Review of Napoleon Dynamite (2004) by Bing B — 01 May 2015

Let me just start this my saying that this movie is probably not for me. Unlike most people I don't pray to the god of quirky Teenage comedies 3 times a day. So I may give this a harsher review.

So Napoleon Dynamite, where do I start... It's a quirky teen comedy about an awkward teenage boy who... does stuff. I can't really get more complicated than that, because to be honest, there's not really an actual plot anywhere. It's more just "Napoleon does stuff". There's really just a romantic "Subplot" and it's bland and shallow at best.

And as for "Vote for Pedro" goes, I don't actually mind too much. It's honestly the only funny thing to come out of the movie. It's a funny meme and I honestly can't really think of any reason why it shouldn't exist.

Now back to the movie itself. Character development doesn't exist, as it walks into the same bottomless abyss as the plot. It's almost sad when the only character development in the movie is an improvement in dancing skills. And as for the characters themselves.

Most of the characters are stereotypes of some sort. Rex is the overly macho self defense instructor, Napoleon, along with is brother and love interest, are just awkward teenagers (or adults). And then there's Pedro, the only slightly interesting character in the film. because unlike Napoleon, he actually has a bit of personality, other than spouting "Gosh" every 15 seconds he's on screen. And unlike his love interest, his dialogue doesn't make me want to stab my eardrums with a rusty crab fork. Although compared to other movies, he's a standard secondary character.

But fortunately for those who intend to watch it, it does have a bit of charm on its side. It isn't good at all, but the amount of references and (I shiver at the thought) internet memes keep it floating above a 1 star rating.