High school is a time marked by first loves, friendships, angst, trials and triumphs. As a result, its little wonder why high school has been a favorite topic of filmmakers since virtually the dawn of cinema. What filmmakers too often forget is that high school is also the most awkward period in many people's lives. The 2004 surprise hit comedy Napoleon Dynamite explores adolescence at its most uncomfortable, offbeat, and ultimately inspiring to hilarious effect. For what is easily the most uproarious, original, and unexpected high school movie ever put to celluloid pull up a desk next to Napoleon Dynamite.
The film follows the misadventures of gawky teen Napoleon Dynamite in rural Idaho. His eccentric interests, awkward manners, and refusal to adhere to social norms makes him a target for the ridicule of his peers. Despite the snickering of his classmates, however, he carries on with his life with total self-assurance and zero self-awareness. Napoleon's life is soon complicated when his grandmother is injured in a moped accident, leaving him and his chat-room addicted older brother, Kip, in the care of their uncle, Rico. After years wasting away in a van and obsessing over his high school glory days Uncle Rico eagerly accepts the opportunity to move in and immediately declares himself head of the household. While Uncle Rico enlists Kip in a series of hilariously unsuccessful 'get rich quick' schemes Napoleon sets about making friends with fellow misfits Deb and Pedro. Together, the terminally uncool trio launch Pedro's bid for class president in a campaign that is nothing short of comedy gold.
Nearly twenty years after its release Napoleon Dynamite remains a cult classic. With its low budget, unknown cast, minimal plot, off beat humor, and small town setting the film seemed destined to flop. Yet it its those same characteristics that would normally work against any film's chances of success that endeared Napoleon Dynamite to audiences. The film's minimal budget and unknown cast lends the central tale of small town life a sense of authenticity. The plot particularly sets the film apart by presenting a high school film that stands in cheerful defiance of all things high school movies stand for. While high school films generally glamorize adolescence Napoleon Dynamite presents a true to life account of teen life in all of its mundane glory. In place of gorgeous teen idols engaging in decadent behavior, the film displays ordinary adolescents doing their best to navigate the everyday struggles of high school. As a result, the antics of Napoleon and his friends prove far more relatable to the average viewer than the films that have come to define the teen film genre. The film also breaks with genre conventions by embracing the awkwardness of adolescence and the eccentricities of small town life through its portrayal of ultimate oddball Napoleon and his equally unusual friends. Instead of striving to be part of the 'in crowd' or keeping up with the latest social trends Napoleon, Deb, Kip, and Pedro take their outsider status in stride. While the film has plenty of fun with its characters' quirks the script's gentle humor ensures that viewers are laughing with the cast rather than at them. As a result, each of the characters' remains the hero in their own (outrageous) story, and none are reduced to punch lines or victims. In this way, the film acts as a love letter to the awkwardness and absurdity of adolescence and the misfit in all of us. "Follow your heart" and "make all of your wildest dreams come true" as only rural America can with Napoleon Dynamite.
The film transports viewers to Napoleon's whimsical world of rural Idaho thanks to the work of its cast. Haylie Duff personifies mean girl as class president favorite Summer Wheatley. Trevor Snarr makes for an ideal villain as the brutish bully Don. Shondrella Avery is a delight in her charming portrayal of Kip's big city love interest, Lafawnduh. Diedrich Bader packs the perfect comedic punch as stereotypical small town karate sensei Rex Kwon-Do. Jon Gries steals each scene in which he appears in his uproarious turn the by turns hapless, smarmy, and overbearing Uncle Rico. Aaron Ruell perfectly blends slapstick, dry delivery, and sincerity in his portrayal of Kip. Efren Ramirez is the ultimate fish out of water in his deadpan performance as Pedro. Tina Majorino infuses Deb with an endearing girl next door charm as she portrays Deb's gradual journey from crippling shyness to confidence. Even in the midst of strong supporting performances the film is dominated by Jon Heder in his titular turn as Napoleon. In Heder's hands nerdy outcast Napoleon is not the victim or wannabe that any other teen film would regulate him to, but is instead the unlikeliest of heroes and the ultimate iconoclast.
Napoleon Dynamite is a comedy that is every bit as outrageous and original as its hero. Through its sly satire of high school movies and small town life the film offers dry humor that is guaranteed to leave even the most hardened of critics cracking a smile. Similarly, the by turns mundane and outlandish plot provide enough slapstick to leave comedy connoisseurs laughing out loud. The cast display expert comedic skill and sincerity which ensure that each of the film's oddball characters endear themselves to audiences. Put on your best moonboots and dance to the beat of your own drum with Napoleon Dynamite.
