NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
Directed by: Jared Hess.
Produced by: Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt & Sean C. Covel.
Written by: Jared Hess & Jerusha Hess.
Director of Photography: Munn Powell.
Edited by: Jeremy Coon.
Music by: John Swihart.
Released by: Fox Searchlight.
Country of Origin: USA. 86 min. Rated: PG.
With: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino & Diedrich Bader.
DVD Features: Commentary by director/co-writer Jared Hess, producer Jeremy Coon & actor Jon Heder. “Peluca”, student short film with commentary. Making-of featurette “The Wedding of the Century”. Deleted scenes with commentary. Promos. Trailers. English & Spanish audio. English, French & Spanish subtitles. Widescreen/full screen.

An awkward high schooler who whiles away the hours doodling reveries to Pegasus, Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) lives with his grandmother and his older brother in rural Idaho. At school, Napoleon is picked on by bigger and popular kids who belittle his interest in the Loch Ness monster, slam him against the locker or smoosh his tater tots. His only friends are fellow nerds Deb (Tina Majorino), an aspiring fashion photographer, and Pedro (Efren Ramirez), the new kid fresh from Mexico. Tension comes from the attempts Napoleon makes to fit in on his own terms; to get a date for the dance or Pedro elected as school president. His efforts are frustrated mainly by his interfering Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), who makes sleazy attempts to sell breast-enhancing herbs to Napoleon’s female classmates. Stuck in 1982 (somehow the whole town is too), Rico believes that if the coach had only put him in the fourth quarter, senior year, he would have gone pro, and these days probably be "sitting in the hot tub with his soul mate."

Aided by mostly clever writing, the cast has a subtle grasp of their characters. Even Uncle Rico eventually become appealing. Ultimately wholesome, the film’s mild character-driven humor and its treatment of events and its eccentrics can only be described as sweet, one of the adjectives Napoleon uses frequently. From its inventive opening sequence, which sets the tone, viewers are likely to be amused onward. Joel Whitney, screenwriter/poet, teaches at Fordham University
June 18, 2004

DVD Extras: If you're on the fence about watching the film, you can sample its sense of humor in Hess' short film, "Peluca". The MTV promos are funny and offbeat, the perfect marketing tools for this deadpan and quirky film. On the audio commentary track, Hess, a director to keep your eye on, keeps the mood light by punctuating the conversation with tales of his days at Brigham Young University with Napoleon himself, actor Jon Heder. After the film’s credits, stay tuned for an additional scene, a wedding that was added to the film in the middle of its theatrical run, capitalizing on the good word-of-mouth it had generated. Jeff Sneider
February 23, 2005