Napoleon Dynamite

Release Date: July 23, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and language
Written and Directed by: Jared Hess
Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Haylie Duff, Sandy Martin, Diedrich Bader

Plot:
Napoleon Dynamite (Heder) is a quirky teenager growing up in the remotes of Idaho with a love for dancing and the way of the ninja who's really just trying to understand his life while living with his Uncle Rico (Gries), whose shady business deals are just some of the things that make Napoleon's social life in small-town Idaho all the more difficult.

Review:
Its funny because when its all narrowed down, there truly is no plot in Napoleon Dynamite whatsoever. The film is letting the audience spends days with Napoleon to simply show how lame and boring his life is. Its just like the tagline says "He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove". That's exactly right because this film doesn't know the exact route it wants to take.

The route is whatever Napoleon wants it to be. Its Napoleon's life and we the audience are experiencing it. It really can't get anymore simpler than that as far as stories for movies go. That's just it though, its actually very awkward, but at the same time enjoyable to see what someone does throughout their days. In this case, we get to see a seventeen year old in high school.

You can take someone else and show their everyday situations on screen, but Napoleon's lifestyle works because he is a very different and unique person. Napoleon is completely anti-social and he would rather say one word at a time then full sentences. A lot of the comedy comes from what he replies back with, the comedy is quick and at times quite effective.

Napoleon Dynamite is a funny film nonetheless, but it does suffer a couple of times with having no clue what to do next. At least that's what it seems like because of the simplicity of the whole idea. However, the film never stops trying for its comedy and there is some heart in this film. Heart in the cast and crew and heart that with a very low budget they could accomplish something bigger.

On the cast side Napoleon is played by Jon Heder and this is his debut for a feature length film. Efren Ramirez plays the Mexican character named Pedro and Tina Majorino plays Deb in the film. These three actors are fairly young and manage to pull out some monotoned, but effective performances. It might just be a breakthrough, especially for Jon Heder.

Another debut on the crew side is Director Jared Hess. This is his first film he has directed and his touch of style and direction for the camera is one worth viewing. The sets of Napoleon's house is simple just like him, the camera shots are slow and have patience just like him and the film was made with a very small amount of money, just like Napoleon has.

Its something as small as Napoleon Dynamite that makes one realize the creativity that can flow when money is not a matter. Its the bond between everyone working with the film that makes up for it. It shows in the film and in almost every scene, even when it goes a bit long with music is done with a nice touch. This only makes the scenes in which Napoleon Dynamite is not funny to run as a parody.

This film has its minor problems in which it fails to explain what ends up happening with certain things. For the sake of spoilers, Grandma has a terrible accident and is in the hospital for the entire film. Her characters is forgotten and only mentioned once or twice in the films entire running time. It would have been valuable to insert an ending to her condition.

That could have been a good move, but I can understand why it was ignored. Grandma's character wasn't even developed to an extent that we knew her well or that she was important in any way. It concentrates on its star Napoleon and his struggle in high school, with his skills, with chicks and with his boring life. We all can't be popular and good-looking.

Napoleon Dynamite is an enjoyable experience from start to finish because of its characters. The real positive attribute that I would give this film is its originality in not only Napoleon Dynamite as a character, but the film as a whole. The humor in this film might not work for everyone, but in this case it certainly does and I can't imagine anyone leaving without having a smile on their face.