Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

"Heck yes! I'd vote for you."

Director

Jared Hess

Cast
Jon Heder - Napoleon Dynamite
Efren Ramirez - Pedro Sánchez
Tina Majorino - Deb
Aaron Ruell - Kip Dynamite
Jon Gries - Uncle Rico
Sandy Martin - Grandma

Shondrella Avery - LaFawnduh

Haylie Duff - Summer Wheatley
Emily Kennard - Trisha Stevens


It took me a long time to figure out why the 2004 comedy "Napoleon Dynamite" is as popular as it is. I'm still not certain if I know for sure. It has some funny bits, but is that enough to make a low budget flick like this so popular? Of course, I'm probably overthinking it. What I can say with certainty is that out of all the comedies I remember seeing, "Napoleon Dynamite" is the best example of lightening in a bottle. 

I first watched "Napoleon Dynamite" back in 2005 or 2006. I had no interest in it before that, and only knew about it because I had heard people often quoting it. I also kept seeing random people dawning those "Vote for Pedro" shirts out in public. I had no clue what that meant, or who "Pedro" was until I saw the movie. 

Back then. the sister of a friend of mine loved this movie! So, she had a movie night at their apartment and put "Napoleon Dynamite" on. 

Well, the penny dropped in regard to those Pedro t-shirts after watching it. 

I laughed and found some things about "Napoleon Dynamite" entertaining. It's innocent and certainly carries its own style that feels unique enough. But the one mystery that gripped my mind even upon my first viewing is the plot. What the hell is the plot? 

That was the first comment out of my mouth.

"Napoleon Dynamite" is among the movies I wanted to write about ever since starting this blog. To me, it's an enigma. 

The story begins on just another day in Napoleon's (Jon Heder) life as he waits for the school bus outside his house in Preston, Idaho. He lives with his brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), his grandma (Sandy Martin), and Tina the family llama...I guess? 

Napoleon's grandma ends up breaking her coccyx bone in a quadbike accident at the sand dunes. So, his Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) stays with Kip and Napoleon to watch over them while grandma is in the hospital. 

Uncle Rico, who lives out of his van, is stuck in his past as he constantly reminisces about his high school football days back in 1982. He often wishes he could go back in time to those glorious football days and somehow change the course of his life so he can fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL.

Kip spends his days in online chat rooms chatting with "babes." 

Rico talks Kip into joining his get-rich-quick scheme selling Tupperware door-to-door. Meanwhile, Kip has been trying to get his online sweetheart, LaFawnduh (Shondrella Avery), out to Preston so they can be together. 

Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite

At school, Napoleon becomes friends with new student Pedro Sánchez (Efren Ramirez). He also becomes pals with a shy girl named Deb (Tina Majorino) who stops by the Dynamite house early in the film to sell handmade tchotchkes in order to earn money for college. 

There's a bit of a romantic chemistry between Deb and Napoleon though Pedro asks her to the school dance. 

Napoleon ends up asking a random girl named Trisha Stevens (Emily Kennard) by drawing a portrait of her. Her mother forces her to go because Uncle Rico, while trying to sell Trisha's mom on his 24-piece food storage set, claims Napoleon gets beat up at school and still wets his bed. 

At the dance, Trisha ends up ditching Napoleon to go hang with her more popular friends. But Pedro lets him dance with Deb for a few songs. It's awkward for both, but the sparks are there.

Sometime later, Pedro decides to run for school president despite his lack of self-confidence. His opponent in the race is Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff) - the attractive and popular girl at Preston High. 

So, Napoleon helps Pedro campaign around school, putting up posters and handing out tchotchkes Deb made. 

He even puts together a last-minute dance routine as Pedro is unaware that he needs to perform a skit following his campaign speech in front of the entire student body. Earlier in the movie, Napoleon finds a VHS tape called "D-Qwon's Dance Grooves" at a thrift store and teaches himself dancing. So, he puts this knowledge to good use for Pedro's sake despite whatever humiliation he could face at school. But the crowd loves his routine.

By the end, this helps Pedro win the students' vote. And everything simply wraps up with a post credit scene at Kip and LaFawnduh's wedding. 

The entire movie is like a section cut from Napoleon's life. Yet, the movie manages to have some character development. Or I'm overanalyzing it. 

The first half of the movie is insight into the Napoleon's world - his high school and social experiences alongside his eccentric family life. Evidently Napoleon helping Pedro get elected school president is the plot. If that's the case, it feels like it was thrown in last minute as if the producers realized more than halfway through production that they forgot to include a plot. So, they come up with something just so their flick could have one. This plot point doesn't happen until the final act of the movie.

As for character development, Pedro is a character used to change Napoleon's attention off of himself and onto others.  

Napoleon initially comes across as clueless and taken in by slightly amusing things. He's a bit similar to Uncle Rico and Kip constantly focused on themselves. They're cluelessness is what passes at humor. Not only is Napoleon clueless, but he's also amateurish and socially awkward...unless you consider the outlandish lies he tells others about himself, which are blatantly ridiculous, to be a form of social activity.

I'm confused if this is supposed to make him endearing or stupid. Am I supposed to like him or feel sympathy for him? Or do I laugh at how awkward he is? Is he an unfortunate character, or just a weird kid at school who's trying to find a place to fit in, in the small town of Preston?  He's often bullied and is seen playing tetherball by himself on the school yard. That much makes Napoleon a sympathetic character. As for the rest, I don't know.

Efren Ramirez and Jon Heder.

Late in the film, Uncle Rico visit Deb for some headshots (Deb is into photography). But having gone from selling Tupperware to female breast enhancements, he lies and tells her that Napoleon thinks she would be interested in these enhancements.

Deb calls up Napoleon in anger and refers to him as a "shallow friend" for thinking such a thing about her. But when she sees his last-minute dance routine to help Pedro, she becomes the first friend the audience sees play him in tetherball.

He also catches her a "delicious bass" after her phone. It's an unusual gesture, but a selfless one none the less, in an attempt to mend their friendship. 

The opening credits with the title song "We're Going to Be Friends" by the White Stripes pulls the audience into the independent low budget feel of the film. It's creative and unique as though it was made by high school students for a school video project. The opening credits sets the film in the 2004-2005 school year. The overall appearance and style make the movie feel like its set in the 1980s or early 1990s sometime. The music by John Swihart that resembles dated waiting room music is the perfect touch to that atmosphere. I take it that is writers Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess's way of making the story autobiographical to whatever degree it might be so.

After seeing this movie at my friend's house, I ended up watching it again on my own a few days later. There's a scene that had me in tears. 

After Napoleon asks Trisha to the school dance, he gets a job at a chicken farm. During an unusual lunch break, one of the farmers named "Lyle" (Dale Critchlow) randomly blurts out something unintentionally incoherent. I had to turn on subtitles to figure out what he said. He says something about finding Shoshoni arrowheads over by a creek bed. It kills me each time! I kept rewinding that scene over and over again because it made me laugh so hard.  

If I could compare the style of "Napoleon Dynamite" to anyone else's style, it would be Wes Anderson. It reminds me of an Anderson movie as far as framing, use of symmetry, and monotone dialogue. But while Anderson's movies often have a hint of fantasy and imagination, "Napoleon Dynamite" is much more realistic, and sees the humor within everyday life. 

Aside from a variety of quotable lines, I think the movie's relatability makes it appealing to younger audiences. Napoleon's experiences in the awkward realm of high school as well as dealing with the strange quirks and idiosyncrasies of his family members speak to the movie's younger audience. Despite it's weird pacing and plot (if there is a plot), it somehow works thanks primarily to its familiar scenarios and the humor behind them.