Leoni Haney
Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
elicopperman
Let's be honest with ourselves, humor is incredibly subjective. Someone may find slapstick, dark humor or even college door room jokes hilarious, while someone else could prefer political satire or parodies of certain entertainment media humorous. So with that said, today's movie has been seen as a laugh-riot cult classic ever since it came out in 2004, complete with the famous catchphrases like "Friggin Idiot" or "Are you drinking 1% milk cause you think you're fat?". That being said, as much as I really wanted to like this film, after watching it, my initial reaction was....uh....that was a movie.Look I'm not saying I don't get deadpan humor, as I did find much amusement in Scott Pilgrim, Dr. Strangelove, Rushmore and especially Oh Brother Where Art Thou. However, I think the reason I barely found any of the jokes funny was because they felt like scenes more than jokes, if you catch my drift. Admittedly, some of the catchphrases from the main character are pretty funny and the dojo instructor was amusing enough, but I think this kind of humor would only make elementary schoolers laugh since it's so silly and juvenile (no offense).As for the characters.....honestly, I don't really care about them. I mean Napoleon has his moments, Pedro is likable enough, and again I liked the dojo instructor, but the rest I found either forgetfully bland like Deb and Kip or just unlikable like Napoleon's uncle Rico and Trisha. I know some are supposed to be aggressive or moody, but when I can't find any characters to really root for outside of their remarks, then I'm left bored out of my mind.OK, OK, OK, you're probably wondering. Is there anything I like about Napoleon Dynamite outside of a few catchphrases?....Well the cinematography was pretty decent, I liked the creative opening credits with all the different types of food, and the dance scene was a lot of fun to watch....uh.....Jon Heder was great as Napoleon....yeah that's about it. If you find this movie funny or if it was a big part of your childhood, that's fine, after all, every movie needs love from someone, and even I have movies from my childhood I enjoy even if most of the general consensus doesn't agree with me such as Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Disney's Robin Hood. I'm just not into this like someone else might be, so enjoy all the tater tots and votes for Pedro all you want fans of this movie, just don't include me in it anytime soon.
Leofwine_draca
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE is one of those low-budget comedies that asks you to be of the same mindset as the lead characters in order to gain enjoyment from it. Sometimes this works for me - I love the documentary American MOVIE because I can identify with the drive and identity of the filmmakers. In contrast, I found that NAPOLEON DYNAMITE left me cold. The characters are cold and sarcastic in that peculiarly American way, obnoxious in fact, and the film's constant ironic humour simply didn't appeal to me. I appreciate that it's different to your mainstream high school comedy, but at the same time I found this uninteresting and interminable.
