic stories. In the locker room, the jocks pick on him and ask what he did last summer. He irritatingly replies, "I told you, I was hunting wolverines with my uncle in Alaska!" Also entertaining is Kip's relationship with his internet girlfriend, LaFawnduh (Shondrella Avery), and Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), who comes to be guardian over Kip and Napoleon while their grandma is away. And their karate lesson at the local dojo gives us more to laugh at.
As raw as this film is, the cleanliness is quite incomparable to most contemporary comedies. At no point was any cuss word detected. The closest it comes is when Napoleon is frustrated and adds in a "freakin'" or "flippin'" to what he says. The most offensive thing might be a business Uncle Rico starts later, working with breast enhancers. It is only mentioned a couple of times and over the course of the film as we have learned to dislike Uncle Rico, our distaste for him is associated with this business. This film does not try to be anything other than it is: a newfangled, straightforward comedy to incite honest laughter.
With blatant attempts to make us laugh, there are a few moments where we hit our head on the ceiling of the humor. Still, the reason we can find Napoleon so amusing is because, to some degree, we might identify with being the outcast or with the awkward adolescent era of our lives. Underneath all of the mockery, we can have sympathy for people like Napoleon struggling to find acceptance and their place in this world. Where Gus van Saint's "Elephant" might be a depiction of the tragedy of high school misfits, Napoleon Dynamite is the comedy. And the ending is capped off with a euphoric experience that leaves you uplifted.
Violence: None / Profanity: Minor / Sex & Nudity: Minor
Producer's Synopsis: "From Preston, Idaho comes Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), a new kind of hero complete with a tight red 'fro, some sweet moon boots, and skills that can't be topped. Napoleon lives with his Grandma (Sandy Martin) and his 30-year-old, unemployed brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), who spends his days looking for love in Internet chat rooms. When Grandma hits the road on her quad runner, Napoleon and Kip's meddling Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) comes to town to stay with them and ruin their lives.
Napoleon is left to his own devices to impress the chicks at school and help his new best friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) win the election for Student Body President against the stuck-up Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff); all the while making sure to feed Grandma's pet llama Tina, and avoiding association with Uncle Rico and the herbal breast enhancers he sells door to door. Napoleon and Pedro put their skills and knowledge of piñatas, cows and drawing to good use, but it is a surprise talent that leads the two to triumph in the end."
Rating: ** 1/2 [2.5 out of 4 stars]
Try to remember the biggest dork you have ever met, multiply the dorkiness another ten times, and then you would have Napoleon Dynamite. Jon Heder needs to prepare himself for cult icon status. His portrayal of Napoleon Dynamite will cement him in film history as the greatest dork ever put on celluloid. I laughed at every single thing that Napoleon said and did. It's such an original character. Jared Hess, the film's writer and director, comes out of the gate blazing with his first film. It's flawed, but refreshingly creative. It reminds me of the first time I saw Wes Anderson's Rushmore. The stroke of brilliance is there, waiting to be fully realized.
Napoleon is tall and lanky, with a curly red afro parted down the middle, and wears salvation army t-shirts with parachute pants and snow boots. He lives with his brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) and grandmother in the farming town of Preston, Idaho. Kip is thirty-two and spends all day in internet chat rooms talking to chicks. Their grandmother races dirt bikes and has a pet llama in the backyard. Napoleon is the outcast and biggest dork in his high school. He spends his time drawing pictures, honing his nunchuck skills, and telling stories of hunting wolverines. Napoleon's grandmother breaks her coccyx, that's the ass bone if you're wondering, and his Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) comes to look after the boys. Rico is permanently stuck in 1982. He believes life would have been much better if he'd been put in the big high school championship football game. Now he lives in a van and spends all his time selling tupperware and breast enhancement products door-to-door.
Napoleon's world is turned upside down by two new friends. Deb (Tina Marjorino) is a fellow classmate that sells keychains, does manicures, and shoots glamour shots to raise money for college. Pedro (Efren Martinez) has just migrated from Mexico. He doesn't say much, but wants to ask out the hottest girl in school and run for class president. Napoleon becomes Pedro's best friend, and with Deb's help, tries to get Pedro elected. Meanwhile, Kip is finally meeting his internet girlfriend, Lafawnda, and Uncle Rico is going crazy with his harebrained schemes.
The film is all about the characters. The plot is just a secondary device used to peer into their peculiar lives. They are strange in every way imaginable. The fun comes from watching these weird people go about their lives in this dinky little town. It's not mean-spirited or cruel. In fact, you root for everyone to succeed, even Uncle Rico. Their interaction with each other and the setting is hilarious. It's almost as if these people could only come from a desolate place like Preston, Idaho. It's like looking into a warped, alternate universe.
Jared Hess focuses a lot of attention on specific looks for each character. He makes their outward appearance reflect what they're like inside. I think this is brilliantly done. One look at Napoleon and his cohorts easily gives away their personalities. No one has any deep revelations. What you see is what you get. That kind of honesty makes the film incredibly entertaining. Napoleon would have been such a letdown if he had some great epiphany. Doesn't happen, he's a dork to the bone and it permeates everything he does. He is a nice guy, as are his friends, they genuinely care for each other, but go about it in their own unique ways.
It's hard to describe just how funny this film is. It has to be seen and experienced. I thought it was wildly creative. Others have complained that the story is lacking. I disagree, what happens in the film is not supposed to be earth shattering. It's a high school kid dealing with his friends and family. What makes it work is just how different the kid, friends, and family are. Napoleon's goofy sayings are stuck in my head. I find myself saying stuff like "friggin sweet" in normal conversation. The mark of a good film is what you take from it and I'm still uttering Napoleonisms two weeks later.
Rating: * 1/2 [1.5 out of 4 stars]
"Napoleon Dynamite" is an example of a curious modern phenomenon: films that seem designed to attract a cult. It's as if immediate commercial success would somehow foul up the marketing plan.
But it's hard to imagine just who the audience for this would-be comedy might be - unless it's people who enjoy making fun of clueless geeks.
Red-headed, awkward and intermittently surly, Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) is a teenager whose days consist of being barely tolerated by his family and largely misunderstood by everyone else. His only friends are Deb (Tina Majorino), a sad-eyed girl with whom he's smitten, and Pedro (Efren Ramirez), a Latino classmate whose ambition he admires.
The plot, such as it is, involves Napoleon's efforts to cope with his geeky brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), who's constantly cruising the Internet for potential sexual liaisons, and their Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), an oily character who, rather improbably, hawks a breast-enlargement concoction door-to-door.
The story doesn't come to a conclusion - it just stops. Nothing is resolved. Some might argue that, through his actions in the course of the narrative, Napoleon scores a small triumph. But an equally persuasive argument could be made that he merely experiences a brief respite from his ongoing misery.
Heder can't be faulted. He throws himself into his thankless role with such exuberance that he almost salvages it. But as the saying goes, if it's not on the page, it's not on the stage.
