Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the comedy “Napoleon Dynamite.” This comedy was a festival favorite during its initial run and ultimately developed a cult following. And, since I haven’t seen the film yet, I finally decided to check it out!
So, let’s talk about the 2004 cult classic “Napoleon Dynamite.”
In small town Preston, Idaho, awkward teen Napoleon Dynamite has trouble fitting in. After his grandmother is injured in an accident, his life is made even worse when his strangely nostalgic uncle, Rico, shows up to keep an eye on him.
With no safe haven at home or at school, Napoleon befriends the new kid, Pedro. Together the two launch a campaign for Pedro to become class president.
“Napoleon Dynamite” is a quirky comedy that may not be for everyone. The 2004 film features some likable characters and a nice simple story.
One thing that really worked for this film is that it features a lot of no name actors at the time. I honestly think that casting no name actors for a film like this gives it a fresh and unique vibe and won’t be too distracting.
The 2004 film also has some decent funny bits, especially when Napoleon and his Uncle Rico are involved. Throughout the film, those characters have a sort of “love hate” relationship which can be funny to watch at times. Uncle Rico is one of those people who are stuck in the past and even buys a “time machine” online.
Jon Heder actually did a good job playing the titular character. The dance scene towards the end after Pedro gives his class president speech is probably one of the biggest stand out moments in the film. His older and sometimes more awkward brother, Kip, also has a few quirky, humorous moments - especially once he meets his online girlfriend.
One other thing I liked about the film was that even though it’s set during the 2004-2005 school year, the film contains several culturally retroactive elements back between the 1970s to the 1980s and possibly 90s. There’s also a few songs featured in the film from that era as well and it works.
So, “Napoleon Dynamite” is a really quirky film that can make you laugh in some spots. From what I’ve seen online, there were quite a few people that thoroughly enjoyed it. I generally thought it was an overall okay movie, which could change if I give it another chance down the road.
Cast: Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite); Efren Ramirez (Pedro); Tina Majorino (Deb); Jon Gries (Uncle Rico); Haylie Duff (Summer Wheatly); Diedrich Bader (Rex); Sandy Martin (Grandma); Emily Kennard (Trisha); Shondrella Avery (LaFawnduh); Aaron Ruell (Kip)
Writer/director: Jerusha Hess (Netflix’s Thelma the Unicorn; Austenland; Nacho Libre) (writer); Jared Hess (co-writer/director) (Nacho Libre; Masterminds; this year’s A Minecraft Movie)
Trivia: A “Napoleon Dynamite” festival was held every year between 2004 and 2008 in Preston, Idaho (where the film was shot). The festival had contests that included a tater tot eating contest, football throwing, look-a-likes, and other types of competition based on scenes from the film. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was picked up by Fox Searchlight (now Searchlight Pictures).
Despite a very limited theatrical release, the film was a commercial success. It was filmed on an estimated budget of a mere $400,000 and less than a year after its release, it had grossed $44.9 million.
Where to find the movie: You can currently stream “Napoleon Dynamite” on Hulu/Disney Plus and other PVOD rental services.
MPAA: PG for thematic elements and language (running time 96 minutes)
Jon Heder drew all of the drawings in the movie except the unicorn.
Jon Heder was paid $1,000 to play Napoleon Dynamite. The movie grossed over $40 million in the United States.
A "Napoleon Dynamite" festival was held every year from 2004 to 2008 in Preston, Idaho, the city where the movie was filmed. The festival had contests that included a tater-tot eating contest, football-throwing, look-a-likes, and other types of competition based on scenes from the movie.
The scene of the farmer shooting the cow in front of the school bus full of children is a true anecdote from director Jared Hess' childhood.
For Napoleon's dance routine, director Jared Hess had Jon Heder improvise and dance to three different songs. Hess then took the "best" moves from each song and put them in one routine, using one song.
Despite playing high school students, Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez were, respectively, 26 and 31 when this movie was made.
Jon Heder's big dance scene at the end was the last scene scheduled, but film ran out while shooting it. The sequence was edited together from less than ten minutes of his dancing.
The movie was edited in producer Jeremy Coon's apartment using a $6,000 Macintosh with Final Cut Pro.
The film is based on a short film Jared Hess made in 2002 with Jon Heder. Almost everything from the short made it into the feature film. For instance, there is a scene in the feature film where Napoleon and Pedro are at a state fair appraising cows or tasting milk. In the short, there is only a line of spoken dialogue that mentions the taste-testing of milk.
Made on a budget of just $400,000, the film went on to gross in excess of $46 million. Fox Searchlight spent $3 million in promoting the film.
While the film presumably takes place in the early 2000s, many of the characters, aesthetics, clothing & hair styles, and cultural references echo the early 80s. This period is a motif in the film, as Uncle Rico verbalizes his wishes to return to 1982 and attempts to fulfill this via the time machine. Many of the songs chosen for the soundtrack are nostalgia tracks from the early 80s, such as "Time After Time," "Only You," "The Rose," and "The A*Team Theme." Finally, the movie adopts many 80s fads into it's story, such as Deb's Glamour Shots, Napoleon learning dance aerobics, Uncle Rico being a door-to-door Tupperware salesperson, and Kip's karate interest.
At one point, Jake Gyllenhaal was considered for the role of Napoleon Dynamite.
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