Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Every once in a while someone feels they need to put out a “Loser” comedy. This is nothing new – Jerry Lewis comes to mind, with most of his films focusing around a brainless idiot trying to get things right for once. Later there came Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, where the loser/surfer equation came into play. And Jason Biggs even starred in a film called Loser, so titled to ensure that we wouldn’t miss what it was about.

Now we have Napoleon Dynamite, a film about a loser teenager and the angst of the high school years. But this is overstating the film. Things such as angst, high school awkwardness, and even Napoleon himself barely register on any kind of energy or emotional meter. The film is so deprived of anything that makes up a story be it plot, characters, or theme that it is a wonder it exists at all in the material world and isn’t just some metaphysical speculation somewhere. I had more fun reading the trivia page for this film on the Internet Movie Database than actually watching it.

Now that my opinion about this film is as transparent as the film itself, let me review what semblance of a plot there is. Napoleon (Jon Heder) lives with his older brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) and his grandmother (Sandy Martin). He is an exaggerated portrait of a gawky, nerdy teenager.  He breathes through his ever-open mouth, dresses in fashions that are desperately behind the times, hangs out with other nerds, and delights himself in Tater Tots. Tater Tots are not inherently nerdy, but there is something viciously un-cool about storing them in your cargo pants until you’re ready to snack on them during class.

Kip is what I can only describe as definitively pasty: He has a horrid hairdo, massive glasses, and the kind of delicate, lisping voice that causes people to question such a person’s sexuality. Both of the Dynamite boys are anything but explosive characters. They are both completely underwhelming in their emotional range, energy level, thought processes ...

When Grandmother takes an injurious spill on a four-wheeler, Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) moves in to watch over the boys. Rico is an 80's addict, still looking and dressing like he did when he graduated in ‘82. He spends all day either making videotapes of himself throwing a football, or trying to hawk a Tupperware rip-off to the neighborhood. He also provides the antagonist role for the film’s brief venture into storyline.

Okay, yes, there are some storylines going on, but they are also infected with the complete absence of zeal that one would expect to find in a film of this sort. Napoleon helps his friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) run for Student Body President against the sex-bomb cheerleader Summer (Haylie Duff); he attempts to win the affection of Deb (Tina Majorino), a shy girl who tries to raise money by selling cosmetics; and he attempts to keep the house in order while Rico is ruining the life, such as it is, that Napoleon is used to. All of which is told with such stupor that 82 minutes feels like an entire day.

 

Popcorn

47%

The film is bizarre in every area. Jon Heder’s performance as Napoleon has him reacting very defensively to every little thing, which is unnerving. A student on the school bus with him asks, in perfect innocence, “What are you going to do today, Napoleon?” Napoleon’s reply is, “I’ll do whatever I feel like! Gosh!” His tone of voice suggests that the student who asked is the one responsible for killing Mr. and Mrs. Dynamite slowly while Napoleon was forced to watch. No, this is not in the film, but it might as well be, the way Napoleon lashes out at the world in every other line.

Even more odd is the way Napoleon converses with Pedro in front of the lockers. It was my high school experience that when chatting with friends between classes, you usually looked at the person you were talking to, or at least turned so that your body gave the impression of “facing” the other guy. In Napoleon’s world, two people converse by standing side by side facing straight ahead, not looking left or right, let alone at the other person. It is this and similar oddities that damage any sense of reality we may momentarily feel a connection with in their oddball world. For every moment in the film where I could relate to my school memories, there were five other moments that were inexplicably false to reality.

The strange part is how addictive Heder’s character is. I hated the film while watching it, and for about three or four hours afterwards. But then it became something of a joke to react to people with a disgusted “Gosh!” after every question. (Only do this to people who have also seen the movie – anyone else will be terribly insulted.) As much as I do not desire to ever see this film again and have loudly proclaimed so to family and friends alike, I must admit that Napoleon grows on one, much the way fungus grows on tree bark.

My opinions of the film recently brought defensive arguments from people, claiming that Napoleon is a classic case of Asperger's Syndrome, a disorder that is the behavioral and social twin to autism. My first response is that I personally know a man who has A.S., and he is nothing like Napoleon. But I suppose there could be variations on the symptoms.

My second response is that the film does absolutely nothing to indicate that the issue at hand is indeed Asperger's. The word is not used. Napoleon never goes to, or mentions having gone to, a doctor or psychiatrist for evaluation. I compare the film with Rain Man, in which the autism of Dustin Hoffman's character was actually central to the plot and appropriately presented to the audience. If Napoleon is an "Aspie," the film is completely lacking in anything that would successfully enlighten us outsiders on the issue. All we see is a mammoth nerd.

 

Smarts

30%

I have been merciless, I admit. So I will comment that the problem is not a lack of talent. Heder emulates some very nerdy characteristics with flawless delivery. I had a friend in New York who ran exactly the way Napoleon does, especially when fleeing an embarrassing situation. And I have known a few people who looked or dressed like Napoleon. Thankfully, none of them were so completely unbearable in all aspects, but memories of these friends remind me that Napoleon is not a complete impossibility.

Also, amazingly, the film does not reek of being low-budget unless you know what to look for. I was keenly aware of a lack of dolly shots, tracking shots, or crane shots, which is an immediate indicator that the budget did not allow for these extra devices. But the film quality is good, and speaks of not settling for some cheap damaged stock from the back shelves of a Kodak warehouse. And I have seen much more professional films than this one where shots have been framed poorly or out of focus. So the cast and crew exhibit a general aptitude for what they were doing at least.

But that begs the ultimate question of: Were they doing anything worthwhile? Well, on the one hand, Napoleon Dynamite has some laughs. I laughed out loud when the farmer shot his cow just as a school bus of impressionable youngsters drove by – the poor kids screamed bloody murder. The arrival of Kip’s online girlfriend, combined with her stunning beauty and her irrepressible admiration of him, was definitely amusing; and Kip’s attempt to be some kind of "brutha" at the end only adds to his humorous foolishness. Oh, and Kip’s demonstration of how the plasticware he is selling will withstand the pressure of a full-sized van ...

On the other hand, the elements that were supposed to sustain our attention and humor - the caricatures themselves – were not strong enough to fill the running time. There’s only so long we can put up with "Gosh!" and consider it a driving force of comedy. A plot with complications that Napoleon actually reacted to would have been nice. And actual funny situations, instead of just Napoleon finding himself in perfectly normal situations and reacting nerdishly.

 

Final

There is something to be said for a couple of independent Idahoans scraping together a script and a budget and doing the legwork to make and market their product. For this reason, I cannot completely loathe this film. Writer Jerusha Hess and co-writer and director Jared Hess have embarked into the filmmaking world. But now that they’ve tried out their sea legs, as it were, let us hope and pray they find something a little more useful and enthusiastic to put on film. Gosh!