I Saw Napoleon Dynamite, and I Don't Get It

[Yavin4]

For the life of me, I don't understand why it's become an instant cult classic.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Because it's fuckin' genius!

One of the funniest and most intelligent movies I've seen in a while.

it's brilliant!

[dhinojosa]

Can you bring me my chapstick? nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. ROTFL! We posted the same to each other at the same time.

:rofl:

[dhinojosa]

10. Hey, Rabrrrrrr

Did you get to see the stuff after the credits on DVD?

[TBreeze]

30. the wedding?

That was funny too. :)

[youthere]

15. Eat the FOOOD Tina!!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

21. Rabrrrrr! Lemme have some of your tots!

[PittPoliSci]

26. Funny? Absolutely. Intelligent? Not a chance.

It's funny because it's so inane!

[Rabrrrrrr]

38. Yes, but it's a very intelligent inane! It is not stupid writing at all.

The story might not be of intelligent people, no - but the writing itself is VERY intelligent!

This isn't Top Gun, which is a stupid movie done stupidly.

Napolean is a stupid movie done intelligently and brilliantly.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

43. Sublime comic writing.

And directing and acting. We replayed LOOKS that characters
gave other characters ten times and laughed harder each time.
Somebody said it gets better and funnier each time you see
it, and I agree, and that is a sign of the layers of subtle
awareness of the human comedy in this really wonderful film.

[dhinojosa]

2. Gaaah! What do you think it was about?

Put grandma on the phone would ya?

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Look, just bring me my chapstick

[dhinojosa]

5. hahaha. JINX!!!!

hehe

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. HHHHhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[WCGreen]

3. Cause it's something the cool kids don't get......

[Kire]

14. smart ones, neither

[Moochy]

8. Vote for Pedro!

I think it mocked teen movies with its plot structure. Unexpected twists, and if course the lyger. Maybe one has to have known some guy like Napoleon Dynamite in high school to appreciate it? It had an 80's feel even though it was set in a current day, and so had all kinds of goofy cultural backwater references.

Worth seeing once or twice. not a cult movie, I think that misnomer gets attached to any movie that does way better in word of mouth and video than onscreen.

[dhinojosa]

9. He'll make all your dreams come true. nt

[Moochy]

11. I saw it twice but maybe missed this.

Why did pedro feel so hot he had to shave his head? Did he have a fever? or was he just a freak like Napoleon?

[radwriter0555]

40. "Pedro offers you his protection..."

And of course, LaFawnda.

[Placebo]

12. I bought it before watching it...

and still don't think it's anything special.

I watched it like twice and saw no reason to watch it again. It's like the whole "more cowbell" thing...it gets old fast.

[tjdee]

13. Make yourself a quesadilla, LOL.

Loved it.

It was different than other recent films in that it underplayed its 'moments' and didn't go, for example, HERE'S THE INTERRACIAL COUPLE. HE'S WHITEEEEEEEEEEE. And she's BLLLAAAACCCCCKKKK. It didn't linger in its funny moments--Napoleon didn't do an entire bit around feeding Tina. It wasn't a production. He said his few lines, it was over.

It was very natural.

It's more a character driven piece than a plot driven one, so if you don't think the characters alone are funny, the movie kind of lags for you I'd imagine.

[fujiyama]

16. That's a good point

I found it strange but entertaining. I found it relatively realistic. I found my self relating my own middle school experience in more than a few ways to Napolean and his buddy Pedro. The awkardness was really well portrayed.

But I have to say it dragged at times.

[Coventina]

22. That's a DANG quesadilla!

:D

[d_b]

17. It took me three hours to shade in your upper lip

[Reverend_Smitty]

18. I brought you a delicious bass

[YellowRubberDuckie]

19. We didn't get it either...

And people keep giving us shit about it. Screw 'em. I'd rather watch Eurotrip or Evolution. :shrug:
Duckie

[Bouncy Ball]

20. Not everyone gets it.

It's ok.

Sometimes people hear too much hype and have weird expectations. I saw it with NO expectations. Thought it was cute and funny first time I saw it, then WAY fucking funny the next time and I came to appreciate it more the more I saw it.

And are you drinking 2 percent because you think you're fat? Because you could drink whole.

[RoyGBiv]

23. Gosh!

I'd offer a formal critique, but it'd just flippin' bore everyone.

Suffice to say, the "Dance!" scene, and its placement, is such a masterpiece of timing and delivery, it alone is worth the price of admission.

[LoZoccolo]

24. There's not much really to get.

It's more of a character study of an interesting person, and an immersion into an interesting place, with all this quirky dialog.

[jobycom]

25. Weak script, bad acting, and high school level directing-- I liked it

It wasn't genius. It wasn't even very good. But it was adorable.

[Trajan]

27. Dont feel bad .... Its ART ....

And EVERY DUer hates some Art or other ....

[stanwyck]

28. It's like British humor

you either think it's hysterical. Or you don't. There's no way to explain it. My family all watched "Napoleon" over the holidays. Then we were totally obnoxious repeating the lines to each other. My sistet was visting and when my husband said to me "are you drinking skim milk cause you think you're fat? Cause you're not. You could drink whole milk." My sister said that was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard. I didn't know how to tell her that he was just repeating a line from a movie.

[goodboy]

29. I "got it" but it wasn't as good as everyone said it was. My brother

was over and we were looking through the movies on demand.

My bro says, "Let's watch Napoleon Dynamite, it's HILARIOUS!"

I said, "Ok"

I made my brother pay back the $4.95.

Too bad I can't make him give me two hours of my life back.

[Enraged_Ape]

31. If you're from Idaho, it's shit-your-pants hilarious

It is a DEAD-ON portrayal of life in the Idaho backwater. I knew every one of the people in this movie when I lived there...several versions of them, actually.

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

32. I saw Napolean before it became a hit

and wasn't very impressed. There were funny bits but thats pretty much it. Give me Rushmore, a fairly similar film because of the quirky main and supporting characters, anyday.

[put out]

33. What are you doing today, Napoleon?

Whatever I feel like doing, gosh.

Vote for Pedro.

Some folks like it, others don't. I do.

[Theres-a]

34. I loved it

It was so random.Tina eat some meat!

[last_texas_dem]

35. Don't worry, I didn't either

I didn't think it was a particularly good movie. I saw it once and have no plans to see ever see it again. It has a handful of funny sequences that would work better as skits than as parts of a full-length movie. And it does have several lines that are fun to quote; that was the most I got out of it.

Napoleon Dynamite and Lost in Translation are the two most recent movies that I haven't been able to figure out for the life of me why such a big deal was made about them.

[Hardrada]

36. I guess the Dukes of Hazard

isn't so hot either.

[RandomKoolzip]

37. It's overrated.

It's funny, but so is a lot of stuff. It reminded me of a sketch from "The State" or "The Vacant Lot" or one of those mid-90's sketch comedy shows expanded to two hours.

[ForrestGump]

39. It's crap

I 'got it,' but it was still basically crap. A couple of redeeming moments, but I'm just glad I didn't actually pay to see this waste of celluloid.

Gosh.

[MercutioATC]

41. It may be an age issue.

Most people my age and younger (that I know) liked it.

Most older people didn't.

(I'm 37)

[Raiden]

42. Because it's a flippin' brilliant comedy

full of dry humor and social commentary


GOSH!

[Wapsie B]

44. I saw it.

It had its moments but that's about it. And it normally doesn't take a whole lot for me to be entertained at a movie. But then I never got into RHPS.