A film that introduced us to memorable lines such as “Vote for Pedro” and “Tina, you fat lard,” Napoleon Dynamite has etched its place into pop culture. It sparked numerous Halloween costume ideas and even a dance trend. After 20 years, it continues to connect with viewers of every generation.
While studying at Brigham Young University, Jared Hess wrote and directed a short film named Pecula (2002) featuring Jon Heder. Hess later selected Heder to portray Napoleon Dynamite in a screenplay co-written with his wife, Jerusha Hess. The film was made on a $400,000 budget, and unlike many cult classics that take years to gain recognition, it earned nearly $45 million by the end of its release year. This indie movie connected with young audiences nationwide and contributed to the rise of the geek chic trend in the early 2000s.
Napoleon Dynamite is the story of an awkward teenager navigating life in Preston, Idaho. Despite boasting about his nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, and computer hacking skills, his peers see him as an outcast. He shares a home with his brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), who spends his days talking with women on the internet, a Black woman in particular. After a mishap with a dune buggy involving their grandmother, Uncle Rico (Jonathan Gries) is tasked with looking after them, although his fixation on his past as a high school football player reveals his own level of immaturity. Throughout the school year, Napoleon remains true to himself alongside his closest friends, Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and Deb (Tina Majorino). The movie concludes with Napoleon showcasing his impressive dance routine to support Pedro’s bid for class president.
In 2004, I watched this movie along with my brother, not really knowing what to expect. We both have a weird sense of humor, and this looked like it might fit the bill. I remember we bought each other T-shirts with the catchphrases “Whatever I feel like, gosh!“ and “Vote for Pedro.“ There was something endearing about an outdated high school auditorium in a town that no one would choose to vacation in. Therein lies its charm, finding humor in the awkward and average.
While memorable one-liners and quirky characters would have done the job to make Napoleon Dynamite a good comedy, it is the visual creativity and style that elevate it to the status of a classic.
We’ve seen films like this before that centers a nerdy outcast who, in the end, achieves the adoration of the masses and gets the girl. We can look to one of my favorites — Superbad in 2007 — and even further back to 1984 with Revenge of the Nerds.
Napoleon Dynamite’s humor stems from the inherent awkwardness of simply existing. Its middle-of-nowhere Idaho backdrop adds a layer of relatability for anyone who has ever lived far from a major city. While the film didn’t invent this obscure humor, it championed it and did so in the early 2000s when shows like The Office and The Middle were popular.
Watching the film, you may feel like Napoleon is the butt of the joke. Well, he is the punchline, after all. But the film was loosely based on Hess’s own life growing up in Preston, Idaho. Pieces of dialogue and specific scenes like working on an egg farm or a cow being shot in front of a school bus of kids are straight from Hess’s life experiences. Instead of shying away from the awkward or embarrassing moments of his youth, he embraced the humor in them. One of the best lessons Napoleon Dynamite teaches is to dance like nobody’s watching, and by not caring what others think, you gain the ability to laugh at yourself.
I’ve heard people say that this film is so stupid but you can’t stop watching. There are small moments like when Kip does well in bowling and quietly says “yes,“ while pulling down his first in front of his face, or when Uncle Rico is attempting to sell Tupperware to a couple, and he pulls out a wooden ship and the wife whispers, “I want that. “
What was even more impressive for me about this film was the incredibly talented Shondrella Avery. She became iconic as LaFawnduh Lucas. Girlfriend stepped off that bus in Idaho and Kip was never the same! Lafawnduh gives Kip confidence and gets him to change his whole swag. Kip starts wearing a flashy chain and talking different, while Napoleon receives a standing ovation from the whole school after performing on stage to the mixtape that she gifted him. This exemplifies the nurturing nature of Black women, who possess the ability to encourage everybody’s light to shine.
Numerous themes are present in Napoleon Dynamite, one of which is the influence of cultural interaction. Race isn’t mentioned in the film but it manages to speak to a familiar dynamic. Minorities are the least regarded, and oftentimes, Black and Brown people are overlooked and overshadowed for what they fear we can do, which is help elevate people. Lafawnduh is the unsung hero of the film.
While there may be a few lines or stereotypical portrayals in the film that may have not seemed so controversial in 2004, the overall diversity of the film shines through. A marginalized nerd who finds acceptance (Napoleon); a strong, independent teenager who likes herself the way she is (Deb); interracial relationships (Kip and Lafawnduh); a free-spirited grandma; and a Mexican American high school class president who’ll “make all of your wildest dreams come true” (Pedro). Other than the quotable lines, these are the things we remember and love — which serves as a testament to its timelessness as a cult classic film.
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