It's possible that Jared Hess, the film's director, sought to explore territory similar to that of Terry Zwigoff's "Ghost World" and Todd Solondz's "Welcome to the Dollhouse." But those films made clear, provocative statements about modern American life, and their humor was humane. Zwigoff was commenting on the emptiness of consumer culture and its impact on personal relationships. Solondz gave us a vision of the suburbs that was far more disturbing than the slick sentiments of "American Beauty."
In contrast, "Napoleon Dynamite" is little more than a bitter and ineffectual joke. Indeed, there's something pathetic about the film.
True, you may laugh. But ask yourself: Are you laughing at the situation or at the characters? Is your laughter good-natured or malicious? And is it any different than the laughter that, in the world of the film, causes the characters pain?
Rating: 7 out of 10
Story:
At Idaho's Preston High School, Napoleon Dynamite is the weirdest kid in class with his red afro, strange attire and a penchant for one-man tetherball and drawing mythical creatures. His odd family and the school bullies make his life miserable until he befriends a quiet Mexican boy named Pedro and a shy girl with hobbies as strange as his own. The question is whether Napoleon can rise above his geek status to achieve something great, like getting Pedro elected class president.
Analysis:
The Sundance Film Festival is having a good year. This year's festival has already introduced an impressive array of unique and quirky films, and Jared Hess' Napoleon Dynamite can be added to the list of Sundance discoveries.
Like Mean Girls and Saved!, this is another comedic look at the lives of high school teens, this time from the viewpoint of a rather strange kid from the Pacific Northwest. Napoleon-we assume that is his real name-is a guy out of time and place, living in a world that doesn't appreciate his "skills", which include telling the deficiencies in milk from taste. Determined to be himself, he suffers from the misery of living in a town made up of characters right out of "King of the Hill": his effeminate brother Kip chats online with an Internet sweetie; his womanizing Uncle Rico is a complete loon, stuck in the past with a football win that remains the high point of his life. When the two of them start working on a get-rich-quick door-to-door sales scam involving Tupperware, it's a bit too much for Napoleon.
Napoleon Dynamite may be one of this year's great oddball character, like something from a "Saturday Night Live" or "SCTV" sketch, and possibly one of the strangest movie characters since Jason Schwartzman's compulsive geek in Wes Anderson's Rushmore. This odd protagonist is brought to life by Jon Heder, a talented new discovery, who brings just the right amount of boredom and deadpan delivery to make it seem like he really is the normal one in the crazy world around him. His character doesn't necessarily evolve, as much as the viewer begins to buy into his delusions of grandeur as they develop over the course of the movie. His proclamations that something is "sweet!" or someone is a "frickin' idiot" becomes almost endearing after awhile, threatening to become instant catch phrases. Heder is also a talented physical comedian, making every pratfall work that much better, and though you're always laughing at him rather than with him, he makes the part and the movie work.
Rico (Jon Gries) and Kip (Aaron Ruell), steal many of the scenes with their over-the-top performances, and though you would never believe that these three could possibly be related, it makes Napoleon's situation more outrageous and his frustration more deserved. Some of the scenes between the three will have you crying with laughter--Rico's "time machine" that he bought online, Kip's finally meeting his sweetie and going through a startling transformation-and the physical comedy is excellent.
Despite the abundance of laughs, Napoleon Dynamite gets a bit tepid after awhile due to its banal dialogue and stiff performances. Much of this may be intentional to emphasize the humor of the slow, lazy town, but the majority of the characters are base stereotypes. Napoleon's friend Pedro is the worst of the lot and could be potentially offensive to Mexicans, while Tina Majorina's Deb is barely awake in most of her scenes. Hillary Duff's sister Haylie plays the obligatory popular cheerleader type who runs against Pedro for class president and treats the outcasts with suitable scorn, but that part of the story is played down. Blink and you may miss "Third Rock from the Sun" star Diedrich Bader in a small and forgettable role as an inept martial arts instructor, who is completely unnecessary to the script. None of these might be considered great "performances" as much as small town stereotypes thrown into odd situations.
The movie's originality and weirdness is charming at first, but once it gets into a set pattern, it's not nearly as surprising or entertaining. Too often, it turns its back on the intelligence and cleverness of similar movies in favor of cheap laughs. Most of the humor comes from throwing Napoleon into a number of awkward situations to see how he deals with them, and essentially, the movie is a bunch of vignettes with a minimal overlaying story. There are a lot of funny ideas in play, but the whole thing is a bit hit or miss. For every visual gag that get laughs, there are two more that don't work. Many of the situations are far too outlandish to seem real.
The biggest shame is that the movie resorts to the "win them over" performance ending that has been used in every "outcast" movie from Revenge of the Nerds to About a Boy. At first, Napoleon's climactic dance routine is amusing, but the humor is short-lived and the reaction of the school, immediately accepting him due to his dance "skills" is so contrived and unbelievable that it ruins any enjoyment of the usual "weird guys wins them over" ending.
The Bottom Line:
Napoleon Dynamite, the movie, is a weird and often hilariously funny movie, and the same can be said about Napoleon Dynamite, the person, thanks to Jon Heder's entertaining performance. The lack of a cohesive story and the disjointed way the segments are assembled lessens the impact when compared to some of the more clever high school movies. Still, if you were the awkward outsider in high school, the movie will take you back to those days and help you realize that maybe things weren't so bad back then, and that alone is worth more than a few hearty laughs.
Napoleon Dynamite is more than a nerd -- he's the literal embodiment of the term; he's the eternal nerd. The jocks at his Preston, Idaho school joylessly give him noogies and slam him into his locker as if it was their daily obligation to do so. Napoleon reacts, as real nerds do, with a sense of righteous indignation -- he huffs and puffs and kicks at the air in frustration. At home, when his eccentric grandmother asks about his day he responds with a petulant, "It was the worst day of my life, okay?!!" It's business as usual in his world, but he never really seems defeated.
This is the kind of movie that wears its pedigree a little too obviously; Napoleon Dynamite is the love child of Pee Wee Herman and Dawn Wiener from Welcome to the Dollhouse. It's a pretty funny movie but it's also a bit of a robot-baby, written as if by a Sundance savvy "scriptomatic" (insert eccentricity here: Napoleon has a pet lama named Tina!) and is directed by Jared Hess as if he were channelling the deadpan wit of Wes Anderson.
Napoleon Dynamite may be a tad too calculating for its own good, but it has its own pleasures too. Hess has an eye for a good visual joke. Napoleon sketches away like a ten-year-old drawing a creature called a "liger" -- a combination of a lion and a tiger "bred for its skills and magic." And there's a soaring tetherball scene at the end that builds to an ecstatic finish.
Along the way the movie hits all the marks that goose our emotions a little as well. There's a prom scene that's kind of touching without being cloying (the song? Alphaville's icky classic "Forever Young"), and there's an assembly scene where a supremely confident Napoleon gets to display his "skills" and win over the hearts of his schoolmates. That's the charm of this movie: Napoleon is an archetypal loser who never once doubts that he's something of a hero and deserves to get the girl in the end.
