oh i loved napoleon dynamite. great movie. i actually didnt like this video tho so i hit the unsubscribe button. ❤️ if you want a mil these vids will get you there. but its more about which million you get imo.
I can't begin to describe just how big this movie was in Idaho where it was filmed. We had a Napoleon Dynamite party at the end of 6th grade complete with a dance off and tot-eating contest. I won a trip to Preston, Idaho between innings at a Boise Hawks game on Napoleon Dynamite night. Almost everyone in Preston was connected to the film in some way. Nothing has ever felt like it captured the true mediocrity of middle-class small-town Idaho before or since.
Watching this video and reading your comment makes me wonder - did the movie have more staying power through time because it resonated with a younger audience (less than eighteen? fifteen? twelve?). I never 'got it' when I watched it but maybe that was correlated with being relatively too old?
@@essenceofsuchness I certainly think age may have something to do with it, certainly younger people would find Napoleon's weirdness humorous, and that always has a chance of carrying on into adulthood. But I think the main reason it resonated with Idahoans (and was either loved or hated by everyone else) is down to how accurately it portrays middle-class small-town (more specifically, middle-class Idahoan) life. The cow scene isn't just funny because of what happens, it's funny because my own neighbors slaughtered their cattle in the driveway we shared - it's happened to me. I've had a school teacher who weighed our class's behavior as "an embarrassment to the state of Idaho." I work next to the guy who believes wholeheartedly his entire life would have been different "if coach had just put me in that last game." For a while my mother was at risk for breaking her coccyx out on the dunes. I think the real dividing line for Napoleon is that you either grew up in a place where the motifs of this film are parallel to your own life experiences, or you didn't.
Yup Not to lean hard into calling it dumb, But I really love how the only character we can confidently say has an above average intelligence is the brother to LaFawnduh... It was an absolutely brilliant movie to pull that off
Napoleon Dynamite captured the 80's and 90's (and even early 2000's) podunk nowhere absolutely perfectly. It's life just before the modern internet, with all its stumbling friendships, stupid family fights, awkward romances, and every once in a while, that one rare moment when the weirdest kid at school did something so impressive that no one could deny it was cool. This movie is a time capsule, and it's friggin' hilarious.
@Piercing That is incorrect. Napolean's brother "Kip" boasted about how many chicks he was chatting with online. He met his soon-to-be wife "Lafawnda" online.
To me, it always felt like a "home movie" rather than a film. I think that's what it comes down to. It's the ONLY movie I can think of that feels like "someone just filmed themselves and their family's genuine going about their day" and it managed to hit theaters. The editing and shots IMO felt more "real life" than pretty much every single other proper movie I've ever seen.
YES I HAVE BEEN THINKING, this doesn’t feel like a big producer made this, it’s like a bunch of students and his family made this. IT DOESNT FEEL REAL.
If you were raised in the 60s and 70s this movie was like a take back to an era gone by...moon boots...guy and gosh...the irritability factor...something we experienced first hand...
A lot of the people I know who LOVE this movie say it's because they can relate to it. They're from small-town no-where USA, and they're like "I know that guy", "that was me", "we did that", "I've seen that", "that's exactly what it's like", "this is so relatable that it's hilarious and uncomfortable". What a lot of people don't get (whether the liked the movie or not) is that, for a lot of fly-over America, this is their mundane reality of oddball day-to-day life. It's small town life in the middle of nowhere, with all of the overlooked weirdness that seems to take refuge there.
One of the few moments of pure joy in my life was when my friend from Idaho told me about her experience with this movie. She first watched it in Idaho and neither she nor anyone else in the audience thought that it showed anything odd. Then when she went away to college in Virginia a few months later, she went to an on campus screening of Napoleon with her new friends that really wanted to see it. She was stunned that everyone in the theater laughed at every moment and it was one of the biggest learning moments of her life.
Why? Was Napoleon's world similar to her daily life? Why did it make you happy? Was it the realization that a different, simpler world existed out there? For I am sometimes hopeless that that world doesn't exist or has never existed
I saw Napoleon Dynamite as the ultra geek who made no effort to fit in or work on social skills as he knew it just wasn't worth it. You would never fit in with the cool kids and there is a cost to being friends with them anyway. That cost being a loss of sense of self. I didn't think there was anybody in real life as extreme as Napoleon Dynamite.
Also Napoleon is a teenager comedy from the 2000s, back in those days these types of movies featured: Trendy clothing, trendy hairstyles, sexy everybody, sex, big city suburbs location, soundtrack featuring the hottest bands at the moment, famous people. Napoleon had: outdated clothing (with washed out colors), outdated hairstyles, everyone is ugly, unsexy, nobody fucks, bumfuck nowhere, the soundtrack i shit you not is ELEVATOR MUSIC, nobody famous in it. Its a memeable timeless masterpiece.
As someone who is Autistic. The monotone and often expressionless characters really resonated with me. They still had emotions and character without having to show it on their faces. I relayed to them a lot.
I have autism too, and one of the reasons I love this movie is that I believe most of the main characters are at least unintentionally autistic too. And they don't need to learn to be "more normal," to be liked.
My granddaughter is autistic. Up until age three she would throw fits like we never had seen. She went to preschool a year early for extra help with socializing mostly and was the smartest kid there. She knew all her letters and numbers, could count up and down, colors, body parts, etc. at age two. Very sweet now, it's going to be fun watching her grow up.
The cast and crew of Napoleon Dynamite seem to be really nice people and they always do a ton of meet and greets. Just a few months ago they were at a local theater where I live for a showing and a Q&A afterwards. It did sort of add to the experience of the movie.
I once ran into jon heder on an escalator at a convention and asked him if I could get a picture of him. As I went to take the picture he said "no you gotta be in it or no one will believe you" he was very, very nice
I honestly felt that this was an attempt to *intentionally create* a cult classic. I think that they succeeded wildly. Only the public's reaction seems to have failed them. I think it came out just a teensy bit too late.
There's something oddly familiar and nostalgic that I can't really put my finger on. Something that captures the sweetly mundane, often awkward and yet dramatic little parts of youth that have been locked away and forgotten. Eating food from your pockets during class is something I'd done but have totally erased it from my memory until I saw that scene. The mystical powers of Ninjas and their weapons taken from the back pages of old comic books that somehow became fact among your friends. Bike tricks being the pinnacle of awesome...
When this movie premiered, my wife and I went to preview it to make sure it was an okay flick for a 14 year old. We watched the whole film thinking something dark was going to happen, but it never did. We mostly sat there silently stunned. We walked out of the theater, into the daylight, and still hadn’t said anything to each other. Just before we got to the car, I turned to her and said “I don’t know what we just saw, but that’s going to be a cult movie.“ Yeah, I was prescient, so, you know, I have that going for me. He, of course, loved it when he saw it, and my wife and I have watched it and quoted it often. How often? Whenever we WANT!! GOSH!!!
@@Kat.Evangeline14 And we stayed for it all and loved it. We still love technology, though. lol (Edit: By ‘loved it’ I mean that we’re glad we stayed for the whole thing. We didn’t actually love the movie at the time. I wrote it that way for the comedic effect of being able to say ‘we still love technology’. I’d change the original statement, but I wouldn’t want to add fuel to @videostres fire. BTW, I spent like three hours crafting words on this comment. It’s probably the best comment I’ve ever written.)
Honestly this movie really resonates with people like me from middle America, especially the west. Everyone I know in Utah love this movie. Middle America is full of characters stuck 20 years behind the rest of the country, so I’d assume more urban populations wouldn’t really get the specific lampoons. The Tupperware schemes, the boondoggles, the 4 H club, the fashion, the incoherent farmer, thrift stores, etc.
It was my childhood. I moved to the city and they found it funny when I would talk about going to the chicken coop every morning to go get eggs. Or shooting grasshoppers with a bb gun. (You gotta shoot the flying ones). But that was all par for the course for those of us who lived out in the middle of nowhere.
Yes, this is it. It recognizes the mediocre status quo reality of small town/rural America, but not in miserable depressing way. It's almost like a celebration of isolated disconnected small town life that teens are more aware of and feel more strongly than any other age group. It's an aesthetic in real life as well and that's what it is about this movie I could never put my finger on until now.
I LOVE this movie! It's about friendship, loyalty, and courage when Napoleon dances to backup Pedro when he can't do his skit. Napoleon also scores a win for the downtrodden uncool kids. I love how the universe sets things right at the end for all the quirky but good-hearted people. It makes me happy to see them happy. The last montage scene always warms my heart.
I hate this movie. I hated it in middle school and I hate it as an adult. It’s just too dumb and I feel like a lot of people are just pretending to like it cause it’s cool to like weird quirky things, but this does a bad job at it.
@@jaredf6205 don't push your hate onto other people, i like this movie a lot, OP likes it a lot, and so do many others. it's all opinionated, don't get a stick up your ass about it
I discovered Napoleon Dynamite during one of the lowest, loneliest periods of my life in high school. I rented it on a whim and watched it late at night on a school night when I was supposed to be sleeping. I instantly fell in love with it and it's been a favorite ever since, but I could never quite put my finger on what exactly resonated with me so much until someone pointed out to me that the it's a movie about loneliness and overcoming it. I guess that's definitely a part of it. Also add to that the rural setting that very strongly resembles the place I grew up and it all adds up to be exactly the movie I needed at that point in my life. 18 years later and I'm still so grateful I stumbled on it.
Mean Girls came out about the same time and the message was the same in that trying to fit in with the cool crowd doesn't work. Except in Mean Girls the protagonist does join the It girls but finds out to her cost what it takes.
I come from a small town in New Zealand and this film became immediate cult classic there. Before we even knew about memes we were trading pictures of ligers, making our own vote for pedro shirts, and quoting the film everywhere we could. Probably one of the biggest film experiences of my mid-late teens
It took me a while to really appreciate this quirky film. The plot mostly meanders along, with nothing really much happening. But at the beginning, Napoleon states that he's going to do "Whatever he feels like doing", so it works as a slice of life look at offbeat characters, who are all memorable in their own ways.
