Review of Napoleon Dynamite (2004) by Adam F — 03 Jan 2013

"Napoleon Dynamite" is a strange film because initially a lot of audiences will interpret it the wrong way or be turned off by its unusual subject matter but if you stick with it you'll see that it has some good laughs and a lot of heart.

What you'll need with this movie is patience because at first, the characters will seem just so bizarre and eccentric that they'll really get on your nerves. After a while though you might start to think about "Napoleon" and wonder how someone like this (someone who is spending hours to try and awkwardly win a girl over and being nearly obsessed with animals that most of us wouldn't give a second thought to) would be in the "real" world and you'll realize that this is pretty much a film about a character with Aspberger's syndrome (or something similar) and his interactions with a world that is often just as quirky as he is.

In that way, the movie becomes a story about a misfit character that a lot of people have very little expectations of and actually turns out to be doing pretty well for himself. The performances are very good and when the film really kicks in (especially towards to last third) it will really win you over and you'll find yourself getting attached to all of the characters.

Unfortunately the movie is often so bizarre that a lot of people just won't see the humour in it and absolutely hate it (or even like it for all of the wrong reasons) but if you're even mildly entertained stick with it and it will likely win you over.

"Napoleon Dynamite" might not be for everyone and in fact it's a "love it or hate it" sort of movie, but it's definitely worth checking to see if you'll love it. (Dvd, December 29, 2012).