Le recours aux farces grasses est-il l'unique pré-requis auquel un film doit répondre pour être classé dans la catégorie comédie? À voir Napoleon Dynamite, le dernier gagnant au US Comedy Arts Festival qui a aussi fait un tabac à Sundance, il faut se rendre à la triste conclusion que oui... Ce film indépendant qui marque les débuts du jeune Jared Hess dans le monde du long métrage constitue une suite de gags tout aussi prévisibles que primaires.
Véritable symbole du degré infini que peut atteindre la stupidité humaine, Napoleon (Jon Heder, air lobotomisé en permanence) vit à Preston, petite ville de l'Idaho, où les démonstrations Tupperware et les lamas domestiqués sont monnaie courante. Autour de lui gravite une kyrielle de personnages menant des existences toutes plus pathétiques les unes que les autres. Arborant afros surdimensionnés, moulés dans d'atroces vêtements fluorescents et affublés d'immenses lunettes teintées, ils semblent tout droit sortis des années 70, un écart temporel qui ne suffit guère à justifier leurs sévères lacunes au niveau psychologique. De l'oncle pervers (Jon Gries, repoussant à souhait) qui vend des pilules destinées à augmenter la masse mammaire de ses clientes, à Pedro (Efren Ramirez, peu loquace), l'étudiant étranger qui courtise tout ce qui bouge, en passant par Deb (Tina Majorino, étonnamment juste), l'élève rejetée qui se consume d'amour pour le héros, tous les protagonistes sont inspirés par des clichés obsolètes à l'extrême. Ce détail ne semble toutefois pas déplaire aux acteurs qui s'accommodent avec un plaisir évident de rôles dénués de profondeur.
Malheureusement, leur contentement ne suffit pas à détourner l'attention du public de la futilité du propos. Certaines expressions originales, quelques chorégraphies absurdes et deux ou trois gags parviennent à nous soutirer un semblant de sourire, mais l'ensemble reste lourd à digérer - à l'image de cette bouffe de cafétéria envers laquelle Hess semble nourrir une véritable obsession et qu'il nous sert constamment en gros plans. Délire entre jeunes adultes nostalgiques ou portrait d'une Amérique qui se repaît de plus en plus de son ignorance? Difficile de dire ce qui qualifie le mieux ce croisement entre American Pie et Beavis and Butthead. Chose sûre, cette glorification de la bêtise a de quoi désillusionner l'humaniste le plus acharné...
Rating: $$$$ [4 out of 5]
If you're seeking a summertime diversion from the blockbuster mode (a la last year's "Bend It Like Beckham"), look no further than "Napoleon Dynamite," a quaint, quirky and surprisingly skilled feature from first-time director Jared Hess.
Written by Hess and wife Jerusha, shot for some $200,000 in a vast on-screen nothingness that apparently is Idaho, this is an odd but honest and somewhat tragicomedy about a kid who just doesn't fit in. Napoleon, played in a breakthrough understatement by Jon Heder, is a monument to awkwardness and a treatise in dysfunction. Geeky and gawky, he's an easy mark for crushing against a locker amid the traffic of a highschool hallway.
It's a friendship with Pedro (Efren Ramirez), every bit the outcast himself, that spawns a tad of brightness in Napoleon. In turn, Pedro's campaign for class president against the coolest of the cool girls (Haylie Duff, faring better than kid sister Hilary of "A Cinderella Story") "releases" Napoleon and fuels the laugh-out-loud humor which Hess captures in brief, bright and sometimes brilliant doses.
The climax, though a stretch, puts Napoleon literally in the spotlight, and Heder responds with an unquestionably strange but undeniably poignant moment. It's simply dynamite, befitting this little "Napoleon" of soon-to-be-fame."
Napoleon Dynamite... dud or plenty of bang for your buck, you decide. Either way you see it, Napoleon Dynamite is bound to be a cult-classic before long, due to the vivid characters and memorable quotes that Director Jared Hess has laid out for us. That said, I hardly recommend this movie to everyone who enjoys a good indie comedy -- some people won't get it. But to those of you who grew up with sci-fi games, insane relatives, chat rooms, low self-esteem, public high school, a rural community, or had friends as a teen who only knew "hip" as a body part, go see this movie.. right now! For the most part, Napoleon Dynamite is a typical teen comedy spoof about an ill-fitting, delusional teenage boy trying to live his life in a small Idaho town. The movie rolls through various cuts of comical situations that surround his family, friends, foes and his own sweet skills. You shouldn't expect a well-developed plot, a moral to the story, or even a common theme.. unless mundane can be considered so. What you should expect however, is to be warmly entertained, experience moments of reflection back upon your own geekish moments of yester-years, and to gush forth at least a chuckle a minute (which is 82 if you're counting.. GOSH!). Simply put, I loved this film. And since it revolves solely around the characters, so shall this review.
Napoleon Dynamite (played by Jon Heder), sets your tongue firmly in cheek from the moment you see him. He's a tall, four-eyed, gangly, red afro'd geek, who wears pegasus t-shirts, has high-water pants and some sweet moon boots. Poor Napoleon lives with his grandma and older brother Kip in a semi-rural house in Preston, Idaho. And somewhere within his trials, tribulations, drawings, milk tastings, need for chapstick, Gatorade chugging and sweet dance moves.. you will either take a liking to him or want to pound Napoleon against the lockers like the rest of the bullies.
Napoleon's brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) takes geekdom to a whole new, creepy level. Not only is he in his 30's and living at home, but he has greasy hair, wears glasses that give him a Bill Gates"ish" look, has braces, a bad lisp, and stays home and eats chips while spending hours on his computer chatting with "serious babes" in Internet chatrooms. Besides, everyone knows he's training to be a cage fighter.
The brothers' grandma (Sandy Martin) makes an early exit from the film after she takes off on a mysterious trip, only to land herself in the hospital over an ATV incident in the sand dunes.
Unfortunately for them, this means that Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), who "would have taken State back in '82 if the coach would have only put him in", moves in to watch over the boys. A splendid character, Uncle Rico is a portrait of self-fascination who consequently eats their steaks, sells tupperware and breast enhancement products, buys a time machine on the Internet and makes videotapes of himself throwing the football to relive his never-was glory days.
As the movie progresses, Napoleon finds a friend in the new slow-speaking kid at school, Pedro (Efren Ramirez). Pedro, who is the only student who can grow a moustache, is a shining co-star in this movie as he makes his run at class president. And at some point in the midst of him shaving his head, "building" a cake to ask the hottest girl in the school out to prom, making a pinata of his election opponent, and having a sweet bike with pegs and a Mexican flag on it, it hits you.. wait a minute, I remember Pedro.. he was Speedy Gonzalez's cousin! The resemblance is uncanny, but then again, that Pedro never "offered you his protection".
