I watched this and I just don’t get it. There was a whole cult following and people quoting it and wearing shirts but there weren’t really any big laughs for me.
Throwing food? Falling off stuff? The goofy dance? Were the pitiful but quirky characters its strength?
To me, Napoleon Dynamite is a lot like Revenge of the Nerds. The main appeal is in rooting for folks who are perceived by society as losers. I suspect that many of the fans of these movies were, like me, outcasts in high school, and cheering for a nerdy character is kind of “yay for our team.”
Why does Napoleon Dynamite work? Because they got the vibe exactly right.
They managed to convey what it feels like:
– to be a geeky dork in high school;
– to live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere;
– to have weird friends who are just as dorky as you are;
– to have annoying relatives that you’re stuck with, but who come through for you occasionally anyway;
– to be the oldest kid still riding the school bus;
– to have a weird-assed job and weird-assed co-workers.
Don’t get it? Sorry, your loss.
I was every one of these, except I didn’t have a weird job. And I didn’t get the movie one bit. I thought it was incredibly stupid. YMMV, of course.
I graduated in 2005, btw.
There are, broadly, two types of comedies: One where the characters tell jokes and say/do wacky things, and one where oddball personality types–who shouldn’t be on the same planet–are trapped in a small space together and fireworks ensue. Napoleon Dynamite is mostly the latter. One thing I particularly like about it is that it takes place in rural Idaho, an unhip flyover state, instead of New York or LA. They seem aware that most moviegoers can’t really relate to super rich kids from Hollywood High or 90210. Like The Simpsons, there’s nothing enviable or aspirational in these characters, which really adds to their appeal.
Except that I couldn’t root for them because none of them had any redeeming qualities, whatsoever. Having “nothing enviable or aspirational in these characters” (as **Krokodil ** put it) **subtracts ** from their appeal, IMO.
Ditto. I could tell when I was supposed to be laughing, but it was an entirely intellectual exercise. This movie is #1 on my list of the difference between a movie I understand and one that I “get”. I understand it, I just don’t get it. (Donnie Darko being the other extreme - I didn’t understand it the first time I saw it, but I “got” it immediately.) That doesn’t mean it was a bad movie, but it does mean it was a bad movie for me. I’m terribly happy for those who were entertained by it, and I give total props to the moviemakers for their efforts - which were obviously wildly successful.
It is like the Pee Wee Herman movies. As Gene Siskel (I believe) said about those, “If you like this sort of thing, there’s a lot of it.” I guess I understood what they were trying to do; I just didn’t care that they achieved it.
Regards,
Shodan
My problem with this film, besides “not getting it” either, was one of the first lines- our hero gets on the school bus and the kids says “what are you gonna do today Napolean”, an obvious set up line just so he can say “whatever I want- GOSH!” Have you ever asked anybody going to school on the school bus what they are going to do that day (at school)? Uh…go to class, same as any other day? Are there choices of things to do at school each day in Idaho or Utah or wherever? And the black chick not only liking but marrying the biggest loser in the world, and he doesn’t even have money? Give me a fucking break.
I’m was a big fan of the movie when it was initially released and saw it on opening day with a crowd of 10 people. But yes, it’s popularity, constant quoting, and merchandising barrage has grown tedious.
The thing I liked about it was that it took the John Hughes “teen movie” concept and turned it on it’s head. Instead of seeing the Hollywood stereotype teen characters (uber-asshole jock, nerds who are really smart and really funny, uber-hot heroines, etc.) we saw real life characters who dreamed of becoming these Hollwood stereotypes or already thought they were in their own minds.
The “funny” was the characters trying to deliver what they thought were clever, cool, witty, appropriate lines and watching them come off flatley like they would in real life.
Napoleon’s attempts to be macho are met with a :rolleyes: or “huh?” by other characters. Same with Uncle Rico and Kip. They all attempt at one time or another to have a “watch this” moment and you laugh at the outcome.
Hmm… I didn’t see that as a set up for that particular line, but as an indicator that Napoleon always does weird shit on the bus. In that context, “What are you going to do today, Napoleon?” makes sense.
Personally, my wife and kids and I love the movie - - they’re 40, 13, 10, 7, and 5. The first view through is surreal up until the threads get tied together at the end. We rewatch it perhaps every 3 months or so and giggle throughout in anticipation of what’s going to happen next.
That said, if it’s not your thing, it’s not your thing and life’s too short to waste time watching stuff you don’t enjoy. Peace out.
I liked that the characters were spot on as realistic geeks, not movie geeks. Actually all of the high school kids were realistic. I never saw anyone in high school that really resembled the characters in Sixteen Candles. All the students in ND seemed recognizable. I remember a couple of kids who acted and talked exactly like Napolean.
Another interesting aspect was that the nerds weren’t secretly wonderful on the inside. They didn’t have hidden qualities that no one else could see. They were what they appeared to be. Their social maladjustment was partially their own fault. You seldom see teen movies which are willing to admit that.
Plus, Napolean and his friends kind of operated outside of the high school cliques. They weren’t interested in being “popular” and seemed barely aware that they weren’t. That’s realistic too. High school movies tend to portray a world where every kid and school wants to be like the jocks and the cheerleaders. The real world isn’t like that.
It’s an anti-movie. It’s like a reality show, without all the artificial contests and events. The characters are funny either because you see yourself in them, or you’re like the blond guy and laugh at them.
Without Napoleon’s love interest and the dance performance scene near the end, it could almost be a sobering documentary of the state of American youth.
I didn’t love ND, but man did they get it right.
For me, it was almost a documentary about growing up in a small small town. I never lived in a place that small but I have a few friends that did and I’ve visited them. I do like some of the subtlety of the film. Quite a few people I know just didn’t pick up on the fact that Napoleon is poor. Much worse off than the other kids in school.
When the girl, who becomes the love interest, leaves her bracelet kit at the door and runs off because she realizes that she will never sell enough bracelets to escape this ‘quiet life of desperation’, it breaks my heart.
I agree with this post 100%.
There’s a huge element of tragedy in this movie right beneath the surface.
Even the end, with Napoleon and the girl playing teatherball in the schoolyard, is tragic. They’ve found each other, but are still stuck.
Wow, I never caught that subtext to that scene. Thanks! I need to watch this again.
I loved that part just because it’s something you’d never ask. It also reminds me of The Dead Milkmen’s song “Bitchin’ Camaro”:
"-Hey Jack, what’s happenin’?
-I dunno.
The movie is silly and silly is good. You just have to go with it. What I love about it too is that(sorry if someone already mentioned this ) Napolean’s so comfortable with himself that doesn’t get that he’s a nerd. So heartbreakingly adorable.
Forgot to mention.
I also love the crazy way they played with time: is it the 80s? Is it today? You can never be quite sure. And I guess since I was in high school in the 80s, the conglomeration of the two felt oddly comforting.
I got the impression that Napoleon is known for doing weird things on the bus, and so the kid wanted to know what weird thing he had planned. Sure enough, he tosses a toy out the window and tows it with a piece of thread for no reason.
This is true. It’s like the humor in Bottle Rocket or Fargo– not about setups and punchlines as much as just watching some eccentric people interact with each other in an unstructured way. IME people either strongly ‘get’ this style of movie or they strongly don’t get it; not a lot of middle ground.