Napoleon Dynamite

There’s nothing like a free movie, right? Thanks to a little pointer from our friends at Boing Boing, I got to check out a screening of Napoleon Dynamite last night in Mountain View. Short review: weirdest movie ever.

You always need to be careful when someone gives you something for free. In the case of the free screening, I had to wonder what kind of cruel alternative form of payment Fox Searchlight intended to extract from me in lieu of payment. Would I need to fill out some multiple choice form after the show? Would I be forced to provide a gushing on-camera review to obtain my freedom? My mind reeled as I tried to come up with a review that would permit me to escape without actually lying (in the event the movie sucked). You know, something along the lines of:

“This movie displayed the quality of creativity and imagination I’ve come to expect from the company that produces Fox News!”

Hmm, not snappy enough. Looks like I’d be selling out, yet again, should the movie turn out be a lemon.

As it turned out, the movie didn’t suck. That’s not to say it was good either, just very quirky. The movie focuses on Napoleon Dynamite, a high school loser – you know the guy: t-shirt tucked into his pants. Explosively bad hair. Moon Boots. All around weird. And yet, oddly relatable. Hmm…note to myself: untuck your t-shirt and throw away your Moon Boots.

The plot of the movie is just as unkempt as its central character – I can’t figure out if this is intentional or due to the fact that what I saw may not be the final cut. The whole thing had a slightly unfinished quality to it – what was the point of this movie? What was the central character’s struggle? The movie seemed like a bunch of short comedic skits strung together into a movie. It wasn’t until the end that a plot emerged, culminating in a hilarious dance routine performed by the nerdly Napolean and set to a blazing Jamiroquai track that made the whole thing worthwhile.

I can only conclude that the unfinished, loose feel of the plot of the movie was intentional. After all, someone paid a lot of attention to the color scheme of everything in the movie. Everything had that washed out Rayon and rompus room feel to it, sort of like The Royal Tenenbaums. Very seventies – and yet the time period of the movie was unclear. Seventies outfits. Eighties music. And nineties stoneresque loser characters.

Speaking of stoners, did I mention that our theatre supported Stoner Surround Sound™? Also known as a large group of guys high on something – if not marijuana, then at least a potent rhino tranquilizers of some variety. Only extremely powerful pharmaceuticals could explain the earnestness with which they sang along with the Cindy Lauper version of “Time After Time” during the high school dance scene. They’re very brave men. Extremely stoned, brave men.

Bottom line: weird, quirky movie that you’ll have to see yourself. I predict you’ll either love it to death or hate it entirely – but it’ll probably take several viewings before you can decide.