Meanwhile, fellow gal geek Deb (Tina Majorino) provides glamour shots of our guys, sells boondoggle keychains for college, makes her own dresses and wears a one-sided ponytail. While not as comical as the rest of the gang, this works for the audience as she does provide some balance and well-needed film bouyancy at times when you fear the story might begin faltering with too many whacky characters in one cast.
Other memorable appearances include: LaFawnduh - Kip's Internet jungle-love girlfriend who arrives for a visit from Detroit. She also does a number on him and transforms him into a super fly, dew rag wearin' playa with a little bling-bling. Is there a jab here at Eminem? Or a similarity to Bringing Down the House? I thought so, but you be the judge.Tina - The family llama who eats left-overs. Napoleon hates her.Rex - The founder of Rex Kwan Do, a hilarious must-see bit of this movie. Part played by Diedrich Bader (Drew Carey Show, Office Space, etc). Summer - The requisite hot chick (Haylie Duff), that like in all nerd movies, we learn to hate because she's self-centered and will ultimately fall to the power of the geeks.
Be it the characters, the comedy, or the sweet skills, somehow Jared Hess makes this movie work. The many farcical moments in this film play out one after another, culminating in the marriage of Kip and LaFawnduh.. which seems an odd end to a tale mostly about Napoleon. Regardless, this movie was pure joy. And if you want a couple of extra laughs (Heck yes!), stick around until after the credits, for a bit more of the story. To me, any movie that you leave and quite continuously over the days thereafter, is a winner. All in all, Napoleon Dynamite is a refreshing film that is quickly headed to cult-classic status.. but I already told you that like infinity times, GOSH!!
Single Guy Cliff Notes: Guys, if you're dating a gal who loves guffawing comedy and is say, between 20 and 40, this is a good one for you. It's not littered with potty humor, it's not mushy or intellectual, it won't offend anyone, it's just a good, clean story about a geek getting by. And guaranteed, it will give you plenty to laugh about later. And if you're daring, try the "milk" line on her..
Drawing on such great flakes as W.C. Fields, Preston Sturges, and John Waters, a rarefied strain of cinema strives for utter nonsense. When it succeeds, it can be excruciatingly funny, like Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket, or merely excruciating, like Trent Harris's immortal Rubin and Ed. If this mini-genre were a facial expression, it would be slack-jawed and vacant-eyed and with a suggestion of something dark, twisted, and knowing deep within. Not unlike the title hero of Jared Hess's feature debut, which maintains its pure idiot savant inspiration with only occasional lapses into self-conscious inanity.
Napoleon (Jon Heder) is a nerd who undergoes the requisite hazing at his backwater Idaho high school, but all that seems negligible in the context of his absurd and unwholesome personal universe, which includes his minute, mustachio'd 31-year-old brother, Kip (Aaron Ruell), who spends his time in a cyber chat room with unseen love LaFawnduh; his oddly Clintonesque Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), who sells plastic dishware while seeking a time machine to return him to 1982 and the day his high-school football team lost the state championship with Rico on the bench; and his pal Pedro (Efren Ramirez), who has a killer bike and is the only kid in school with a moustache. Give it a kick in one direction or another and Napoleon Dynamite would fall into the darkness of David Lynch or the crudity of the Farrelly Brothers. As it is, it's one of a kind, and kind of a masterpiece.
I waited in the rain to go into the Alamo Drafthouse during SXSW 2004 to see "Napoleon Dynamite" and found myself unaccustomed to having to maneuver an umbrella in a crowd. It's very important to be conscious of your surroundings when attempting this undertaking. I finally got into the inside and headed upstairs while the line moved slowly forward. The hold-up was so that the RIDICULOUS F---ING A--HOLES OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT FILMS could check everyone's bags and wand them for metallic items. I admitted that I had a camera but I was press and that my camera was approved by SXSW and THE F---ING A--HOLES MADE ME LEAVE MY BATTERIES WITH SECURITY. Is that not the stupidest f---ing thing you ever heard? I left my batteries and while heading up into the lobby shouted, "IT'S A FESTIVAL!" I felt better anyway.
I realized the screening would be full to the brim so I made the quick decision to not eat or drink (no waiter ever ask me if I wanted anything anyway) and to give the film a horrible review because of the RIDICULOUS F---ING SECURITY. F--- these moronic f--ing a--holes. The overwhelming evidence continues to support the fact that it is the labs and the effects houses and other people who get to prints of the films before the public are the ones pirating these films! That Fox Searchlight and a number of other distributors insists of harassing the people who come to see their films (mainly people they are hoping will promote the film by "word of mouth") is just absurd. This piracy hysteria continues to be out of hand and the distributors are ridiculously pissing off the very people who might promote the film for them. Whew. I fumed for 30 minutes and I hated the film. I still don't know if I hated it because it was bad or because I was so pissed off at the distributor.
So can I give you an honest evaluation of the film after the f---ers who are spending millions of dollars on it pissed me off so badly? I'll try.
The film often seems like an "SNL" skit that goes on for 80 minutes. The titular character is played by Jon Heder, a young man who seems to have taken this one unique and quirky character and physically and mentally embodied him. His performance reminded me very much of Heather Matarazzo in "Welcome to the Dollhouse" and I think it will be a long time before anyone can separate him from the role. But, in fact, the film is much to reminiscent of that Todd Solondz film. It's as if some kid who saw "Dollhouse" nine years ago when it was released grew up and decided to become a filmmaker.
But where "Dollhouse" was dark and cruel, "Napoleon Dynamite" is quirky and funny. Without a doubt there is much angst here but none of the excruciating dark underbelly that Solondz insists upon. This film was much more in common with Gilda Radner's Lisa Lupner than it does anything cryptic or cynical. Eventually, we grow to love Napoleon and our love of him does not go unrewarded by filmmaker Jared Hess, much as it might if Solondz were in charge here.
This is a film about life in the land of the nerdy and eventually you just begin to fall in love with its spirit and charm, even if it seems to be pretty much a one-note film with nothing particularly new or interesting in the script. Heder just cannot help but win you over. Watching him, we are reminded of so many of the nerds we knew in school, even if he is a complete exaggeration. Notice how Heder often has his eyes closed or nearly shut in the film. He isn't just acting, he is embodying a character. He IS Napoleon Dynamite.
The film has a real low-budg feel but that only helps to make it more charming. Although obviously set in modern day (there are cell phones, computers and discussions of Internet chatting in the film), the film has a real 80's retro feel to it. Set in Idaho, this feeling doesn't emerge as hip and cool but rather reflects that Midwestern small town feeling of being WAY behind the times.
In addition to Heder, several members of the cast are quite exceptional. Of course, most of these have been in films for quite a while with the exception of Aaron Ruell who is just perfect as Napoleon's equally nerdy older brother. Much 80's feel is gained from John Gries' Uncle Rico (who actually wants to go back in time to 1982). Meanwhile Tina Majorino, Emily Kennard, Haylie Duff (Hilary's sister), and Shondrealla Avery makes interesting feminine counterparts to the males in the film. The best counterpoint to Napoleon, however, comes in the form of his new Hispanic schoolmate Pedro, played wonderfully by Efren Ramirez. Ramirez is the only actor in the piece that matches the wonderful tone set by Heder, but then again he's the only actor who has to. Together this wonderful ensemble make the entire film, even with its loosely structured plot and script, come to life. They also make it often as funny as hell.
