Release Date: June 11, 2004
Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Haylie Duff
Directed by: Jared Hess
Written by: Jared Hess, Jershua Hess
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG (thematic elements, language)
Napoleon Dynamite, a quirky, funny film directed by Jared Hess in which the title character, an awkward, gangly, Idaho teenager, seems to be genetically incapable of social conformity, is the rare comedy that has an overabundance of material desperately looking to wrap itself around a plot (usually it’s the other way around, with a one-joke idea stretched and distorted beyond recognition by a tired storyline). But Hess, who co-wrote this film with his wife Jershua, has strung together an almost endless supply of original jokes and gags into what could easily pass for an A-list standup routine.
As it is, Napoleon Dynamite is full of laughs, and if they had been attached to some kind of story, we’d be quick to crown Dynamite as the latest and newest classic comedy (for its part, the film has apparently, within a month of its theatrical release, attracted a fan club willing to populate midnight showings to lend the film cult status). Surely, those who do see this smallish, independent film will be quoting dialogue long afterward.
Napoleon (a perfectly cast and very capable Jon Heder) is the star of the show, a teenage resident of Preston, Idaho, who struggles through life daily. He is not, by any measure, a normal teen: he has a curly mop of blond hair; oversized glasses; a husky, mildly annoyed deadpan; and a gaze that extends into a vague middle distance, usually somewhere on the floor about four feet in front of him. He likes mystical animals (his favorite is something called a Liger, which, he explains, is like a lion and a tiger, mixed), he fancies himself proficient with “numchucks,” enjoys playing tetherball (though mostly by himself), and his only friend (apparently) is Pedro Sanchez (Efren Ramirez), a transfer student from Mexico. He also has a secret crush on a shy girl named Deb (Tina Majorino).
The plot, if it can be called that, follows roughly a year’s worth of Napoleon’s adventures, beginning with the arrival of Napoleon’s uncle, Rico (Jon Gries), after his grandma winds up in the hospital following an accident with a dune buggy -- which, naturally, is good for a laugh. Rico is permanently stuck in 1982, and when he’s not endlessly reminiscing about his failed attempt to win the high school football state championship that year, he’s recruiting Napoleon’s brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) as part of his door-to-door Tupperware sales team.
Kip is possibly an even bigger loser than Napoleon -- at age 31, he spends hours on the Internet talking long-distance to his girlfriend, LaFawnduh (Shondrella Avery), who lives in Detroit, and is, predictably but hilariously, as large and black as Kip is small and white.
Not in recent memory has such an amazing and broadly enjoyable cast of screwball characters been assembled for a single film; while each of them defies reality, there is that sliver of plausibility that exists with the movie’s small-town, Idaho setting.
But Hess hardly gives the viewer time to ponder these questions; the film is structured in 30- or 60-second anecdotes that usually end with some kind of punch line. In one scene, Uncle Rico, who, it should be said, is something of a bully, throws a piece of steak at Napoleon and nails him square in the face. “Idiot!” retorts an irritated Napoleon -- his usual comeback, but one that in Uncle Rico’s case is unfailingly accurate: Rico, inspired by his steak-tossing abilities, wonders about the possibility of time travel, and whether he could go back to 1982 for another shot at the state football title. With Kip’s help, he acquires a “time machine” over the Internet, though this turns out to be nothing more than a self-electrocution device.
The movie builds up to a climactic race for student council president, in which Napoleon’s friend Pedro decides to run against Summer (Haylie Duff, pop star Hilary’s older sister), the most popular, if not exactly the brightest, girl in school (her campaign slogan: “Vote for me, and it will be summer all year long!”). The movie takes a slightly roundabout path to Pedro’s inevitable victory, but more entertaining are some scenes along the way: in one, Pedro rigs up a piñata that looks like Summer, and in another, Pedro’s older and much larger brothers offer protection to all the geeks and nerds in their school in exchange for votes.
Indeed, there is hardly a single scene in Napoleon Dynamite that isn’t funny. The cast and crew deserve equal credit -- the deadpan writing is spot-on, while the cast is perfectly matched to the characters. Though it helps to watch this movie in the context of the independent festival fare that it is, it is palatable from almost any perspective -- presumably, the homegrown feel might even appeal to Idahoans themselves.
It is true, however, that you have to be something of a sadist to enjoy watching Napoleon Dynamite. Napoleon stands out like a sore thumb, and pays the price for it (continually). But this misfit, and his stubborn refusal to play by the rules, is a near-brilliant comic creation -- and if you can get over that niggling guilt about laughing at his antics, then you’ll find Dynamite is exactly that.
-- Craig Roush (craigroush@hotmail.com)