Napoleon Dynamite involves the viewer, who has to find what's funny or what's deep, rather than throwing it in your face where you can't miss it. And that takes multiple viewings, with the movie being appreciated more and more each time. That's rare.
My friend showed it to me and before we watched it he said I would find it strange, but I should watch it a scond time and I'd love it. He was right. I swear it makes me laugh harder than before on subsequent viewings. Fantastic move
I'm a lover of film and must say-- this movie was great! This is exactly what film should be all about... doing things that dont follow the formula or conform to standards and expectations. It's ART people! Get creative; take risks; express your unique world perspectives! It's the whole point! And that's what I appreciated most about this film-- it was fiercely unapologetic for being true to itself-- which, of course, describes Napoleon Dynamite the character as well. I also loved that it had heart. The end was a surprise that gave you something to take home with you. In conclusion, this film was a net-positive for the arts and entertainment industry-- an industry that desperately needs to become reacquainted with the concept of experimentalism.
We have all felt awkward and we all pretty much hate that feeling. Napoleon put's the viewer into that sticky feeling like no other movie I've ever seen. But our character never overcomes the sticky awkwardness, he embraces it and in the end, wins with it. A good movie or song makes you feel something. Some people never want to feel awkward again and some people relate to it with familiarity. And that's why some people love it and some hate it.
Speaking as someone who has never seen the movie but is of course familiar with it, I loved this essay. Lana Wachowski's point about aesthetics was phenomenal and you really added to it with the Rocky comparison. Brilliant. I too hope the Age of the Algorithm will not deprive us of movies that defy easy categorization. Those are often the ones that bring me most joy.
I introduced this movie to my little sister like two years ago and when watching it I found a new perspective. That in the setting of the film despite everyone and everything being mundane, Napoleon is actually the most interesting person. To everyone else he is a dork and he has no friends but as the movie goes on it becomes really apparent how boring everyone else is and nothing separates them from one another, not even Summer and her boyfriend who are presented as the cool couple. Napoleon on the other hand is into fantasy, drawing, and picks up dancing on the spot. So it is ironic that despite being the gawky kid, Napoleon is also the most interesting person in town
John Hughes films were like that too especially Some Kind of Wonderful. Only in one is the popular cool kid the protagonist and nay sayers say he was so unrealistic he must have been in the best friend's imagination not a character. That was Ferris Bueller's Day Off but you suspend imagination when watching a film.
this movie is spectacular and i dont care what anyone says. the scene where rico sits down kip and napoleon to watch a video of him throwing a ball holds a special place in my heart
Some people also said that about the movie Friday with Ice Cube. I think it's because the way the film is shot and with it every feeling and slow pace that they forget everything in the background
It's juts that the plot breaks the mold of the typical formula. It is coming of age, but not in the typical journey way. It is like the days in the life of. Things happen and there is conflict. In fact it has the feel of a home video, where someone took out video of what was going on in their life.
In my mind the aesthetic wasn't just weird, it was absurd. Maybe its from growing up in a small town, but all the 'quirky' bits seemed familiar in their inexplicability. Characters, for instance, weren't personally relatable but my reaction for each oddball was, 'oh, I knew a guy like that.'
i think you're on to something. the movie never felt like it was telling a story, more like setting a mood. i grew up in a small town, and i found the characters relatable in the way that they were a over the top version of people i knew. I feel like everyone knows an Uncle Rico that a after a few beers starts musing about the past, or a Napoleon, that weird dude you went to school with, that was just kinda out there, not in a bad way, just a little off putting. The plot it self seems like a memory. if you have lived that life think back on all the funny memories you have where you are just doing mundane life BS that turned into comedy gold, a slip and fall, a turn of phrase, pets doing something goofy, you get it. Sure, there is a loose story about a student council election, but most of the story plays out with random scenes among these characters that speak to anyone who lived a proper rural life. so it makes sense it is polarizing, and you either love it, or hate it.
Great interpretation and thoughts. I think a major part of whether people like it or not is where they fit in when they were in high school and how they feel about it. Being somewhat of a weirdo back then, it resonated with me. Feeling awkward and then finding your people and strengths. Then again my mom likes it too and she was one of the popular kids. So maybe I'm wrong. Gonna go make a dang quesadilla
I dressed up as Napoleon for a "bad taste party" back in the day. Including the curly hair! My friend - the only other person who had seen the film - literally rolled on the floor laughing when he saw me. I will never forget his laugh. RIP buddy...
This movie is basically what me and my friends would do after school when I was in highschool. We would go to the thrift store and just look at random stuff and I actually had a job on a chicken farm when I was in school so when he grabs the chicken and starts getting pecked by it and gets wildly underpaid for working in a baking hot chicken house all day is something I can actually relate to. And the 1980's keyboard music is all that the thrift store used to play and we would go in there and sometimes we would chuck out a Napoleon Dynamite quote.
Napoleon dynamite came out when I was 12 or 13, it was more than a movie. it was a phenomenon. I remember me, my neighbors, my friends, my siblings, my cousins, EVERYONE had to have a Vote for Pedro shirt immediately. Also, being raised Mormon, it was everyone's favorite film because it was made by Mormons and was family friendly but still funny as all hell. Also: at 6:30, Jon Heder is wearing a shirt that says "Ricks College 1983". One of my teachers at church as a kid was a Ricks, and he taught us that Ricks College isn now BYU Idaho. Also, when Napoleon is shopping for his tux, he is at Deseret Industries, the Mormon thrift store. I'm definitely not Mormon anymore, but there's a lot of stuff in the movie that only Mormons would notice.
A++ analysis. One of my favorites ever and a litmus test for if my sense of humor will gel with yours (as friends). Hero’s journey and not just a whimsical character study-well done! Former hs English teacher and just want to compliment you on how well you laid this all out. Found your video after laughing out loud reading a long post with quotes from the movie-try it.
I liked this movie when it first came out because I *was* one of those weird kids that played with the tether ball in middle school, and I liked seeing Napoleon and his friends succeed. As an adult, I LOVE this movie, because I can see how sweetly and sincerely it was written and shot, which is so at odds with expectations that Napoleon is “supposed to be” made fun of because he’s awkward and uncharismatic. If you watch with an open mind, you see this little hero’s journey unfolding, showing all those weird kids out there drawing ligers and making lanyards that they can succeed in their own ways.
Although this was aimed at / marketed to teens, there were so many things in this movie that resonated with multiple age groups. Something as simple as the super long phone cord. We were already used to wireless phones in almost every home, so many teens just thought it was weird - but people slightly older had hard flashbacks to their teens when that was an actual thing This was an absolutely brilliant movie
I tried to watch this film when I was 14, and I remember thinking it was kind of stupid, and turned it off about 20 minutes in. 5 years later, I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and ended up watching it again. I absolutely loved it. So, either I've gotten dumber over the years, or I finally "got it". Either way, I love this movie, and I'm really happy to see you cover it!
@@Iksvomid i can't say this is the case for everyone. but for me, i was smoking pot with a friend in his apartment, when he asked if i'd ever seen the movie. i told him about how i tried to watch it once, and he asked if i would like to try again. thats the setting i was in. i think its different from person to person, though, on what works
I am from Gold Coast , Australia and it eerily reminds me of high school in the late 80’s. The way we used to be. I think that’s why I was so glued to it. The more I watched this film the more I would pick up little things that I missed before and the more I liked this film. Still can watch this movie over and over.
For a while, I couldn't decide whether I loved or hated this film. I fell in love with it when I saw the picture he drew with the shading on the top lip.
I think all of us have known someone like Napoleon, Pedro, or Uncle Rico. There’s something to this film that is so relatable, like I feel like I’ve sat in Napoleon’s grandmas house before or hung out with the broken English kid and even made friends with him. They accomplished something in this movie that is so unique but so familiar and nostalgic at the same time…
I just finished watching it for the first time like half an hour ago and now that you mention it two of my friends at college are a lot like both Napoleon and Pedro
What amazed me the most about the movie is how timeless it felt. When I first saw it, I genuinely thought it was made around the 1980s and 90s due to it's use of the camera, weird teenage humor, and 80s songs. Then I found out that it was made in 2004 which really shocked me because I found it hard to believe that a movie so modern could capture a mundane life of someone in 1980s-90s Idaho. And I still do sometimes which reinforces how aesthetic can really change your perspective of a movie. Really good video there!
@@kojisan1 Thats what so many people dont get. When you move out of the big city a few hours into farm land or flyover, the culture automatically feels 10 or even 20 years older. everything from clothing style to cars on the road
I watched it and knew it was 'new' as a movie, but spent a lot of the film trying to figure out when it was supposed to be set due to a lot of the things you talk about. But I knew it couldn't be the 80s or early 90s since Kip spent so much time on the internet -- early 2000s in rural areas still sounded about right for dial up. I think they did dial up the "retro" a bit in Napoleon Dynamite, but there were also plenty of clues it was contemporary such as his fancy tape from Lafawnduh with Canned Heat on it. It felt in time not much different from when I was graduating from HS about 10 years earlier... but then I thought about how everyone kept picking prom songs and super old graduation songs that were definitely out of date. No one could pick a song that was even 5 years old, so it having a lot of retro stuff mixed in wasn't that surprising. And a lot of girls who graduated with me still had pretty big 90s hair 10 years later.
