Napoleon Dynamite

Having watched the movie Napoleon Dynamite when it first came out on dvd and now watching it for this class, I realized some things I missed in my previous viewing. I realized that you need a sort of immature sense of humor or a good sense of humor to find the movie funny. I still found the movie humorous when Napoleon had tater tots in his pocket during class and reluctantly wouldn’t share them with a classmate. So, the classmate kicked Napoleon in the pocket and smashed his tots. One thing I noticed about the movie is that neither Napoleon’s uncle or grandmother ever really act as parents or the guardians and that Napoleon and his brother Kip are usually left alone to fend for themselves. Other parts of movie such as the storyline failed to capture my attention throughout the whole movie, and most likely led to the movie not receiving as many awards as it could have.
The goal of becoming the character Napoleon for John Heder was probably a very difficult and uncomfortable one for the actor. But the actor flawlessly played the part of the dimwit Napoleon and made the character come to life. He was able to project the truthfulness and the naturalness of the character almost effortlessly and to the point to where you believed you may someday actually pass a Napoleon-like character in the halls one day at school. The book says the goal of the actor is to obscure his or her own personality and to become another person on the screen. With this being said I couldn’t even imagine trying to play the part of Napoleon, this is a role that would take much patience and a great acting ability.
In the movie there are a few scenes with dramatic and action acting. One in particular is when Napoleon and Deb are talking at the dance. Napoleon asks Deb if she is getting serious with Pedro because he likes her. Luckily, Deb says no and saves Napoleon from being heartbroken. Although there aren’t many scenes with action acting in them, you probably couldn’t expect that given the cast and storyline. One scene that shows some action is when Kip, Napoleon’s brother goes to the dojo to learn self defense. This scene also provides some humor because the guy leading the class keeps on slapping Kip and Kip can’t defend himself. Most or all of the actors in Napoleon Dynamite are impersonators because the movie is a fictional movie and is not based on anything. Many of the cast was able to submerge themselves in a role and alter their personal, physical, and vocal characteristics to the point in which you believe they are real life people. Although Napoleon is obviously the main character in this movie, he has supporting players that play roles that are just as important as his. The one thing I like about this movie is that almost every person plays an important part in the plot and obviously I like its humor. All in all I thought this was a pretty fun movie but it wouldn’t be my first choice when choosing to watch my next comedy movie. I also thought that Heder played the part of Napoleon to a T and brought the character to life.