Napoleon Dynamite is one of the most ridiculous movies of the decade, but it is still a funny comedy in its own right. The movie has a unique kind of humour about teenagers who feel alone, and it depends more on well-timed pauses and body language than on zinging one-liners. If you like subtle jokes, you'll find Napoleon Dynamite to be a very funny movie. If not, it could be boring or even cause confusion. The plot of the movie is almost nonexistent, but what it lacks in plot it makes up for with clever and funny comedy scenes.
Napoleon Dynamite is about a nerdy high school student named Napoleon (Jon Heder), who lives with his grandmother and older brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) in Preston, Idaho. Throughout the movie, Napoleon's face always looks like he doesn't know what's going on. He gets kicked around, pushed into lockers, and just watches life go by. When a Spanish student named Pedro (Efren Ramirez) moves to town, Napoleon makes friends with him, even though Pedro isn't popular. The two talk and talk about many different things, like who to bring to the upcoming dance. They fall in love with Deb (Tina Majorino), a fellow student who has trouble making friends.
While their grandmother is away, Kip looks for women in online chat rooms, and Napoleon's Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) moves in with the boys. Uncle Rico's adventures are funny, but the movie doesn't have much of a point until Pedro decides to run for class president against Summer, who is the most popular girl at school (Haylie Duff). Now, Napoleon and Pedro must do everything they can to win the school election, despite the odds...
The real strength of Napoleon Dynamite is its group of wacky characters. These characters are so wacky and silly that every viewer can find a mirror image of them in his or her own high school yearbook or in real life. In the context of the movie, the fact that Napoleon and his friends are stuck in their social development is played up for effect, pulling the viewer into a Lord of the Flies-style world of Darwinian adolescence. The jokes are sometimes subtle, and you shouldn't think of Napoleon Dynamite as a drama that won an Oscar. But if you like dumb movies like "Dumb and Dumber," this is the movie for you.
Napoleon Dynamite is an original comedy that pushes the limits of plotless, immature movies. To put it simply, you'll like it. Most of the characters are so sad that you'll laugh at them just because they're there. Napoleon Dynamite was one of the most surprising movies of 2004. It's an oddball comedy that's definitely a must-see...