Well, this will be a bit of a mouthful, but here we go. This movie probably feels a little different to me than most people who see it. This is because I grew up in Preston Idaho. I would watch this movie when I was a little kid too, so I didn't really understand just how bizarre it was that out of all the random, small towns there are, this movie took place in the one I lived in. I did, however, recognize the locations. In fact, just by looking at background details, I'm able to tell roughly where a lot of the scenes are shot in conjunction to the main part of the town, even if I didn't go to a lot of them often. And that's not counting all the locations I recognize because I would actually go there often. There are three things to really look for to tell: 1: A mountain formation in the background called Little Mountain. It can be seen by Pedro's cousin's head at 1:44, and it enters the right side of the screen at 4:14. It is to the south of town, and a little bit to the east. You can actually find it in a lot of shots of the movie, if you're looking. It can usually be seen from the east or south of town, but it can also be seen from in town. 2: So basically, there's this mountain range to the East of the town. From the point of view near Preston, you can separate it into two different parts: the shorter, rounder, brown mountains, and the taller, sharper, dark mountains. The dark mountains stretch into the south while the brown mountains to the north. Preston sits near them at a point where the dark mountains can be seen from behind the brown mountains. If you see both of them at the same time, you are near some point between (or in) Preston and the mountain range. If you see only brown mountains and rolling hills, you are north of town. If you see flat-ish valley and/or dark mountains in the background, you are to the south of town. 3: This one doesn't show up as much, but there are also mountains to the west of Preston. They look smaller than the ones to the east, but that because the town is much closer to the east side of the valley. They also run a little bit to the north of town, but mainly on the west side. They are dark like the mountains that stretch south. If you see them, you are looking west, and probably to the west or north of town, but possibly south. Alright, with all that out of the way, let's start figuring out where some things take place. Napoleon's house is to the east of town. The shot at 1:13 seems to be to the south of town, facing south, while the shot right after seems to be to the northeast of town, facing north (brown hills on right and short, dark mountains on left means facing north.) The shot at 1:43 is facing south, seems to be just east of town, though possibly a bit to the south as well. The car is driving north. The shot at 4:13 actually seems to take place at or near Napoleon's house, as the mountains are the dark ones with the brown ones in front of them, like the ones seen from Napoleon's house. The wide shot at 2:21 looks like it was filmed from the north end of the valley, facing west, but it could have been facing north. I'm not entirely sure. As for the locations I recognize, it was a bit confusing as a kid, since a lot of the locations that seem to take place next to each other are in different places. For example, the tether-ball is at the elementary school, which is on the southern end of the town, but the scene acts like it's at the high school, which is in a completely different place in town. I knew the people who lived in the interior of Napoleon's house, which was a different building than the exterior. The bowling alley is along the southern end of main street. The bleachers and track are right next to the parking lot of a church, which is across an intersection from the high school, but the track is not next to the high school. A church steeple can be seen at 5:36. I went to the high school in the movie and have performed on the stage that Napoleon dances on. The colorful lockers are pretty much just in the hallway near the entrance as well as the floor right above that, but not in any of the newer parts of the school. The entrance can be seen from outside at 2:30, and the bike racks are in the correct spot by it. The auditorium can be accessed from the main hallway right across from the entrance. The house I grew up in is visible somewhere in the movie, but I will not say where, and some of the people who appear in the movie are relatives of mine. The store that Rico and Napoleon shop at was a chain store called Kings, but it shut down a few years ago. It wasn't the main grocery store in town. That would be a store called Stokes. The restaurant that Rico and Kip eat at, Big J's, still exists, but the building is different. It's burgers were pretty good. The patty might have felt too thin for some, but their grilling and condiment game was on point. It is also part of the same business as a pizza store right next to it called Pizza Villa, which had the best pizza in town, don't @ me. Pizza Villa had paintings of clowns in it (not scary ones) painted by a man, who I believe is dead, whose mother I knew, but she passed away a couple years ago in her 90s. She was a sweet lady. It shut down a couple years ago, but there was a video rental (as well as a bunch of other stuff) store in town a couple of years ago that had a ton of Napoleon Dynamite merch and stuff. The bowling alley has a lot of Napoleon Dynamite paraphernalia, like a big Uncle Rico signature on a wall, and a pin that was used in the movie. There is an annual parade that happens in the town, and I believe they used to showcase Uncle Rico's van, but I don't believe they do anymore. Despite how it looks, it really does take place the year it was released. There are a lot of old houses in Preston, and small towns are usually some of the last places to integrate modern technology. I have been to houses in the town that feel super old and archaic, but people still live there. Well, that was quite a ramble. I don't usually do stuff like that when I see UA-cam content about Napoleon Dynamite, but I felt like mentioning some stuff. I might delete this later since I don't like my online presence to be too connected with me in real life, and saying I lived in a such a specific small town pins me down a bit more than the stuff I usually say. Welp, that's about it. I might make a UA-cam video about something like this someday.
The more you can relate to Napoleon, the easier it is too see everything you have said. I don't think popular people can relate to Napoleon very well. This was a great video. Thanks!
Despite being a truly independent production helmed by first time filmmakers with a cast of unknowns and a few seasoned character actors, Napoleon Dynamite seems like a movie that was made in a lab to become a cult classic. What's surprising is that it ended up having the inverse trajectory and became a full-blown fad rather than a hidden gem that fans coalesced around over time. This has a lot to do with the nature of the joint marketing blitz mounted by Fox Searchlight and MTV Films that forced the cultural saturation point (to great success at the box office and subsequently DVD rentals and sales) but it blew past indie darling status and wore out its welcome quickly. The backlash settled in relatively early on and people acted like no one ever liked it and was cynical, too-quirky Hollywood hype machine fodder. This happened with a number of Searchlight comedies under Peter Rice's tenure as president like Garden State, Little Miss Sunshine, Juno etc.
@@timh2356 no one can ever know for sure in advance but people have made a living making predictions and throwing money at something to make those predictions come true.
I knew I was gonna like it right away, so I paused the video, watched Napoleon, and came back to watch the rest of the video. IT IS HILARIOUS. thank you. Also, Love your channel
Brought back some classic memories today. Great video man! 💕 It really is weird how aesthetic is rarely talked about by audiences. Maybe that’ll change one day
This movie captures a sort of feeling that I’ve never seen ever again in a movie, and I love it. It reminds me of so many things that I don’t even know if I remember or not
This movie was quoted INCESSANTLY by my friends to the point where I could pretty much recite it before I had even seen it. I loved it when I did see it though...and I still do.
I was in 7th grade and my sister 11th when this came out, and we both remember all of our friends liking and quoting this movie. I'm now 31 and still love this movie. Not many movies could be watched and loved by adults and children alike.
I liked the movie from the beginning, but I can't take all the credit for seeing its greatness, or anything like that. For me it was more of a timing thing. I was born and raised in Germany and German pop culture in the 90s and early 2000s was totally dominated by just this kind of weird, quirky, awkward humor. Napoleon Dynamite just fit into that very neatly, so I guess you can say I was primed and prepared to like it. It didn't feel strange or cryptic to me. I grew up with this kind of stuff.
Millions of people have the same background that you described, including me. I love the movie, but very few of my friends feel the same way. The question whether you like that sort of comedy is just too complex to break it down like that, I think.
@@MaeckesPlanB Maybe, but I do think it was easier for Germans to see past the weirdness and like the movie, because we were used to this kind of humor and weirdness. Most Americans watching it had a "WTF is that?" reaction. I didn't. To me, as someone who grew up with Helge Schneider music and movies, it felt familiar and not really weird. The only weird thing about it was that it was American and it was the first time I saw an American film maker go in that direction.
@@TrangleC Helge Schneider is a wonderful explanation for your presumption! :D I hope you liked 00 Schneider as much as I did! Damn, I have to re-watch it! Thanks for the reminder!
What a perfect (and meta) way to end your video (with that scene from the film with Napoleon saying, "This was pretty much the worst video ever made!" But seriously, great discussion on a great film. Speaking of analogues, a really similar film I adore is "Eagle Vs. Shark." If anyone out there is saying, "Gimme something like Napoleon Dynamite," I think E vs S is about as close as you get, though each film is of course highly distinctive and singular.
YES!!! One of my favourite movies! Not just a sense of nostalgia for me. It was also my first exposure to indie cinema as well as my first exposure to a sorta vignette-based film If it was made in 2010, it would've definitely been a web series during the height of the web series craze. It would work so well in that format!
They filmed most of this movie about 15 minutes away from my house. While it didn't make me laugh out loud very often I found it pleasant to watch and extremely quotable.
I love Napoleon Dynamite, but I am definitely a convert. I hated it the first time I watched it. When my friends started quoting it, I watched it again and hated it a little less. When they started to point out weird things hidden, like the growing pile of cheese, I started liking it. When I watched it again later that was when I really started to love it. It's geeky, but adorable.
You have to watch it with friends that already love the movie. One must be introduced to Napoleon Dynamite; watching it alone is the worst option. I learned that the hard way!
I remember the first time I saw it and was just confused by it. My only thought was "nothing happened". But I couldn't wait to watch again because of how goofy it was. It wasn't a rom-com, it wasn't a coming-of-age story, and was barely a comedy. But I loved how simple it was; the stakes are super low but perfectly capture what feels like to be ordinary. There was just something admiral about its originality. And there still isn't any other movie or show that is similar to it.
This is the only movie my father has ever forced our entire family to sit down and watch together. We have the exact same sense of humor, so naturally I also love this stupid movie. Made even better by how much my dad looked like Napoleon in high school. Really, it's uncanny.
Cool video! Thank you for this. I love Napoleon Dynamite so much, but I hadn't heard of The Napoleon Dynamite Effect. I learned a lot from this video. It helped me see one of my favorite movies in another light. It's interesting that I love Napoleon Dynamite but I dislike Wes Anderson films, although they apparently share the quirkiness. I didn't think about Napoleon Dynamite being a hero's journey but it kinda is. That's cool! P.S. You make me feel old because I was already in college when this movie came out!
I think that the closer you get to the culture of Napoleon, the easier it is to understand the aesthetic. The aesthetic is very much small town intermountain west. In Utah growing up, the only people that didn't seem to like it were the kids that moved here from California, or wanted to live in California. Everyone who was a true Utahn absolutely loved it. My wife is from California, and hated it when we first got married. Now 12 years later, most of that time living here in Utah, we watched it the other day and she absolutely loved it.