Damn those security Nazis for making me pissed of at the beginning of this film. I wanted to hate it. I just couldn't.
Notes:
Also with Diedrich Bader.
Written by Hess with his wife Jerusha. She also does costumes here.
Heder played a similar character who was named Seth in Hess' 2003 short "Peruca" which screened at Slamdance. This film premiered at Sundance in January 2004. Fox Searchlight acquired the film for distribution but is yet to set a date for its release.
Report Card
Script: C+
Acting: A+
Cinematography\Lighting: A+
Special Effects\Make Up: A+
Music: A+
Final Grade: A-
Rating: A-III -- adults
Offbeat, low-budget comedy set in rural Idaho about the high school misadventures of an oddball, wooly-haired misfit (Jon Heder) who lives with his slacker older brother (Aaron Ruell) and cheesy uncle (Jon Gries), and who befriends a shy Mexican student (Efren Ramirez) running for class president against the school's reigning queen bee (Haylie Duff). First-time director Jared Hess' quirky film is light on plot, but Heder's deadpan performance makes this tender ode to eccentricity curiously amusing, if not wholly satisfying. Some comic violence, and a few instances of mildly crude language and sexual humor.
Full Review
"Napoleon Dynamite" (Fox Searchlight), an offbeat, low-budget comedy set in rural Idaho, details the high school misadventures of an oddball, wooly-haired misfit (Jon Heder) who lives with his slacker older brother (Aaron Ruell) and cheesy uncle (Jon Gries).
In first-time director Jared Hess' quirky film, the title character befriends a shy Mexican student (Efren Ramirez) running for class president against the school's reigning queen bee (Haylie Duff).
Although the film is light on plot, Heder's deadpan performance makes this tender ode to eccentricity curiously amusing, if not wholly satisfying.
Due to some comic violence and a few instances of mildly crude language and sexual humor, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested.
U.S. Rating PG
Overall: B-
Violence: B
Sexual Content: B
Language: A-
Drugs/Alcohol: B
Quirky may be the best word to describe Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder). There's certainly nothing conformist about the Preston, Idaho high school student with the curly red Afro, oversized glasses and moon boot footwear. But his peculiarities go beyond his looks.
Napoleon is different because he's on the fringe of the social circle, yet he doesn't seem to mind. Unlike so many teens who'd do anything to fit in, Napoleon seems casually comfortable with where he is. And that's what makes him, above anything else, interesting to watch.
Whether Napoleon's unconventional habits are the result of his genetics or environment, it's hard to know. He lives with his grandmother (Sandy Martin) who has a pet llama and goes four wheeling. He also lives with his nerdy, 31-year-old unemployed brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) who spends hours in chat rooms searching for a woman. Later, the boys' Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) moves in as well.
Rico is one of those guys who may have graduated from high school but never really left it. He relishes his past glory days on the football field and still considers himself a buff young buck. As a door-to-door salesman, he has a rather adolescent enthusiasm for selling bust enhancing supplements.
Trying to avoid his uncle, Napoleon hangs out with his friends, Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and Deb (Tina Majorino), the neighbor girl who's earning money for college by selling beaded key chains and shooting "glamour" portraits in her homemade studio.
Deciding they have nothing to lose, Napoleon and Deb agree to help Pedro when he decides to run for student body president against the popular Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff). Surprisingly, it's Napoleon's unabashed eccentricity that proves to be a pivotal turning point in the campaign.
The biggest challenge with this film is knowing whether to laugh with Napoleon, or at him. Often bullied at school and teased at home, he has experiences most of us can relate to. However, his behaviors are just odd enough to make one nervous about siding with him. Whether it helps young viewers be more sympathetic to others or not remains to be seen. For family viewing, some mild innuendo and an emphatic substitute for swearing are likely the biggest beefs parents will have.
Meanwhile, for those of us who grew up in small towns where blue FFA jackets and long, bumpy bus rides were more common than bikinis and surfboards, it's refreshing to see a familiar high school atmosphere portrayed.
Talk about the movie with your family...
Set in Preston, Idaho rather than Southern California, how does the portrayal of high school differ from many other movies? Are there characters you relate to in this film?
Pedro makes a piñata of Summer Wheatley during the election. How does this cultural tradition cause him problems? Can a lack of understanding or appreciation for others' customs create unnecessary difficulties?
Napoleon and Pedro are members of the FFA. Learn more about this organization for youth that helps promote leadership and agricultural education.
Video alternatives...
Like Pedro and Napoleon, two teens who are outcasts among their schoolmates become friends in The Mighty when they discover their combined strengths. A young boy with an amazing talent to play chess faces pressure from his father to achieve more and more success in Searching for Bobby Fischer.
Every high school has them: those kids who seem lost in their own world, tragically unhip and perpetually excluded from the ranks of the beautiful and athletic. Napoleon Dynamite paints a quirky, satirical portrait of "them" as they try to make the most of their low-key lives in the rural community of Preston, Idaho.
The opening scene sets the stage for what we can expect from the film's antihero, Napoleon Dynamite. On the bus to school, Napoleon surreptitiously ties fishing line to a plastic action figure and tosses it out the window. He gleefully trolls the plastic hero behind the bus--for no apparent reason other than the joy of simpleminded (and typically harmless) mischief.
The gangly, bespectacled Napoleon, who is the quintessential object of derision for the popular crowd, then proceeds to meander through a random series of seemingly meaningless vignettes involving his friends, Deb (a budding photographer with a nearly imperceptible crush on Napoleon) and Pedro (who is almost completely devoid of personality, yet decides to run for class president), and his older brother, Kip (a 32-year-old chat room junkie who still lives at home). Each character is focused on a particular, if modest, goal, and each must endure the mockery of those who oppose them. In addition to the jocks and popular kids, Napoleon also squares off against his Uncle Rico, a sadly misguided character who's living in the past (1982, to be precise) and who seems determined to thwart Napoleon's best efforts.
One typical--hilarious--scene has Napoleon lamenting his inability to attract girls because he lacks "skills": "Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills." Pedro reminds him that he likes to draw, and suggests that Napoleon sketch a portrait of the girl he wants to ask to the dance--putting his skills to work.
Positive Elements
Napoleon Dynamite offers many opportunities to laugh heartily at (with?) its underwhelming characters. It also invites us to identify with their determination to take risks in pursuit of what they want in life. Their progress is modest, but real--just as is often the case in our lives.
Napoleon has a taste for unfashionable T-shirts with animals on them. One such shirt has the word "Endurance" emblazoned over the top of a faded horse graphic. One suspects that endurance might be the primary subtext in the film, as each of the four main characters perseveres through ridicule, scorn and mockery in their respective pursuits.
