Napoleon Dynamite Is One Of The Most Unusual And Hilarious Comedies Of The 2000s. Jared Hess Took A Tiny Story About Awkward Teenagers, Weird Family Members And Small Town Life And Turned It Into A Cult Classic That Still Feels Completely Original.
Napoleon Dynamite is one of those movies that is almost impossible to compare to anything else. It does not have a complicated plot, huge action scenes or a traditional Hollywood comedy structure. Instead, it takes a bunch of strange characters, puts them in a small Idaho town and lets their personalities create most of the comedy.
Jon Heder stars as Napoleon Dynamite, and his performance is basically the entire movie. Napoleon is socially awkward, completely confident in his own opinions and seemingly unaware of how strange he appears to everyone else. Heder plays him with such a straight face that even the smallest things Napoleon says become funny.
The story follows Napoleon as he deals with high school, his unusual family and his desire to help his new friend Pedro run for class president. Napoleon is not exactly the most popular kid in school, but he becomes surprisingly invested in Pedro’s campaign and eventually decides to help him win.
Efren Ramirez plays Pedro Sánchez, Napoleon’s quiet and friendly new friend. Pedro is almost the opposite of Napoleon because he is much more reserved, but the two make a great team. Their friendship becomes one of the main reasons the story works.
Tina Majorino plays Deb, another outsider who becomes friends with Napoleon. She is shy and awkward herself, which makes her one of the few people who seems to understand Napoleon. The relationship between Napoleon and Deb is funny, but there is also something surprisingly sweet about it.
The supporting cast is where a lot of the movie’s comedy comes from. Aaron Ruell plays Napoleon’s older brother Kip, who spends most of his time chatting with women online. Jon Gries plays Uncle Rico, a man who is completely obsessed with his glory days as a high school football player. Haylie Duff plays Summer, Pedro’s main competition for class president.
Uncle Rico is one of my favorite characters because he is ridiculous without realizing how ridiculous he is. He keeps talking about what he could have accomplished if his football career had worked out differently. His obsession with the past becomes one of the movie’s funniest running jokes.
Kip is another great example of the strange humor in Napoleon Dynamite. His online romance and desire to become a cage fighter seem completely ridiculous, but the movie never treats any of it like a huge joke. Everyone acts as though what they are doing is perfectly normal, which somehow makes it even funnier.
Jared Hess directed the movie and co-wrote it with his wife, Jerusha Hess. The direction is deliberately simple and low key. Instead of constantly telling the audience when something is supposed to be funny, Hess lets the awkward situations sit there and allows the audience to discover the humor for themselves.
That style is a huge part of why the movie became so popular. Napoleon Dynamite does not move at a frantic pace like many comedies. There are long pauses, strange conversations and scenes where almost nothing happens, but somehow you are still interested because the characters are so unusual.
The comedy is also very quotable. Lines like “Gosh!”, “Idiot!” and “Vote For Pedro” became part of the movie’s identity. Even the smallest moments, like Napoleon trying to demonstrate his skills or Uncle Rico throwing a steak, became memorable because the movie has such a unique sense of humor.
One of the most famous scenes is Napoleon’s dance at the school assembly. Without giving away too much, it is the perfect example of what makes the movie work. Napoleon is completely committed to what he is doing, and that confidence makes the scene hilarious while also making it strangely inspiring.
There is actually a lot of heart underneath the weirdness. Almost every major character is an outsider in some way. Napoleon, Pedro, Deb, Kip and Uncle Rico are all dealing with their own insecurities and disappointments. They may be strange, but the movie never suggests that they need to become completely different people to be worth caring about.
The movie also has a very specific visual style. The Idaho setting, awkward clothing, old fashioned technology and deliberately bland locations make it feel like it exists in its own little universe. It is difficult to pin down exactly when the movie takes place, and that adds to its strange charm.
Napoleon Dynamite was made on a relatively small budget, but that actually works in its favor. The movie does not need expensive sets or elaborate effects because the characters are the entertainment. It feels personal and independent rather than like a comedy manufactured by a major studio.
That is why Napoleon Dynamite became a classic comedy. It is not trying to be bigger or louder than everything else. It simply has its own personality. Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Aaron Ruell, Jon Gries and the rest of the cast completely commit to the strange world Jared Hess created.
For me, Napoleon Dynamite is a great example of how a movie does not need a complicated story to become memorable. It is weird, awkward, incredibly quotable and genuinely funny, but it also has a surprisingly positive message about being comfortable with who you are. That combination is what turned this little 2004 comedy into a cult classic that people are still quoting and talking about more than 20 years later.