I watched it first when I was a kid and remember it be meh . I watched again recently and I loved it . I feel like what a person likes about this film comes from that persons own experience . I have experienced more things that I can relate to in this movie on last view than I did on my initial viewing .
It's the only movie has such a specific feeling of authenticity, it's odd. I know some of it's exaggerated, but it never feels that way. And any changes of the heart happened as it usually does in real life: quietly inside of people, and you'd only know through a change in routine. A true comfort movie for me. Brings back so many great memories, too.
All the main character arcs are about having thier wildest dreams come true. It's a kinda on the road movie to happiness and while all having different dreems they all interact on the way to thier final happiness.. Napoleon finds love and popularity padro becomes class president Uncle R is reunited with his girlfriend and quits living so much in the past. It's like the wizard of oz and all the characters share the road but all have different wildest dreems that come true.
I can't tell you how true to life this movie was for me. I had 2 sons and the movie could have been written with them in mind. I laughed so hard the first time I saw this! My sons' of course didn't see any similarities whatsoever which made it even that much more funny 🤣
My son has Autism. When he was younger I went to many conferences to learn about his diagnosis and how best to help him. On one occasion Napoleon Dynamite was playing in the conference room while we were waiting for the speaker. The reason this was done is that the characters from this movie display characteristics that are similar to those on the autism spectrum, especially those diagnosed with Asperger’s. In my opinion the movie is a very real representation of the experiences many individuals on the autism spectrum have in their school lives. I do like that this movie shows both the negative and positive aspects of the challenges they face dealing with social experiences in schools. It would be interesting to know if the creators had any knowledge of Autism and if the movie was in part meant to highlight real world experiences of those with ASD. Either way, I enjoy the movie.
They should have films with someone who is the opposite to Napoleon Dynamite to show extreme neurotypicals who have no personality other than to be cool, popular and fit in. Oh wait that was Uncle Rico. Rather like Flash Harry in the St Trinians films. Or the weak follower types like Gretchen in Mean Girls. I had a friend who is a yes man to the point of being like the Withered Wojack so much so that I wanted to urge him to be more Napoleon Dynamite and develop personal skills. To Napoleon having skills were more important than trendy looks, helping people or fitting in.
I think what’s special about it is that all characters, including the cool kids, are incredibly lame. The popular girl is a troop leader for an interpretive sign language dance troop for Christ’s sake!
Exactly, most movies try to make everyone likeable but in doing so they make their stories less realistic. ND convinces the viewer to like characters even though they are genuinely weird.
That was the best explanation of Napolean Dynamite! And you're right, its sad that other weird flicks don't get made because of an algorithmic expectation.
I watched Napoleon Dynamite when I heard about it breaking the algorithm. I liked it because it was about normal maturation, which isn't usually a subject for movies. Not exactly a hero's journey, but more like becoming steadier and more sensible after an unpromising start.
To me the movie is a mild tragedy about the lonely, the “passed by”, the dreamers. They find their own inner sparks in ways deeply meaningful to themselves, but no-one else….as the universe spins endlessly, and mindlessly, around them.
I loved Napoleon Dynamite from the first time I saw it at 9 or 10. With all the fight for more representation in cinema, it's surprising to me that so many people hate this movie. This is the first and only movie I've seen that feels like it understands growing up in rural America. Even though it's set 1500 miles from where I grew up in the Midwest. Teenagers are awkward, say stupid stuff, and worry about going to the school dance. This isn't an escapist movie. This is a reassuring, "sometimes life sucks make the best of it" movie. The escapism from a nothing town is shown through Napoleon himself with his obsession with ligers and pegasus. People are confusing plot progression with a complete transformation. Napoleon didn't get a make over. He didn't become conventionally handsome to win over the auditorium at school. He learned a new skill.... which is something people SAY they want in a movie, but obviously not.
And so much of the movie is about an immigrant trying to find his place in a culture he's just getting the hang of. It captures what that kind of life feels like without getting over the top dramatic about it.
I love this movie - I find something new to laugh at whenever I watch it (once or twice a year). It's a rambling examination of the dynamics of relationships and how weird and glorious all we human beings are. Thanks for reminding me - I'll watch it again tonight!
I think Napoleon Dynamite is akin to Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Both films show a hero who's a 'nerd' or outcast, in other words an unlucky low status person. BUT, the lesson with both movies is that the measure of how cool you are is inside yourself, and nowhere else. You are as exactly cool as you believe you are. No one can tell you otherwise. Heck Yeah!
My oldest sister watched Napoleon Dynamite in the movie theater. Her trying to explain it to me over the phone, opening bus scene especially, and why it was all so funny went over my head until I was able to watch it the next year.
This was great, thank you. i was 25 and saw it on a college campus with my boyfriend; i had (and still have) never seen an audience laugh so surprisedly and naturally at the same time! It was SUCH a fun screening and this movie has held a special place in my heart ever since. IIRC, we went *because* the review in the local indie rag described it as 'difficult to categorize'. i didn't exactly grow up in a small town but i think this movie portrays life as an outsider very well. (Also, as another commenter points out, this time period at The Dawn of the Internet was a very specific feeling. A low rumble, a trembling, before the whole world cracked + opened up. More innocent for sure.) Ultimately, it's all about being yourself and following your heart!! There simply is no movie like it.
I've been thinking about this movie a lot lately, and one unique thing that makes me appreciate it is it shows that life during simpler times had a charm to it. Living in a small town, in days before the internet, you felt so isolated from the rest of the world, but that made it feel almost cozy in a way.
This video is spot on. I absolutely love this movie - EASILY one of my top favorite movies. But I just could not put my finger on why. This video explains why. Well done!
N.D. is weird,totally socially disfunctional,but he truly loves his few friends. That is lacking these days. The fact that he tries so hard to be a good person makes the crazy journey worthwhile. Debby and Pedro are sweet people who love N.D.,thus so do we.
I can remember when this movie was released on DVD, me and a few friends watched it together. Most of us were literally crying with laughter but a couple of my friends sat stoney faced through the entire thing.
Ebert was abysmally bad at reviewing comedies. He gave this and "Wet Hot American Summer" one-star reviews, and called the remake of "Death at a Funeral" better than the original British one. Even his review of "The Hangover," which he liked, reads like an alien trying to break down the mathematical formula of how comedy is supposed to work.
However, I will give him points for that Wet Hot American Summer review being quite funny. While I often agreed with his reviews, he did have some inability to see why people might like more esoteric movies, usually comedies.
If you liked the video, consider hitting that subscribe button :)
Speaking of algorithms, SMASHING THE LIKE BUTTON WEEWWW
Great video, man!
oh i loved napoleon dynamite. great movie. i actually didnt like this video tho so i hit the unsubscribe button. ❤️ if you want a mil these vids will get you there. but its more about which million you get imo.
I already subscribed, so I hit the like button to appease the almighty algorithm.
well done. it really is rocky
I can't begin to describe just how big this movie was in Idaho where it was filmed. We had a Napoleon Dynamite party at the end of 6th grade complete with a dance off and tot-eating contest. I won a trip to Preston, Idaho between innings at a Boise Hawks game on Napoleon Dynamite night. Almost everyone in Preston was connected to the film in some way. Nothing has ever felt like it captured the true mediocrity of middle-class small-town Idaho before or since.
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing that :)
Watching this video and reading your comment makes me wonder - did the movie have more staying power through time because it resonated with a younger audience (less than eighteen? fifteen? twelve?). I never 'got it' when I watched it but maybe that was correlated with being relatively too old?
Shoutout to Boise✌
@@cloudbloom SCREW Boise this town sucks.
@@essenceofsuchness I certainly think age may have something to do with it, certainly younger people would find Napoleon's weirdness humorous, and that always has a chance of carrying on into adulthood. But I think the main reason it resonated with Idahoans (and was either loved or hated by everyone else) is down to how accurately it portrays middle-class small-town (more specifically, middle-class Idahoan) life. The cow scene isn't just funny because of what happens, it's funny because my own neighbors slaughtered their cattle in the driveway we shared - it's happened to me. I've had a school teacher who weighed our class's behavior as "an embarrassment to the state of Idaho." I work next to the guy who believes wholeheartedly his entire life would have been different "if coach had just put me in that last game." For a while my mother was at risk for breaking her coccyx out on the dunes. I think the real dividing line for Napoleon is that you either grew up in a place where the motifs of this film are parallel to your own life experiences, or you didn't.
I love how loose the whole movie feels. It's so real and so dumb and so brilliant at the same time. It's wholesome.
This... is the perfect encapsulation
Yup
Not to lean hard into calling it dumb,
But I really love how the only character we can confidently say has an above average intelligence is the brother to LaFawnduh...
It was an absolutely brilliant movie to pull that off
Napoleon Dynamite captured the 80's and 90's (and even early 2000's) podunk nowhere absolutely perfectly. It's life just before the modern internet, with all its stumbling friendships, stupid family fights, awkward romances, and every once in a while, that one rare moment when the weirdest kid at school did something so impressive that no one could deny it was cool.
This movie is a time capsule, and it's friggin' hilarious.
Even if clumsy, if you put one foot in front of the other, you are going places!
Growing up is trying new things, and just going for it.
@Piercing That is incorrect. Napolean's brother "Kip" boasted about how many chicks he was chatting with online. He met his soon-to-be wife "Lafawnda" online.
@@riproar11 Just before the *modern* internet, which really didn’t start until like 2004-2007-ish.
@@PiercingSight Late 1990s. I was already emailing with friends and relatives by 1997 and chatting with people all over the world with AOL messaging.
Exactly - I too lived in a place similar to Preston and it just felt like home in a twisted way
To me, it always felt like a "home movie" rather than a film. I think that's what it comes down to. It's the ONLY movie I can think of that feels like "someone just filmed themselves and their family's genuine going about their day" and it managed to hit theaters. The editing and shots IMO felt more "real life" than pretty much every single other proper movie I've ever seen.