Spiritual Content
Pedro comes from a Catholic home, and the family's house is full of pictures of Jesus and Mary. Napoleon mentions magic twice in passing; his favorite animal is a "liger." "It's like a lion and tiger mixed," he says, "bred for its skills in magic." He claims that a wizard's magic spell protects the Loch Ness Monster.
Sexual Content
The film doesn't have any overt sexual content. One of Uncle Rico's money-making schemes, however, is "Bust Must," an herbal breast-enlargement product. Rico pitches his product to an older woman named Starla, but also to Napoleon's high-school classmates Summer, Trisha and Deb. (The scenes with Rico interacting with high school girls about their breast size have a creepy, inappropriate feel.)
Violent Content
Napoleon tries to ride Pedro's mountain bike over a jump, but the ramp collapses, and Napoleon rams his groin into the handlebars as he goes down. Napoleon's grandmother rides over a sand dune ridge on her ATV, flying off the back of it.
Napoleon and several other "nerdy" characters are frequently harassed by the jocks at their high school. These bullies slam Napoleon up against his locker, put him in a headlock, and generally push him around. One jock does the same thing to another geeky student, putting him in a head lock until he coughs up 50 cents. Later, the same bully tries to intimidate that student into letting him "borrow" his bike.
Kip is convinced that he's a karate master and asks Napoleon to hit him. Napoleon offers a weak jab that Kip blocks, then kicks him in return. When Kip doesn't expect it, Napoleon slaps him in the face. Later, Napoleon puts Kip in a headlock while they're wrestling. Napoleon and Kip check out Rex Kwon Do's karate school after seeing a commercial for it on TV where the martial arts master disarms an assailant with a gun. At the karate school, Rex humiliates Kip by blocking Kip's lame attacks and showing the students how to strike back.
Uncle Rico flings a half-eaten steak at Napoleon, hitting him in the face. Napoleon hurls a grapefruit at Rico's van, then at Rico himself. The two then begin wrestling on the ground, and Napoleon elbows Rico in the chest to get away from him.
Rex Kwon Do pummels Rico. (Sounds of the encounter are all moviegoers experience; the camera retreats to the front of the house.) A farmer shoots a cow, horrifying a passing busload of schoolchildren.
Crude or Profane Language
Napoleon frequently uses exclamations such as "gosh," "jeez," "freakin'," "crap" and "heck." One character talks about being "p---ed off." Napoleon intones, "There's like a butt-load of gangs at this school," calls people "idiots" several times and says, "You guys are retarded."
Drug and Alcohol Content
None.
Other Negative Elements
Uncle Rico is duped by an Internet offer selling a time machine. The machine consists of a control box, an electrified headband and a T-shaped plunger that the user puts between his legs. Both Rico and Napoleon find out the hard way that time travel isn't real but electricity is, a lesson that leaves them limping.
Napoleon is prone to lying and storytelling. Responding to a classmate's inquiry about what he did over summer break, Napoleon responds, "I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines." Later, Napoleon brags to Pedro, "This one gang kept wanting me to join because I'm pretty good with a bowstaff." And when Deb gives him a picture of a woman she's photographed as an example of the kind of work she does, Napoleon keeps the photo and tells Pedro that it's his girlfriend from Oklahoma.
Conclusion
Napoleon Dynamite is an odd yet appealing and funny film. On the surface it appears to be just one more iteration of the popular Revenge of the Nerds theme: misfit kids banding together to throw off the oppression of those who are stronger, more beautiful and more popular. Underneath, it's less about battling the privileged than about four kids trying to make their own unique way in the world.
Likewise, it's a typical teen movie. And yet it isn't. Some of the standard features are very much in place: the odd-kid-out looking for his place in the world, and popular teens mercilessly harassing the geeks. But that's where the formula ends. Other elements that countless teen movies have programmed us to expect--profanity, flagrantly rebellious behavior, sexual exploits and unbelievable plot twists--are absent from this curiously un-edgy film. Call it the anti-teen movie.
Yes, it does go for some easy, slapstick laughs at the characters' expense. But at the same time it exudes a knowing self-awareness. For example, Napoleon Dynamite might be the most misnamed character in the history of cinema. It would be hard for Napoleon to have less in common with his namesake, the French emperor and would-be conqueror of Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte. In contrast, Napoleon Dynamite's gentle goofiness marks him as a social pariah. Dynamite he is isn't. His very name is a wink at the audience, a clue for how to watch.
I don't believe the filmmakers intended their work to be taken at face value. Instead, we are to recognize that these characters are creative caricatures. We all know these people, somehow. Thus, Napoleon Dynamite becomes an everyman whom we can all relate to. We laugh at his idiosyncrasies even as we realize that we may be blind to some of our own. What could be a mean-spirited film picking on hopelessly unaware nerds is actually very aware of who these characters are--and we root for them. Napoleon Dynamite is hip precisely because its makers are aware of how unhip it is. We're not invited into the film's world to mock these characters--though some desensitized teens and twentysomethings may well do so--but to relate to them and use them to reflect on our own foibles, and our own dreams and goals.
That said, Napoleon Dynamite is a cult comedy classic in the making (it could easily take on a Monty Python--like mythos), and it elevates geek chic to a whole new level. It doesn't, however, exalt geekiness as much as it lauds the idea of being who you are. In the words of the movie's tagline, "He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove."
PLOT SYNOPSIS: A young man, with the unlikely moniker Napoleon Dynamite, lives in Idaho with his grandmother and older brother. One day his uncle comes to live with them when his grandmother is injured in an accident, and the rest of the film revolves around these three eccentric people trying to figure out how to get through their lives and find some kind of contentment. With Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Aaron Ruell, Tina Majorino and Diedrich Bader. Directed by Jared Hess. [1:26]
Sex and Nudity: 3 out of 10 [with 0 meaning none at all]
Violence and Gore: 4 out of 10
Profanity: 3 out of 10
SEX/NUDITY 3 - A woman gets off a bus, looks at a man waiting for her, she runs to him and they kiss (we hear smacks). A woman takes off a man's glasses, looks at him suggestively and they play footsie under the table. A woman kisses a man on the cheek a few times. Young men and young women dance together at a school dance. A young man asks another young man if his girlfriend is "hot." Two young men talk about "hookin' up with chicks." A young man touches a young woman's hand and then pulls away. A man touches another man's knee and they both jump and move away from each other. Two young men talk about asking young women to a dance. A young man dances on a stage thrusting his hips several times. Five young women wearing short skirts that reveal bare legs dance on a stage. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage, and young women wear evening gowns that reveal bare shoulders and backs. A man tries to sell an herbal product that claims to enhance women's breast size. We see the engorged udders of a cow.
