Napoleon Dynamite (***1/2)
review by Jon Waterman

Napoleon Dynamite is that kid you made fun of at school. He’s goofy looking, awkward and always compensating in verbal exaggerations what he lacks in physical appearance. In a small Idaho town, his outcast setting is more pronounced and only finds a friend when a new student, a shy Mexican kid named Pedro, comes to school. Together they’ll try to enrich each other’s lives and do the unthinkable – gain the acceptance of their peers.

I’m sort of simplifying the main storyline here, because there isn’t much of a plot throughout the majority of the film. Near the end a clearer conflict presents itself, but it’s hardly the thread holding the film together. The movie chronicles Napoleon as he goes through a certain period of his life. We get the impression that it has been pretty similar up to now and that it will be virtually identical afterwards. We don’t need a concrete A to B structure to get interested in what happens to our hero, because he’s interesting enough.

Napoleon is a quirky high school student who stashes tater tots in a pouch on his leg, doodles fake animals and still plays tetherball (alone). Everyone around him adds their own eccentricities to the mix. His live at home brother surfs the internet talking to babes and sells plastic food storage with their uncle, the wannabe football star. They all give great performances – in part, because they all do the same thing. What makes the movie is the reaction shot. Jon Heder as Napoleon constantly has a blank or dazed look on his face. Even if he’s angry, the volume goes up, but the teeth exposing, open-mouth gaze remains. Efren Ramirez as Pedro does the same, as does Aaron Ruell as Kip, the brother. On the other end, the jock proves he’s the antithesis of Dynamite by giving overly exaggerated, comical reactions. If the dialogue doesn’t make you laugh, the simple reactions probably will.

But the dialogue is good, too. It’s just as unconventional as the characters that speak them. This is one of those quotable films that film geeks will quickly embrace. Even standard exclamations like “Sweet” or “awesome” take on the personality of the speaker. The comic delivery is dead on and its pretty amazing that most of these actors are making their debuts.

This film screams of a quick cult following. It has the same charm in characterization and cinematography that a film like “Rushmore” had. The great acting of the cast and the funny script come together in a fantastic first film by Jared Hess (directed and co-wrote with Jerusha Hess). I look forward to seeing their next effort. Not everyone will understand the appeal of neither the rather unorthodox storyline nor the oddball characters. Both pretty much won me over from the start.

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