Sort of like Borat. 😂
YES I HAVE BEEN THINKING, this doesn’t feel like a big producer made this, it’s like a bunch of students and his family made this. IT DOESNT FEEL REAL.
If you were raised in the 60s and 70s this movie was like a take back to an era gone by...moon boots...guy and gosh...the irritability factor...something we experienced first hand...
A lot of the people I know who LOVE this movie say it's because they can relate to it. They're from small-town no-where USA, and they're like "I know that guy", "that was me", "we did that", "I've seen that", "that's exactly what it's like", "this is so relatable that it's hilarious and uncomfortable". What a lot of people don't get (whether the liked the movie or not) is that, for a lot of fly-over America, this is their mundane reality of oddball day-to-day life. It's small town life in the middle of nowhere, with all of the overlooked weirdness that seems to take refuge there.
Seriously. People who think only cities are weird have never lived in rural America
1000%
so true, I grew up small town prairies and everyone there LOVED this movie.
That’s 100% percent correct
it looks like you've just restored the Algorithm =)
One of the few moments of pure joy in my life was when my friend from Idaho told me about her experience with this movie. She first watched it in Idaho and neither she nor anyone else in the audience thought that it showed anything odd. Then when she went away to college in Virginia a few months later, she went to an on campus screening of Napoleon with her new friends that really wanted to see it. She was stunned that everyone in the theater laughed at every moment and it was one of the biggest learning moments of her life.
Why? Was Napoleon's world similar to her daily life? Why did it make you happy? Was it the realization that a different, simpler world existed out there? For I am sometimes hopeless that that world doesn't exist or has never existed
I saw Napoleon Dynamite as the ultra geek who made no effort to fit in or work on social skills as he knew it just wasn't worth it. You would never fit in with the cool kids and there is a cost to being friends with them anyway. That cost being a loss of sense of self. I didn't think there was anybody in real life as extreme as Napoleon Dynamite.
I watched it in Idaho when it first came out and everyone was laughing. Maybe she just lacks humor
Also Napoleon is a teenager comedy from the 2000s, back in those days these types of movies featured: Trendy clothing, trendy hairstyles, sexy everybody, sex, big city suburbs location, soundtrack featuring the hottest bands at the moment, famous people.
Napoleon had: outdated clothing (with washed out colors), outdated hairstyles, everyone is ugly, unsexy, nobody fucks, bumfuck nowhere, the soundtrack i shit you not is ELEVATOR MUSIC, nobody famous in it.
Its a memeable timeless masterpiece.
"Nobody famous"? Uh, Diedrich Bader? Hello?!? Pretty much the most famous person ever!
excuse me, uncle rico is hot as hell and absolutely fucks (even if offscreen) /s
@@thevictoryoverhimself7298 Old lady 37 year old here... Please shut up. Thanks.
Edit: lmao dude deleted his comment 😆
I didn't know the fucking WHITE STRIPES and CYNDI LAUPER were ELEVATOR MUSIC
Thank you for putting this into words!!!!
As someone who is Autistic. The monotone and often expressionless characters really resonated with me. They still had emotions and character without having to show it on their faces. I relayed to them a lot.
That’s interesting!
@Knight_Horus For real? Lol
I have autism too, and one of the reasons I love this movie is that I believe most of the main characters are at least unintentionally autistic too. And they don't need to learn to be "more normal," to be liked.
My granddaughter is autistic. Up until age three she would throw fits like we never had seen. She went to preschool a year early for extra help with socializing mostly and was the smartest kid there. She knew all her letters and numbers, could count up and down, colors, body parts, etc. at age two. Very sweet now, it's going to be fun watching her grow up.
I think the movie is hilarious, but I related more to the characters in Scott Pilgrim VS the World
The cast and crew of Napoleon Dynamite seem to be really nice people and they always do a ton of meet and greets. Just a few months ago they were at a local theater where I live for a showing and a Q&A afterwards. It did sort of add to the experience of the movie.
@@BumpySoup yeah I guess it is
I once ran into jon heder on an escalator at a convention and asked him if I could get a picture of him. As I went to take the picture he said "no you gotta be in it or no one will believe you" he was very, very nice
I honestly felt that this was an attempt to *intentionally create* a cult classic. I think that they succeeded wildly. Only the public's reaction seems to have failed them.
I think it came out just a teensy bit too late.
There's something oddly familiar and nostalgic that I can't really put my finger on. Something that captures the sweetly mundane, often awkward and yet dramatic little parts of youth that have been locked away and forgotten. Eating food from your pockets during class is something I'd done but have totally erased it from my memory until I saw that scene. The mystical powers of Ninjas and their weapons taken from the back pages of old comic books that somehow became fact among your friends. Bike tricks being the pinnacle of awesome...
i watched this movie for the first time in college while stoned out of my mind and i think that is still the most I have ever laughed at something
Love you T1J
I love this 🤣🤣💕
lol i watched it a few month ago while being stoned since then everytime i smoke i wanna see it again.
Your mom goes to college
That was Wayne's World 2 for me. Almost unwatchable when sober.
When this movie premiered, my wife and I went to preview it to make sure it was an okay flick for a 14 year old. We watched the whole film thinking something dark was going to happen, but it never did. We mostly sat there silently stunned. We walked out of the theater, into the daylight, and still hadn’t said anything to each other. Just before we got to the car, I turned to her and said “I don’t know what we just saw, but that’s going to be a cult movie.“ Yeah, I was prescient, so, you know, I have that going for me.
He, of course, loved it when he saw it, and my wife and I have watched it and quoted it often. How often? Whenever we WANT!! GOSH!!!
Some movies leaves memories in our lives.
Fake
@@videoestres Nope
It had a happy ending.
@@Kat.Evangeline14 And we stayed for it all and loved it. We still love technology, though. lol (Edit: By ‘loved it’ I mean that we’re glad we stayed for the whole thing. We didn’t actually love the movie at the time. I wrote it that way for the comedic effect of being able to say ‘we still love technology’. I’d change the original statement, but I wouldn’t want to add fuel to @videostres fire. BTW, I spent like three hours crafting words on this comment. It’s probably the best comment I’ve ever written.)
Honestly this movie really resonates with people like me from middle America, especially the west. Everyone I know in Utah love this movie. Middle America is full of characters stuck 20 years behind the rest of the country, so I’d assume more urban populations wouldn’t really get the specific lampoons.
The Tupperware schemes, the boondoggles, the 4 H club, the fashion, the incoherent farmer, thrift stores, etc.
It was my childhood. I moved to the city and they found it funny when I would talk about going to the chicken coop every morning to go get eggs. Or shooting grasshoppers with a bb gun. (You gotta shoot the flying ones). But that was all par for the course for those of us who lived out in the middle of nowhere.
Oh...we get it...lol
Yes, this is it. It recognizes the mediocre status quo reality of small town/rural America, but not in miserable depressing way. It's almost like a celebration of isolated disconnected small town life that teens are more aware of and feel more strongly than any other age group.
It's an aesthetic in real life as well and that's what it is about this movie I could never put my finger on until now.
Nailed it. My ex’s cousin from NYC didn’t find this movie believable
I was a 40 year old Australian when it came out. Instantly loved it. Still do.
I LOVE this movie! It's about friendship, loyalty, and courage when Napoleon dances to backup Pedro when he can't do his skit. Napoleon also scores a win for the downtrodden uncool kids. I love how the universe sets things right at the end for all the quirky but good-hearted people. It makes me happy to see them happy. The last montage scene always warms my heart.
I hate this movie. I hated it in middle school and I hate it as an adult. It’s just too dumb and I feel like a lot of people are just pretending to like it cause it’s cool to like weird quirky things, but this does a bad job at it.
@@jaredf6205 Well, sucks for you, I suppose.
To me it was like a US answer to Some Mothers Do 'ave 'em a sit com from the 70s and Gregory's Girl a film from the 80s.
@@jaredf6205 don't push your hate onto other people, i like this movie a lot, OP likes it a lot, and so do many others. it's all opinionated, don't get a stick up your ass about it
@@jaredf6205Nah I like it because it’s funny. It’s ok if you don’t find it funny but that kinda sucks and I feel bad for you
I discovered Napoleon Dynamite during one of the lowest, loneliest periods of my life in high school. I rented it on a whim and watched it late at night on a school night when I was supposed to be sleeping. I instantly fell in love with it and it's been a favorite ever since, but I could never quite put my finger on what exactly resonated with me so much until someone pointed out to me that the it's a movie about loneliness and overcoming it. I guess that's definitely a part of it. Also add to that the rural setting that very strongly resembles the place I grew up and it all adds up to be exactly the movie I needed at that point in my life. 18 years later and I'm still so grateful I stumbled on it.
Mean Girls came out about the same time and the message was the same in that trying to fit in with the cool crowd doesn't work. Except in Mean Girls the protagonist does join the It girls but finds out to her cost what it takes.
I come from a small town in New Zealand and this film became immediate cult classic there. Before we even knew about memes we were trading pictures of ligers, making our own vote for pedro shirts, and quoting the film everywhere we could. Probably one of the biggest film experiences of my mid-late teens
It took me a while to really appreciate this quirky film. The plot mostly meanders along, with nothing really much happening. But at the beginning, Napoleon states that he's going to do "Whatever he feels like doing", so it works as a slice of life look at offbeat characters, who are all memorable in their own ways.
It really was like living in nowhere America. Every day is like yesterday with minor changes.
Napoleon Dynamite involves the viewer, who has to find what's funny or what's deep, rather than throwing it in your face where you can't miss it. And that takes multiple viewings, with the movie being appreciated more and more each time. That's rare.