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A man shoots his cow in the face at close range (we see the man holding the shotgun, then hear the shot), a bus load of children passes as we hear the shot, they apparently see the shooting and they scream. A young man is bullied repeatedly: a young man holds another young man in a chokehold then slams his head against a locker, a young man is held by the neck and shaken repeatedly until he gives the bully money, two young men tussle over a bike until two men look at the bully threateningly, a young man is kicked in the leg, and a young man shoves another young man against a locker a couple of times. A young man throws an orange at a van, the driver gets out, tackles the young man, holds him by the throat, the young man elbows the man in the chest and he crawls away in pain. We hear a man being beaten (we hear him grunting and hear the crunching of the landing blows) and see him later with his arm in a sling and a bandage on his nose. A young man holds a man in a chokehold. A woman rides a four wheeler over a sand dune and jumps off the peak (we hear that she has been injured). Two young men ride a bike over a ramp, one crashes into the ramp support (a cinder block), bangs his crotch on the bike bar and lands hard on the ground. A young man holds a metal pole between his legs, puts a metal ring around his head and plugs in a machine that is attached to both, he grimaces and asks for the machine to be unplugged as an electrical charge is sent through his body. A man throws a steak at a young man as he rides by on a bike and it hits him in the face. A man is hit in the head several times by a martial arts instructor. We see a TV commercial for a Taekwondo school and a man demonstrates a few martial arts moves. A man tells a young man to try to hit him, one ends up being smacked on the head and the other being slapped in the face. A young man goes into a huge chicken coop and forces two chickens into a small cage. A young man yells at his pet llama, telling her to eat, and he throws the food on the ground near her when she doesn't seem interested. A young man shoves tater tots in his pants pocket (to eat later). A young man throws an action figure tied to a string out of a moving bus and drags it along, bouncing off the pavement. We see food on a table with flies buzzing around it, a man puts a raw egg into a pitcher of orange juice, and a young man drinks some and gags. A young man burps.
PROFANITY 3 - 5 scatological terms, 12 mild obscenities.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Being different, friendship, love, soul mates, humiliation, bullies, living in the past, time travel, being shallow, condescending treatment of people of a different ethnic background, companionship, steroid usage, making changes in your life, electronic dating.
MESSAGE - Being different is OK. We can find friendship and love in the most unlikely places.
(2004), PG -- you will probably leave not certain whether you liked it or not.
Dry wit. Not much substance. Eighty-seven uneventful minutes except for a school dance and a student body president election. A retelling of the story of every nerd and every misfit in every high school rolled up into one -- Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) -- the king of "It ain't good enough, no matter what 'it' is." But Napoleon Dynamite can grow on you if your let it. If you watch it you will probably leave not certain whether you liked it or not while wanting to like it battles with the discomfort it left with you.
Napoleon lives with his "working" grandmother (Sandy Martin who has very little screentime). She traipses off to somewhere, leaving Napoleon's sleaze living-in-the-past Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) in charge of Napoleon and his equally misfit older brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) who spends hours each day in Internet chatrooms, building himself into anything he dreams of being.
Napoleon is at the very bottom of the social totem pole, subject to intense and frequent ridicule and physical tormenting. Napoleon has but one friend ... the new kid Pedro (Efren Ramirez). One of the popular girls, Summer (Haylie Duff) runs for class president. As a social warfare maneuver, Napoleon convinces Pedro to run against Summer. After a speech by each candidate a little skit is required of the candidates. Napoleon and Pedro did not know this. Caught unprepared, Napoleon decided to do a dance routine he had just learned by watching a video tape. It proved more helpful to Pedro's campaign than Pedro's speech. And Napoleon finds a girlfriend, Deb (Tina Majorino).
Napoleon Dynamite is rated PG for thematic elements (whatever that means) and language. With a final CAP score of 71 it earns a place among the scores earned by PG movies in the comparative baseline database (86 to 68 out of 100) but in the lower half of the scoring range, making it a "hard" PG. The only uses of the three/four letter word vocabulary I could find in the cut I saw was the conversational snippet of being angered and the use of the name of eternal fire as an expletive in a background song. But there were several uses of the euphemism of the most foul of the foul words which where treated not as the most foul of the foul words but the same as one of the three/four letter words.
The largest single loss of points was due to many lies. Together with several uses of the euphemism of the most foul of the foul words, these two culprits plus a few instances of ridicule reduced the Impudence/Hate score to equivalent to some R-rated movies. [Prov. 22:11] Sexual Immorality lost about half of its starting 100 points due to Uncle Rico trying to sell breast enhancements to women including a teenager, pelvic thrusts in dance, and a couple other typical indications of Hollywood's fascination with the body. It was clear by some of Rico's tactics that his interests were not limited to sales, especially regarding the teen girl. [Col. 3:5] Wanton Violence/Crime lost about a fourth of its starting 100 points to physical torment several times and assault to commit theft. [Hab. 2:9] Offense to God found four uses of God's name in vain but without the four letter expletive, causing the loss of a little over one third of the starting 100 points. [Deut. 5:11] But each of Drugs/Alcohol and Murder/Suicide earned the maximum of 100 points, making the film equivalent to G-rated movies in these three investigation areas. The listing in the Findings/Scoring section will reveal all that was found.
CHAPTER/VERSE
* Prov. 22:11 He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.
* Col. 3:5 Put to death [defeat, expunge, deprive of power, destroy the strength of], therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
* Hab. 2:9 Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin!
* Deut. 5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. [Vain is shav' {shawv}: emptiness, nothingness, vanity, such as an expletive. With or without the four letter expletive, the use of God's name in any way other than respect, reverence or thoughtful discussion is in vain. That includes the popular three syllable sentence with His name trailing it AND the misuse of Jesus' name.]
[Score of 100 is best, meaning the film does not have objectionable content in a particular category.]
FINDINGS / SCORING:
(The heart of the CAP Analysis Model)
Wanton Violence/Crime (W): 78
Impudence/Hate (I): 18
Sexual Immorality (S): 61
Drugs/Alcohol (D):: 100
Offense to God (O): 70
Murder/Suicide (M): 100
FINAL SCORE: 71
Wanton Violence/Crime (W)
- physical torment, repeatedly
- physical assault to commit theft
Impudence/Hate (I)
- drawing of flatulence
- five uses of the euphemism for the most foul of the foul words
- lies, repeatedly
- two uses of the three/four letter word vocabulary
- ridicule, repeatedly
Sexual Immorality (S)
- crotch injury
- sexual reference
- attention to crotch
- retreated attempts to sell breast enlargements to women with suggestive comments, once to a teenager
- pelvic thrusts in dance, repeatedly
Drugs/Alcohol (D):
- none noted
Offense to God (O)
- four uses of God's name in vain without the four letter expletive
Murder/Suicide (M)
- none noted
Rating: 5 [out of 10]
L1été 2004 a permis à deux outsiders de trouver un public au travers cette période très chargée en gros canons. Il y a bien sûr Garden State qui fut un succès tout a fait honorable, mais il y également Napoleon Dynamite. Avec un budget de 400 000$, ce film des plus indépendants et rempli d'acteurs inconnus a pu franchir le cap des 40 millions $ de recette! Pas mal pour un film qui n'a été dans le top 10 que deux fois et dont le nombre de copies disponible a toujours été limité à moins de 1000 exemplaires. Fortement apprécié par le public et par la critique en général, Napoleon Dynamite avait tout pour me satisfaire. Cependant, le résultat est loin d'être à la hauteur des attentes. Bien sûr, le film est empli de personnages tordus et possède un style franchement amusant, mais Napoleon Dynamite n'a pas vraiment d'histoire, c'est un concept que l'on étire pour toute la durée d'un film. Si le film a été souvent comparé à un mélange entre Election et Rushmore, il n'en possède certainement pas la qualité du scénario.
