Napoleon Dynamite

In his sleepy Idaho town, where nothing much of anything ever happens, offbeat outcast Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) takes it upon himself to help his new friend (Efren Ramirez) win the class presidency. Hijinks ensue. This quotable indie darling of a picture was perhaps the film that captured the listless zeitgeist of the early 2000s the best. There is a quiet sweetness to Napoleon Dynamite that goes unappreciated, between the oft-repeated catchphrases lies a gentle acceptance of one's own latent qualities. Nobody ever really changes, but that's fine, so long as you've got someone to hunt wolverines with.

Joseph Cox

My impression is that Napoleon Dynamite was conceived as Saved by the Bell for The Office generation. I mean, how would Screech really have been treated by the jocks and hunnies - shunned and debased is right. The story follows Dynamite as he attempts to get his moustachioed best friend Pedro (Ramirez) elected student president against the fierce competition of the preppy Summer Wheatley (Duff). Although we may not understand Dynamite we will him toward greatness, despite his awkward situation. It is easy to appreciate his flashes of idiosyncratic, monotone wisdom such as; "Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills, you know like nunchuck skills, bowhawk skills, computer hacking skills". As long as you're the type that enjoys a good piece of nostalgia which is full of heart you'll be unable to resist this trip down memory lane. This is a teen comedy for people sick of the current gross out or sappy sentimental style, its brilliance comes from being an American movie as dry as a Ryvita in the desert.

The eponymous protagonist is surrounded by a supporting cast of embarrassingly realistic oddballs (though none more out-there than Dynamite himself), including his sad computer chat-room loving brother and his dissatisfied pushy uncle Rico (Gries). The cast are faultless and the script fantastic, if slightly episodic though none the worse for it. It is hard to assign a genre to Napoleon Dynamite, as brilliant use is made of pacing; testing the limits of awkwardness and indicating that this is a (late) coming of age film, yet the touching closeness of Napoleon and Pedro makes this more of a buddy film.

Surprisingly, the true merit of this film isn't its beautifully drawn characters but the fact that it is a period piece where everything cringeworthy from the 80's is back and being celebrated for its crappyness. The costumes are great, especially Napoleon's brown flared suit, which he wears to the prom. This is a film that celebrates individuality and is itself refreshingly unique at a time when many American films are formulaic and unoriginal.