My friend showed it to me and before we watched it he said I would find it strange, but I should watch it a scond time and I'd love it. He was right. I swear it makes me laugh harder than before on subsequent viewings. Fantastic move
I'm a lover of film and must say-- this movie was great! This is exactly what film should be all about... doing things that dont follow the formula or conform to standards and expectations. It's ART people! Get creative; take risks; express your unique world perspectives! It's the whole point! And that's what I appreciated most about this film-- it was fiercely unapologetic for being true to itself-- which, of course, describes Napoleon Dynamite the character as well. I also loved that it had heart. The end was a surprise that gave you something to take home with you. In conclusion, this film was a net-positive for the arts and entertainment industry-- an industry that desperately needs to become reacquainted with the concept of experimentalism.
We have all felt awkward and we all pretty much hate that feeling. Napoleon put's the viewer into that sticky feeling like no other movie I've ever seen. But our character never overcomes the sticky awkwardness, he embraces it and in the end, wins with it. A good movie or song makes you feel something. Some people never want to feel awkward again and some people relate to it with familiarity. And that's why some people love it and some hate it.
Speaking as someone who has never seen the movie but is of course familiar with it, I loved this essay. Lana Wachowski's point about aesthetics was phenomenal and you really added to it with the Rocky comparison. Brilliant. I too hope the Age of the Algorithm will not deprive us of movies that defy easy categorization. Those are often the ones that bring me most joy.
Watch the movie
The irony of someone like Lana Wachowski waxing poetic about aesthetics is pretty hilarious.
@@ysf-psfx Why? Because she knows more about it than you could ever manage with cue cards and cheat notes?
@@MariaVosa BURRNNN
you're depriving yourself by not having watched this movie.
I introduced this movie to my little sister like two years ago and when watching it I found a new perspective. That in the setting of the film despite everyone and everything being mundane, Napoleon is actually the most interesting person. To everyone else he is a dork and he has no friends but as the movie goes on it becomes really apparent how boring everyone else is and nothing separates them from one another, not even Summer and her boyfriend who are presented as the cool couple. Napoleon on the other hand is into fantasy, drawing, and picks up dancing on the spot. So it is ironic that despite being the gawky kid, Napoleon is also the most interesting person in town
John Hughes films were like that too especially Some Kind of Wonderful. Only in one is the popular cool kid the protagonist and nay sayers say he was so unrealistic he must have been in the best friend's imagination not a character. That was Ferris Bueller's Day Off but you suspend imagination when watching a film.
this movie is spectacular and i dont care what anyone says. the scene where rico sits down kip and napoleon to watch a video of him throwing a ball holds a special place in my heart
When this movie first came out, it always bothered me when people said it has no plot. It absolutely does! Thank you for articulating that so well.
Some people also said that about the movie Friday with Ice Cube. I think it's because the way the film is shot and with it every feeling and slow pace that they forget everything in the background
It's juts that the plot breaks the mold of the typical formula. It is coming of age, but not in the typical journey way. It is like the days in the life of. Things happen and there is conflict. In fact it has the feel of a home video, where someone took out video of what was going on in their life.
In my mind the aesthetic wasn't just weird, it was absurd. Maybe its from growing up in a small town, but all the 'quirky' bits seemed familiar in their inexplicability. Characters, for instance, weren't personally relatable but my reaction for each oddball was, 'oh, I knew a guy like that.'
i think you're on to something. the movie never felt like it was telling a story, more like setting a mood. i grew up in a small town, and i found the characters relatable in the way that they were a over the top version of people i knew. I feel like everyone knows an Uncle Rico that a after a few beers starts musing about the past, or a Napoleon, that weird dude you went to school with, that was just kinda out there, not in a bad way, just a little off putting. The plot it self seems like a memory. if you have lived that life think back on all the funny memories you have where you are just doing mundane life BS that turned into comedy gold, a slip and fall, a turn of phrase, pets doing something goofy, you get it. Sure, there is a loose story about a student council election, but most of the story plays out with random scenes among these characters that speak to anyone who lived a proper rural life. so it makes sense it is polarizing, and you either love it, or hate it.
Great interpretation and thoughts. I think a major part of whether people like it or not is where they fit in when they were in high school and how they feel about it. Being somewhat of a weirdo back then, it resonated with me. Feeling awkward and then finding your people and strengths. Then again my mom likes it too and she was one of the popular kids. So maybe I'm wrong. Gonna go make a dang quesadilla
I dressed up as Napoleon for a "bad taste party" back in the day. Including the curly hair! My friend - the only other person who had seen the film - literally rolled on the floor laughing when he saw me. I will never forget his laugh. RIP buddy...
Aww, I’m sorry for your loss. 🕊
This movie is basically what me and my friends would do after school when I was in highschool. We would go to the thrift store and just look at random stuff and I actually had a job on a chicken farm when I was in school so when he grabs the chicken and starts getting pecked by it and gets wildly underpaid for working in a baking hot chicken house all day is something I can actually relate to. And the 1980's keyboard music is all that the thrift store used to play and we would go in there and sometimes we would chuck out a Napoleon Dynamite quote.
Napoleon dynamite came out when I was 12 or 13, it was more than a movie. it was a phenomenon. I remember me, my neighbors, my friends, my siblings, my cousins, EVERYONE had to have a Vote for Pedro shirt immediately. Also, being raised Mormon, it was everyone's favorite film because it was made by Mormons and was family friendly but still funny as all hell. Also: at 6:30, Jon Heder is wearing a shirt that says "Ricks College 1983". One of my teachers at church as a kid was a Ricks, and he taught us that Ricks College isn now BYU Idaho. Also, when Napoleon is shopping for his tux, he is at Deseret Industries, the Mormon thrift store. I'm definitely not Mormon anymore, but there's a lot of stuff in the movie that only Mormons would notice.
Wait that’s incredibly interesting. I’d love to see a video covering the Mormon aspects of the film.
Mostly same here. You cant isolate the movie as just the movie. It was the quoting that sustained the movie and made it spread as much as it did.
Not Mormon, but growing up in western Wyoming, totally got those Idaho Mormon references.
Also, at the dance, all the girls have little short sleeves on their dresses because you can’t show shoulder as a Mormon.
I live in Texas and still see an occasional Vote for Pedro shirt. 🤠👍
A++ analysis. One of my favorites ever and a litmus test for if my sense of humor will gel with yours (as friends). Hero’s journey and not just a whimsical character study-well done! Former hs English teacher and just want to compliment you on how well you laid this all out. Found your video after laughing out loud reading a long post with quotes from the movie-try it.
I liked this movie when it first came out because I *was* one of those weird kids that played with the tether ball in middle school, and I liked seeing Napoleon and his friends succeed. As an adult, I LOVE this movie, because I can see how sweetly and sincerely it was written and shot, which is so at odds with expectations that Napoleon is “supposed to be” made fun of because he’s awkward and uncharismatic. If you watch with an open mind, you see this little hero’s journey unfolding, showing all those weird kids out there drawing ligers and making lanyards that they can succeed in their own ways.
Although this was aimed at / marketed to teens, there were so many things in this movie that resonated with multiple age groups.
Something as simple as the super long phone cord. We were already used to wireless phones in almost every home, so many teens just thought it was weird - but people slightly older had hard flashbacks to their teens when that was an actual thing
This was an absolutely brilliant movie
I still had a corded landline phone then.
I tried to watch this film when I was 14, and I remember thinking it was kind of stupid, and turned it off about 20 minutes in.
5 years later, I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and ended up watching it again. I absolutely loved it. So, either I've gotten dumber over the years, or I finally "got it". Either way, I love this movie, and I'm really happy to see you cover it!
You finally got it
What's the right place and the right time to watch this movie?
@@Iksvomid i can't say this is the case for everyone. but for me, i was smoking pot with a friend in his apartment, when he asked if i'd ever seen the movie. i told him about how i tried to watch it once, and he asked if i would like to try again.
thats the setting i was in. i think its different from person to person, though, on what works
Same thing happened to me :)
@@Iksvomid when you realize you’re not cool. I’m not trying to be mean, that’s really it. That’s when this is relatable and funny.
I am from Gold Coast , Australia and it eerily reminds me of high school in the late 80’s. The way we used to be. I think that’s why I was so glued to it. The more I watched this film the more I would pick up little things that I missed before and the more I liked this film. Still can watch this movie over and over.
For a while, I couldn't decide whether I loved or hated this film. I fell in love with it when I saw the picture he drew with the shading on the top lip.
I never hated this movie, it has an endearing and familiar quality to it
How could you not?. It took him hours to do that.
John Heder actually drew that for the film! Every one of Napoleon's drawings, save the Unicorn at the very beginning, were done by John.
I think all of us have known someone like Napoleon, Pedro, or Uncle Rico. There’s something to this film that is so relatable, like I feel like I’ve sat in Napoleon’s grandmas house before or hung out with the broken English kid and even made friends with him. They accomplished something in this movie that is so unique but so familiar and nostalgic at the same time…
I just finished watching it for the first time like half an hour ago and now that you mention it two of my friends at college are a lot like both Napoleon and Pedro
Napoleon was very much like his brother Kip. Uncle Rico seemed to be the opposite. So slimey and over charismatic.
What amazed me the most about the movie is how timeless it felt. When I first saw it, I genuinely thought it was made around the 1980s and 90s due to it's use of the camera, weird teenage humor, and 80s songs. Then I found out that it was made in 2004 which really shocked me because I found it hard to believe that a movie so modern could capture a mundane life of someone in 1980s-90s Idaho.
And I still do sometimes which reinforces how aesthetic can really change your perspective of a movie. Really good video there!
The movie is actually set in 2004.
@@kojisan1 Thats what so many people dont get. When you move out of the big city a few hours into farm land or flyover, the culture automatically feels 10 or even 20 years older. everything from clothing style to cars on the road
I watched it and knew it was 'new' as a movie, but spent a lot of the film trying to figure out when it was supposed to be set due to a lot of the things you talk about. But I knew it couldn't be the 80s or early 90s since Kip spent so much time on the internet -- early 2000s in rural areas still sounded about right for dial up. I think they did dial up the "retro" a bit in Napoleon Dynamite, but there were also plenty of clues it was contemporary such as his fancy tape from Lafawnduh with Canned Heat on it.
It felt in time not much different from when I was graduating from HS about 10 years earlier... but then I thought about how everyone kept picking prom songs and super old graduation songs that were definitely out of date. No one could pick a song that was even 5 years old, so it having a lot of retro stuff mixed in wasn't that surprising. And a lot of girls who graduated with me still had pretty big 90s hair 10 years later.
Well, this will be a bit of a mouthful, but here we go. This movie probably feels a little different to me than most people who see it. This is because I grew up in Preston Idaho. I would watch this movie when I was a little kid too, so I didn't really understand just how bizarre it was that out of all the random, small towns there are, this movie took place in the one I lived in.
I did, however, recognize the locations. In fact, just by looking at background details, I'm able to tell roughly where a lot of the scenes are shot in conjunction to the main part of the town, even if I didn't go to a lot of them often. And that's not counting all the locations I recognize because I would actually go there often. There are three things to really look for to tell:
1: A mountain formation in the background called Little Mountain. It can be seen by Pedro's cousin's head at 1:44, and it enters the right side of the screen at 4:14. It is to the south of town, and a little bit to the east. You can actually find it in a lot of shots of the movie, if you're looking. It can usually be seen from the east or south of town, but it can also be seen from in town.
2: So basically, there's this mountain range to the East of the town. From the point of view near Preston, you can separate it into two different parts: the shorter, rounder, brown mountains, and the taller, sharper, dark mountains. The dark mountains stretch into the south while the brown mountains to the north. Preston sits near them at a point where the dark mountains can be seen from behind the brown mountains. If you see both of them at the same time, you are near some point between (or in) Preston and the mountain range. If you see only brown mountains and rolling hills, you are north of town. If you see flat-ish valley and/or dark mountains in the background, you are to the south of town.
3: This one doesn't show up as much, but there are also mountains to the west of Preston. They look smaller than the ones to the east, but that because the town is much closer to the east side of the valley. They also run a little bit to the north of town, but mainly on the west side. They are dark like the mountains that stretch south. If you see them, you are looking west, and probably to the west or north of town, but possibly south.
Alright, with all that out of the way, let's start figuring out where some things take place. Napoleon's house is to the east of town. The shot at 1:13 seems to be to the south of town, facing south, while the shot right after seems to be to the northeast of town, facing north (brown hills on right and short, dark mountains on left means facing north.) The shot at 1:43 is facing south, seems to be just east of town, though possibly a bit to the south as well. The car is driving north. The shot at 4:13 actually seems to take place at or near Napoleon's house, as the mountains are the dark ones with the brown ones in front of them, like the ones seen from Napoleon's house. The wide shot at 2:21 looks like it was filmed from the north end of the valley, facing west, but it could have been facing north. I'm not entirely sure.
As for the locations I recognize, it was a bit confusing as a kid, since a lot of the locations that seem to take place next to each other are in different places. For example, the tether-ball is at the elementary school, which is on the southern end of the town, but the scene acts like it's at the high school, which is in a completely different place in town. I knew the people who lived in the interior of Napoleon's house, which was a different building than the exterior. The bowling alley is along the southern end of main street. The bleachers and track are right next to the parking lot of a church, which is across an intersection from the high school, but the track is not next to the high school. A church steeple can be seen at 5:36. I went to the high school in the movie and have performed on the stage that Napoleon dances on. The colorful lockers are pretty much just in the hallway near the entrance as well as the floor right above that, but not in any of the newer parts of the school. The entrance can be seen from outside at 2:30, and the bike racks are in the correct spot by it. The auditorium can be accessed from the main hallway right across from the entrance. The house I grew up in is visible somewhere in the movie, but I will not say where, and some of the people who appear in the movie are relatives of mine. The store that Rico and Napoleon shop at was a chain store called Kings, but it shut down a few years ago. It wasn't the main grocery store in town. That would be a store called Stokes. The restaurant that Rico and Kip eat at, Big J's, still exists, but the building is different. It's burgers were pretty good. The patty might have felt too thin for some, but their grilling and condiment game was on point. It is also part of the same business as a pizza store right next to it called Pizza Villa, which had the best pizza in town, don't @ me. Pizza Villa had paintings of clowns in it (not scary ones) painted by a man, who I believe is dead, whose mother I knew, but she passed away a couple years ago in her 90s. She was a sweet lady. It shut down a couple years ago, but there was a video rental (as well as a bunch of other stuff) store in town a couple of years ago that had a ton of Napoleon Dynamite merch and stuff. The bowling alley has a lot of Napoleon Dynamite paraphernalia, like a big Uncle Rico signature on a wall, and a pin that was used in the movie. There is an annual parade that happens in the town, and I believe they used to showcase Uncle Rico's van, but I don't believe they do anymore.
Despite how it looks, it really does take place the year it was released. There are a lot of old houses in Preston, and small towns are usually some of the last places to integrate modern technology. I have been to houses in the town that feel super old and archaic, but people still live there.
Well, that was quite a ramble. I don't usually do stuff like that when I see UA-cam content about Napoleon Dynamite, but I felt like mentioning some stuff. I might delete this later since I don't like my online presence to be too connected with me in real life, and saying I lived in a such a specific small town pins me down a bit more than the stuff I usually say. Welp, that's about it. I might make a UA-cam video about something like this someday.
It's always a good day when you drop a video!
Listen to his podcast!!! Shit is fire
The more you can relate to Napoleon, the easier it is too see everything you have said. I don't think popular people can relate to Napoleon very well. This was a great video. Thanks!
Despite being a truly independent production helmed by first time filmmakers with a cast of unknowns and a few seasoned character actors, Napoleon Dynamite seems like a movie that was made in a lab to become a cult classic. What's surprising is that it ended up having the inverse trajectory and became a full-blown fad rather than a hidden gem that fans coalesced around over time. This has a lot to do with the nature of the joint marketing blitz mounted by Fox Searchlight and MTV Films that forced the cultural saturation point (to great success at the box office and subsequently DVD rentals and sales) but it blew past indie darling status and wore out its welcome quickly. The backlash settled in relatively early on and people acted like no one ever liked it and was cynical, too-quirky Hollywood hype machine fodder. This happened with a number of Searchlight comedies under Peter Rice's tenure as president like Garden State, Little Miss Sunshine, Juno etc.
I like Little Miss Sunshine and Napoleon. Juno was fine. Haven't seen Garden State but only hear good things.
Like anyone can ever know that.
@@timh2356 no one can ever know for sure in advance but people have made a living making predictions and throwing money at something to make those predictions come true.
@@kevonmartini10 I reckon you know a lot about cyberspace. You ever come across anything like time travel?
@@timh2356 I'm going to be a cage fighter.
I knew I was gonna like it right away, so I paused the video, watched Napoleon, and came back to watch the rest of the video. IT IS HILARIOUS. thank you. Also, Love your channel
Brought back some classic memories today. Great video man! 💕 It really is weird how aesthetic is rarely talked about by audiences. Maybe that’ll change one day
Glad you enjoyed!
This movie captures a sort of feeling that I’ve never seen ever again in a movie, and I love it. It reminds me of so many things that I don’t even know if I remember or not
This movie was quoted INCESSANTLY by my friends to the point where I could pretty much recite it before I had even seen it. I loved it when I did see it though...and I still do.
I was in 7th grade and my sister 11th when this came out, and we both remember all of our friends liking and quoting this movie. I'm now 31 and still love this movie. Not many movies could be watched and loved by adults and children alike.
Great take on it. As a statistician, I appreciate your analysis of this algorithm-breaking movie.
Subscribed because of this amazing insight to one of my favorite movies of all time. Thank you!
I liked the movie from the beginning, but I can't take all the credit for seeing its greatness, or anything like that. For me it was more of a timing thing. I was born and raised in Germany and German pop culture in the 90s and early 2000s was totally dominated by just this kind of weird, quirky, awkward humor. Napoleon Dynamite just fit into that very neatly, so I guess you can say I was primed and prepared to like it. It didn't feel strange or cryptic to me. I grew up with this kind of stuff.
Millions of people have the same background that you described, including me. I love the movie, but very few of my friends feel the same way. The question whether you like that sort of comedy is just too complex to break it down like that, I think.
@@MaeckesPlanB Maybe, but I do think it was easier for Germans to see past the weirdness and like the movie, because we were used to this kind of humor and weirdness. Most Americans watching it had a "WTF is that?" reaction. I didn't. To me, as someone who grew up with Helge Schneider music and movies, it felt familiar and not really weird. The only weird thing about it was that it was American and it was the first time I saw an American film maker go in that direction.
@@TrangleC Helge Schneider is a wonderful explanation for your presumption! :D I hope you liked 00 Schneider as much as I did! Damn, I have to re-watch it! Thanks for the reminder!
Guildo hat euch lieb...
What a perfect (and meta) way to end your video (with that scene from the film with Napoleon saying, "This was pretty much the worst video ever made!" But seriously, great discussion on a great film. Speaking of analogues, a really similar film I adore is "Eagle Vs. Shark." If anyone out there is saying, "Gimme something like Napoleon Dynamite," I think E vs S is about as close as you get, though each film is of course highly distinctive and singular.
YES!!! One of my favourite movies! Not just a sense of nostalgia for me.
It was also my first exposure to indie cinema as well as my first exposure to a sorta vignette-based film
If it was made in 2010, it would've definitely been a web series during the height of the web series craze. It would work so well in that format!
Great Show . Honest. Holds up even if food saver bowls don't
They filmed most of this movie about 15 minutes away from my house. While it didn't make me laugh out loud very often I found it pleasant to watch and extremely quotable.
Outstanding commentary and analysis!!!!!!
