Napoleon Dynamite (2004) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Napoleon Dynamite (2004) |
| Director | Jared Hess |
| Screenplay Writer | Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess |
| Based on Novel by | — (Original screenplay inspired by short film Peluca) |
| Lead Actors | Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez |
| Cast | Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Diedrich Bader, Haylie Duff, Sandy Martin, Aaron Ruell |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Release Date | June 11, 2004 (United States) |
| Duration | 1h 36m (96 minutes) |
| Budget | ~$400,000 |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | ~$46.1 million |
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Summary
Outcast teenager Napoleon Dynamite interacts with oddball family members (Grandma, brother Kip, and uncle Rico) and tries to help his new friend Pedro win the student body presidency at their Idaho high school.
Review
If you go in looking for deeper meaning, or any semblance of plot, you’ll be let down. If you are over 30, or were in your high school’s “popular” crowd, it will be lost on you. But for anyone who enjoys original and offbeat (albeit pointless) films, and can remember feeling awkward in high school, Napoleon Dynamite is pure genius. Napoleon’s world is bizarre; a quasi-real, boring Idaho town full of down and out characters. The place is so backward that, until the closing scenes, the viewer can’t be sure the film is set in the present. The film offers an ironic, self mocking collection of one liners and light slapstick gags strung together for nothing more than cheap laughs primarily at the expense of Napoleon (Heder) as he interacts with his family and classmates. And it works.
Hilarity follows whenever Napoleon clashes with his brother Kip, a 32 year old chat room junkie, or their Uncle Rico, a door to door salesman obsessed with his past high school football glory. His dead-pan reactions and general physical clumsiness will have you laughing non stop. The story concludes with Napoleon’s friend Pedro (Ramirez) competing against the popular Summer (Duff) in their school’s election, but any deeper plot analysis defeats the purpose. Napoleon Dynamite is a different, clever look at a time in a kid’s mundane life, nothing more. This movie is what it is. Come in with the right expectations (or lack thereof) and you will thoroughly enjoy the absurdity.
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