L'histoire pourrait se résumer ainsi: Napoleon est un nerd vivant avec son frère et sa grand-mère. Celle-ci part en vacances et leur oncle vient habiter avec eux momentanément. Au même moment, un nouvel élève étranger débarque à l'école et se lie d'amitié avec Napoleon. À la veille des élections scolaires, Napoleon tente d'appuyer son ami Pedro afin qu'il puisse devenir président. Au même moment, l'oncle Rico décide de se lancer dans la vente de produits Tupperware et le frère de Napoleon débute une relation avec une fille rencontrée sur internet. Malgré le potentiel de cette histoire complètement tordue, Napoleon Dynamite se résume en une suite d'évènements anecdotiques. Si l'univers du film et l'étrangeté de ses personnages a de quoi charmer, le courant ne passe pas toujours. Pourtant, le potentiel était bien là, mais jamais le réalisateur n'arrive à en tirer profit. Cependant, on ne peut que sourire devant autant de personnages plus étranges les uns que les autres. Que ce soit ce mexicain à la moustache noire nouvellement arrivé, ou l'oncle qui se filme en train de lancer des ballons en étant convaincu qu'il aurait pu être un joueur de la NFL et qui tente de se procurer une machine à voyager dans le temps ou simplement Napoleon Dynamite qui dessine des animaux qui sont un croisement entre un tigre et un lion.
D'ailleurs, ce personnage devient presque instantanément culte et constitue le meilleur point du film. Tout en étant une énorme caricature de tous les clichés possible sur un nerd, l'interprétation de Jon Heder est tellement naturelle que l'on croirait qu'il ne joue pas vraiment. Chacune de ses présences engendre le sourire et l'amusement devant toutes les péripéties que traverse son personnage. Seulement la façon dont Napoleon termine parfois ses phrases à coup de Gross! ou d'Idiot! vous fera réaliser que le film est une grande farce remplie de personnages stupides qui semblent presque sortis d'une bande dessinée. Mais la sauce ne lève tout simplement pas pour en faire un film véritablement réussi. Les gags ne font pas toujours mouche et peuvent même devenir redondants. En plus, les scénaristes mettent parfois leurs efforts sur des situations qui n'ont que peu d'importance ou peu de potentiel humoristique. Le réalisateur, volontairement, utilise peu de plans et laisse les personnages entrer et sortir du cadre, l'objectif étant de donner une impression de réalité à ce portrait d'une étrange communauté. Sous la forme d'une série télévisée, Napoleon Dynamite aurait certainement trouvé une niche plus appropriée à son genre.
Bref, Napoleon Dynamite n'est pas vraiment l'excellente comédie que l'on annonçait. L'univers créé par les scénaristes et les différents personnages possède indéniablement un charme qui fait sourire et certaines situations sont amusantes. Mais dans l'ensemble, sans une véritable ligne directrice, le film ne possède pas suffisamment d'attraits pour en faire une comédie réussie. Beaucoup de positif dans toute cette histoire, mais un peu trop de déception. Franchement dommage pour un film qui aurait pu être un classique instantané. Tout de même agréable à voir ne serait-ce que pour la finale.
Rating: *** [3 out of 5 stars]
Napoleon Dynamite, ou l'avènement d'une nouvelle race de héros, faite de mal vus, de reclus, d'abrutis et de pas beaux. Les Quatre Fantastiques version tache, avec un grand rouquin acariâtre, un maigrichon gai qui s'ignore, un immigré complètement dépaysé et une petite timide qui se croit boulotte. Un bel échantillon de «rejets»; de ces jeunes gens à qui les sportifs et les blondasses infligent mille misères à l'école secondaire. En étiez-vous? Avez-vous déjà visité l'étrange purgatoire des impopulaires?
Napoleon, donc, grand rouquin aux bras trop longs, affublé de lunettes hideuses, fait ce qu'il peut pour se tirer d'affaire au collège dans l'effroyable jungle étudiante. Il ne l'a pas facile. Pas plus que ses seuls amis Pedro, immigré récent, et Deb, mignonnette gravement complexée, qui ne savent trop comment s'intégrer à la faune environnante. Tous trois tâcheront ensemble, péniblement mais sans s'abandonner au désespoir, de prendre leur place et de se faire valoir. Dans leur cas, ce semble être une mission impossible. Pourtant...
Cette comédie du tout jeune Jared Hess (24 chandelles) veut rendre hommage- sans s'agenouiller, au contraire, en s'en moquant- à tous ces laissés pour contre qui traÎnent mollement leur malaise dans les corridors des polyvalentes. Hess doit les avoir fréquenté- ou avoir lui-même subi leur sort- pour les connaÎtre aussi bien et montrer leur petit monde avec autant de justesse.
Car Hess n'est pas toujours tendre avec ses anti-héros: Napoleon lui-même a, objectivement, une face à fesser dedans, comme on dit (chapeau à l'inconnu Ron Heder, immensément crédible). Mais il assume tout, les moqueries de ses camarades, les intimidations et les frustrations de toutes sortes, avec une inébranlable dignité, sans toutefois tendre l'autre joue: c'est un naÏf, il se croit fort. Et, le pire, c'est qu'au fond et à sa manière, il l'est...
Les personnages sont la grande force de cette comédie légère, autrement assez prévisible. Dans l'immense majorité de ces films qui parlent de l'adolescence, les reclus sont dépeints comme des êtres souffreteux et intérieurement torturés; comme des victimes qui, vers la fin, connaÎtront l'approbation des autres et la libération. Oui, il y a bien un bal de graduation dans Napoleon Dynamite. Et oui, le héros saura y faire excellente impression. Mais on sent très bien que le jeune marginal n'y laissera rien de sa personnalité véritable: nerd un jour, nerd toujours.
On peut reprocher à Hess de faire à l'excès dans le kitsch. Ses personnages évoluent dans un monde qui en serait resté aux années 1978-1982 (les vêtements, les coiffures, la musique, tout est très rétro) bien que le film se passe vraisemblablement de nos jours. Mais ce n'est encore qu'une minuscule réserve. Dans l'ensemble, Napoleon Dynamite est étonnamment très maÎtrisé, toujours réjouissant et annonce la venue d'un nouveau cinéaste sensible et original, comme Ghost World annonçait Terry Zwigoff, comme Donnie Darko annonce toujours Richard Kelly...