I love Napoleon Dynamite, but I am definitely a convert. I hated it the first time I watched it. When my friends started quoting it, I watched it again and hated it a little less. When they started to point out weird things hidden, like the growing pile of cheese, I started liking it. When I watched it again later that was when I really started to love it. It's geeky, but adorable.
You have to watch it with friends that already love the movie. One must be introduced to Napoleon Dynamite; watching it alone is the worst option. I learned that the hard way!
@@populer208 I loved the movie from the first time and i watched it alone
@@populer208 Weird generalisation...
This was an absolutely brilliant analysis. Congratulations and thank you.
I remember the first time I saw it and was just confused by it. My only thought was "nothing happened". But I couldn't wait to watch again because of how goofy it was. It wasn't a rom-com, it wasn't a coming-of-age story, and was barely a comedy. But I loved how simple it was; the stakes are super low but perfectly capture what feels like to be ordinary. There was just something admiral about its originality. And there still isn't any other movie or show that is similar to it.
One of favorite movies. And you put out quality content and your commitment to detail and your sincerity got a sub and like, Looking forward to more.
pedro lacks political experience
Wonderfully made! Thank you!
This is the only movie my father has ever forced our entire family to sit down and watch together. We have the exact same sense of humor, so naturally I also love this stupid movie. Made even better by how much my dad looked like Napoleon in high school. Really, it's uncanny.
Cool video! Thank you for this. I love Napoleon Dynamite so much, but I hadn't heard of The Napoleon Dynamite Effect. I learned a lot from this video. It helped me see one of my favorite movies in another light. It's interesting that I love Napoleon Dynamite but I dislike Wes Anderson films, although they apparently share the quirkiness. I didn't think about Napoleon Dynamite being a hero's journey but it kinda is. That's cool! P.S. You make me feel old because I was already in college when this movie came out!
Wow, I never noticed how similar to Wes Anderson it was until this video, a real eye opener!
Sheesh! This is such a great breakdown!! Thank you!
I think that the closer you get to the culture of Napoleon, the easier it is to understand the aesthetic. The aesthetic is very much small town intermountain west. In Utah growing up, the only people that didn't seem to like it were the kids that moved here from California, or wanted to live in California. Everyone who was a true Utahn absolutely loved it. My wife is from California, and hated it when we first got married. Now 12 years later, most of that time living here in Utah, we watched it the other day and she absolutely loved it.
I watched it first when I was a kid and remember it be meh . I watched again recently and I loved it . I feel like what a person likes about this film comes from that persons own experience . I have experienced more things that I can relate to in this movie on last view than I did on my initial viewing .
This is a brilliant video and analysis.
It's the only movie has such a specific feeling of authenticity, it's odd. I know some of it's exaggerated, but it never feels that way. And any changes of the heart happened as it usually does in real life: quietly inside of people, and you'd only know through a change in routine. A true comfort movie for me. Brings back so many great memories, too.
That's correct. It was authentic to the core.
All the main character arcs are about having thier wildest dreams come true. It's a kinda on the road movie to happiness and while all having different dreems they all interact on the way to thier final happiness.. Napoleon finds love and popularity padro becomes class president Uncle R is reunited with his girlfriend and quits living so much in the past. It's like the wizard of oz and all the characters share the road but all have different wildest dreems that come true.
I’ve never tried to understand why I love this movie. It always felt comfortable. It doesn’t remind me of home, but it feels like home.
Dude spot on. Great video!
I can't tell you how true to life this movie was for me. I had 2 sons and the movie could have been written with them in mind. I laughed so hard the first time I saw this! My sons' of course didn't see any similarities whatsoever which made it even that much more funny 🤣
I didn't get it at first, but it grows on you. It has so many great quotes. Also makes everyone feel better about their own circumstances.
My son has Autism. When he was younger I went to many conferences to learn about his diagnosis and how best to help him. On one occasion Napoleon Dynamite was playing in the conference room while we were waiting for the speaker. The reason this was done is that the characters from this movie display characteristics that are similar to those on the autism spectrum, especially those diagnosed with Asperger’s. In my opinion the movie is a very real representation of the experiences many individuals on the autism spectrum have in their school lives. I do like that this movie shows both the negative and positive aspects of the challenges they face dealing with social experiences in schools. It would be interesting to know if the creators had any knowledge of Autism and if the movie was in part meant to highlight real world experiences of those with ASD. Either way, I enjoy the movie.
They should have films with someone who is the opposite to Napoleon Dynamite to show extreme neurotypicals who have no personality other than to be cool, popular and fit in. Oh wait that was Uncle Rico. Rather like Flash Harry in the St Trinians films. Or the weak follower types like Gretchen in Mean Girls.
I had a friend who is a yes man to the point of being like the Withered Wojack so much so that I wanted to urge him to be more Napoleon Dynamite and develop personal skills. To Napoleon having skills were more important than trendy looks, helping people or fitting in.
Interesting commentary-well done!
I think what’s special about it is that all characters, including the cool kids, are incredibly lame. The popular girl is a troop leader for an interpretive sign language dance troop for Christ’s sake!
Exactly, most movies try to make everyone likeable but in doing so they make their stories less realistic. ND convinces the viewer to like characters even though they are genuinely weird.
That was the best explanation of Napolean Dynamite! And you're right, its sad that other weird flicks don't get made because of an algorithmic expectation.
Before finishing watching the video, I LOOOOOOOVE THIS FILM and I hope one day I create a cult for this film's lovers.
Can I join?
I remember seeing ND in a theater. Immediately went back and took friends to see it. That movie brought PURE JOY to me.
I watched Napoleon Dynamite when I heard about it breaking the algorithm. I liked it because it was about normal maturation, which isn't usually a subject for movies. Not exactly a hero's journey, but more like becoming steadier and more sensible after an unpromising start.
Really good job. Thanks for sharing
It's hard for me to imagine not liking that movie.
This review is the best and most in-depth I have ever seen on the best movie ever made. Subscriber earned.
To me the movie is a mild tragedy about the lonely, the “passed by”, the dreamers. They find their own inner sparks in ways deeply meaningful to themselves, but no-one else….as the universe spins endlessly, and mindlessly, around them.
I loved Napoleon Dynamite from the first time I saw it at 9 or 10. With all the fight for more representation in cinema, it's surprising to me that so many people hate this movie. This is the first and only movie I've seen that feels like it understands growing up in rural America. Even though it's set 1500 miles from where I grew up in the Midwest. Teenagers are awkward, say stupid stuff, and worry about going to the school dance. This isn't an escapist movie. This is a reassuring, "sometimes life sucks make the best of it" movie. The escapism from a nothing town is shown through Napoleon himself with his obsession with ligers and pegasus.
People are confusing plot progression with a complete transformation. Napoleon didn't get a make over. He didn't become conventionally handsome to win over the auditorium at school. He learned a new skill.... which is something people SAY they want in a movie, but obviously not.
And so much of the movie is about an immigrant trying to find his place in a culture he's just getting the hang of. It captures what that kind of life feels like without getting over the top dramatic about it.
I love this movie - I find something new to laugh at whenever I watch it (once or twice a year). It's a rambling examination of the dynamics of relationships and how weird and glorious all we human beings are. Thanks for reminding me - I'll watch it again tonight!
I think Napoleon Dynamite is akin to Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Both films show a hero who's a 'nerd' or outcast, in other words an unlucky low status person. BUT, the lesson with both movies is that the measure of how cool you are is inside yourself, and nowhere else. You are as exactly cool as you believe you are. No one can tell you otherwise. Heck Yeah!
Or the Mr Bean films. Only he's a grown man.
My oldest sister watched Napoleon Dynamite in the movie theater. Her trying to explain it to me over the phone, opening bus scene especially, and why it was all so funny went over my head until I was able to watch it the next year.
"I bet you I could throw this football over them mountains." - Uncle Rico
Oh, NOW I see it!
This was great, thank you. i was 25 and saw it on a college campus with my boyfriend; i had (and still have) never seen an audience laugh so surprisedly and naturally at the same time! It was SUCH a fun screening and this movie has held a special place in my heart ever since. IIRC, we went *because* the review in the local indie rag described it as 'difficult to categorize'. i didn't exactly grow up in a small town but i think this movie portrays life as an outsider very well. (Also, as another commenter points out, this time period at The Dawn of the Internet was a very specific feeling. A low rumble, a trembling, before the whole world cracked + opened up. More innocent for sure.) Ultimately, it's all about being yourself and following your heart!! There simply is no movie like it.
I've been thinking about this movie a lot lately, and one unique thing that makes me appreciate it is it shows that life during simpler times had a charm to it.
Living in a small town, in days before the internet, you felt so isolated from the rest of the world, but that made it feel almost cozy in a way.
This video is spot on. I absolutely love this movie - EASILY one of my top favorite movies. But I just could not put my finger on why. This video explains why. Well done!
I still need a t-shirt saying: "Your mom goes to college!"
N.D. is weird,totally socially disfunctional,but he truly loves his few friends. That is lacking these days. The fact that he tries so hard to be a good person makes the crazy journey worthwhile. Debby and Pedro are sweet people who love N.D.,thus so do we.
VOTE FOR PEDRO!🙂
I like Napoleon Dynamite and Wess Anderson movies. Thank you.
People who like Napoleon Dynamite are 100% more likely to have a video essay youtube channel.
I can remember when this movie was released on DVD, me and a few friends watched it together. Most of us were literally crying with laughter but a couple of my friends sat stoney faced through the entire thing.
Ebert was abysmally bad at reviewing comedies. He gave this and "Wet Hot American Summer" one-star reviews, and called the remake of "Death at a Funeral" better than the original British one. Even his review of "The Hangover," which he liked, reads like an alien trying to break down the mathematical formula of how comedy is supposed to work.
However, I will give him points for that Wet Hot American Summer review being quite funny.
While I often agreed with his reviews, he did have some inability to see why people might like more esoteric movies, usually comedies.