Starring Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Diedrich Bader, Tina Majorino, Haylie Duff
Written By: Jared Hess
Directed By: Jared Hess
Studio:
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If you like movies about nerds, geeks, dweebs, dorks, and rejects; you’ll love Napoleon Dynamite!

The movie is about a kid named Napoleon Dynamite who is a tall nerdy kid who has a afro and draws mystical creatures in his notebook. He lives with his brother Kip (they usually end up fighting), and his Grandma (who gets in an dirt bike accident). Then his scheming uncle arrives and takes care of the two. Kip gets a job with Uncle rico selling plastic bowls. Napoleon actually finds some other loser friends to hang out with. One is a shy girl named Deb and the other is a mustache Mexican called Pedro. Together, they come up with a plan to have Pedro run for class president in the school.

This movie was praised by my friends and others. I’m not entirely sure why. This is where i’m gonna flip-flop back and forth so just FYI. The film is a good but it’s really dry and slow at times. The humor is so dry, it almost feels like the movie is a drama with some funny moments. BUT the movie actually has a lot of funny quotable lines. I really have to watch this again to pick up all the lines that were said. I did laugh out loud a few times like Napoleon telling a girl that it’s okay to drink whole milk because she’s not fat, and also the scene where he dances on stage. Napoleon’s older brother Kip was really funny. Later you get to meet the girlfriend “LaFawnduh” and Kip goes through a change, and it’s quite humorous.

Just looking at Napoleon is a punch line. His afro hairdo, the big 80’s glasses (believe me, I had those too but not that extreme) and of course the moon boots. I had moon boots too but didn’t wear them to freakin’ high school. Jon Heder really plays the character to perfection. I believe he based his character on the way acted when he was younger. Uncle Rico, played by Jon “Wolfman has Nards” Gries plays the scheming uncle and he really plays him really well. He’s sleazy, a creep and he’s a has-been jock who think he still has it. Efren Ramirez, who played the character of Pedro, also did a fair job. His character is so monotone and he makes me sleepy. But i’m sure that’s what the actor was going for. Drew Carey Show’s Diedrich Bader makes a funny appearance as a karate instructor. I wish he starred in more movies instead of just memorable cameos.

I watched a few extras on the DVD. Like with other Fox Searchlight DVDs, some extras are on one side and then another batch of extras are on the other side. I still think that’s a bad idea and Fox should re-work that setup. Either have both versions of the movies on 1 side and then have the extras be on the other (if you can’t fit the extras on the same side). Or just have another disc with the extra crap. It’s a pain in the ass to try to find what extras are on what side. The deleted scenes were pretty good. My favorite cut scene was when Napoleon was arguing with one of the jocks in a kickball game and he made fun of his mom. Then Napoleon gets approach by the jock and he bitch slaps him and runs away. That was really funny. There’s other extras on here if you enjoyed the movie and want to find out more how things were done. I’m sure the audio commentary with Jon Heder and director was interesting too. But I never saw the movie so I wanted to check the film out first.

I think the story could have been a little better, at times it just didn’t seem to go anywhere. The acting is great and the humor is dry but funny. If you think this movie is something you’ll like, I’d suggest watching it.

Features:
Director/Co-Writer producer and actor commentary
“Peluca”
Original short film with optional director/writer producer and actor commentary
‘The Wedding of the Century’ making-of featurette
Deleted scenes, still gallery, & more!

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Surround

Video:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic) Standard 1.33:1 Color

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: Pedro’s cousins helping out the geek kid, Napoleon dancing, the farmer shooting the cow
Rating: Rated PG
Running Time: 95 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: