Napoleon Dynamite: I finally understand the polarized response to this movie. Either you get it or you don’t. There are no jokes, and very little plot – the humor comes in the ridiculous behavior of the characters, in my case because they were all just so gosh darned familiar. From the clothes to the hobbies to the speech patterns, Napoleon and his cohorts are the embodiment of all the obliviously awkward traits of all the weirdos I’ve ever known. And yet I found myself rooting for them. Laughing at them, but rooting for them all the same.
A bit of trivia for y’all: when I was 16, I wore the exact same dress as Trisha wears to the dance, except mine was navy blue. About made me fall out of my chair. I’ve been told adamantly that this story is supposed to take place in modern day but with the exception of a 1999 Backstreet Boys song, this movie has early 90s written all over it.
Give this movie a shot. You’ll either love it or wonder what all the fuss is about. I personally thought it was awesome. Either way, this movie is the birthplace of several catchphrases which show up on t-shirts and elsewhere, so if nothing else you’ll be in on the joke.
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