Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Napoleon Dynamite is American Women (The Closer You Get) meets Lost in Translation -- in high school -- in Idaho. I saw it 25 months ago with a friend who is a huge Napoleon fan, when my reaction was "This is really dumb. There's no 'there' there." Some time later, I saw an homage to the movie's clever approach to the opening credits and I found myself fondly remembering bits of what I thought had been a thoroughly forgettable show and even waxing nostalgic over it. So last night I watched this endearing little gem again. Jon Heder in his debut role perfectly pegs the character of Napoleon Dynamite, a gawky dweeb of furrowed facial expressions, galling narcissism, appalling lack of social skills, and a trademark swoop-and-scurry of shame. Efren Ramirez is his new classmate Pedro, a stereotypical Mexican whose vacant expressions outpan Napoleon's. They silently form a fortuitous alliance. Aaron Ruell is Napoleon's worthless brother Kip and Jon Gries is their has-been uncle Rico (still dreaming of the wealth and fame that would have been his if the coach had put him in for the final play of the high school championship). Their social setting is as spare and dreary as you would imagine for any rural town in Idaho. (Every girl on the cheerleading squad appears to be genuinely, let's say, homespun, though Tina Majorino as Deb and Haylie Duff as Summer evince an inner potential each in their way.) Shondrella Avery plays Lafawnduh, Kip's Internet "soulmate." (Be sure to keep watching after the closing credits.) There isn't much of a plot or acting (unless feigning catatonia is an Oscar category) but what people love about this movie is how well the cast members (esp. Napoleon and Pedro) embody the everyman who is a nobody. Yes, we may all have known a dweeb like Napoleon while serving our time in secondary education. The fans' affection is born of more than just the humor of recognition, however. This movie conveys a sympathy for these characters, who soldier on and succeed despite every indication that their lives will never amount to anything. That's what viewers respond to and love. So don't be a sip-and-snip wine snob of a viewer, expecting to critique this movie based on the same rationale that applies to every art film you've seen and judged previously. Like Napoleon, take a big swig of the orange juice with a raw egg stirred in it, shudder and force it down. You'll find that it stirs up a visceral side that you may have forgotten. 4 stars.