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	Movie Review - Napoleon Dynamite (2004)     (What this rating means)       Director: Jared Hess Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, and Tina Majorino Rated: PG Length: 94 minutes Genre: Comedy Tagline: He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove. Studio: Fox Searchlight Website: Napoleon Dynamite PLOT Napoleon is a high school nerd in a rural community. The movie covers a few days in his life - he makes a new friend, meets a girl, and helps his new friend win the class presidency. Annoying characters and weird plotlines ensue. MR. SHADE'S TAKE The only reason I got to see this film is because there apparently isn't much of a crossover crowd between I, Robot and Napoleon Dynamite. I attended I, Robot the night before this screening and they were having trouble giving away the passes to ND. In fact, most of the passes that were given away wound up on the floor. Johnny probably would have gone to this one, but he was already scheduled to make an appearance at a Without a Paddle screening. Johnny: Thanks for taking one for the team, buddy. Sorry I got to go to the good screening. Oh wait, no I'm not. ND wasn't really at the top of my list, but I was curious. An independent film starring a couple of people who have never done any professional acting - I figured it couldn't be any worse than some of the Michael Paré movies I've seen. Fortunately, it wasn't that horrible. The plot of the film is pretty non-existent. It's more than half-way through the movie before the whole class presidency plotline makes an appearance. This and the building romance between Napoleon and Deb are the only plotlines in the entire move. Everything is basically a five minute skit with no connection to the rest of the movie, so the movie ends up playing like a weekly TV show stretched to an hour and half. This works when you have likable characters and/or really funny skits. ND is found lacking in both. Napoleon (Jon Heder) himself irritated me to no end. He constantly talks in a forced, throaty voice and lacked any kind of charisma. It's hard to even feel sorry for him when he gets picked on by the other kids at school. His brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) was not much better, but he was on screen less. Not surprisingly, neither of these guys has much experience in professional acting. Napoleon's friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and love interest Deb (Tina Majorino) weren't unlikable, but all they really did was stare into space and say two-word sentences. I was much more interested in the other characters in the movie. Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) was pretty funny and the main reason I enjoyed the film at all. Uncle Rico is put in charge of Napoleon and Kip when their grandmother gets injured in a motorcycle accident. He's basically this middle-aged door-to-door salesman who dreams of his past football days and constantly checks his muscles. Gries does a great job of playing a slimy jerk just out for himself. Diedrich Bader (from the Drew Carey show and he played Jethro in the Beverly Hillbillies movie) had a hilarious bit part as a martial arts instructor who created his own style: Rex Kwon Do. He's wearing American Flag pajama pants and he states, "You don't want to take a round-house kick to the head while I'm wearing these!" Truer words have never been spoken. Unfortunately, most of the film revolves around Napoleon, and we waste time watching Napoleon do things like feed his llama, move chickens to the chicken coup, and test milk for the Dairy Farmers of America organization. None of these scenes are particularly interesting or funny. ND gets picked on for most of the movie, but he just accepts it. This leaves ND nothing to accomplish and not much has changed between the beginning of the movie and the end. ODDS & ENDS Jon Heder played Seth in the comedy short Peluca, which was also directed by Jason Hess. Seth was also a super nerd in Peluca. Napoleon Dynamite is a pseudonym used by Elvis Costello for his 1986 album, Blood and Chocolate. A five minute epilogue is being added to the film for its nationwide release. Diedrich Bader was in Office Space with Stephen Root who was in an episode of The Young Riders with Josh Brolin who was in The Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon. MAMA'S APPROVAL Nothing really offensive in the film, but I seriously doubt my mom would enjoy this. TRAILER COMPARISON The trailer does a good job of summarization, but the movie seems to move slower than what the trailer suggests. If you thought the trailer was hilarious then go see the movie. Everyone else will probably find the film a waste of time. THE GIST If you like really weird, goofy, slow-paced comedies then go see Napoleon Dynamite. Teenagers should get the most out of this film while the adults and children in the audience will be going, "Huh?"	RETURN TO HOME PAGE Eagle Eye Righteous Kill Tropic Thunder Traitor Death Race Star Wars: Clone Wars The Dark Knight Journey to the Center of the Earth Hancock Get Smart Weekend Results: 1. Eagle Eye($29,200,000) 2. Nights in Rodanthe($13,570,000) 3. Lakeview Terrace($7,000,000) 4. Fireproof($6,514,000) 5. Burn After Reading($6,169,000)

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