Sadly Over-hyped

Nice effects though.

Excellent but underrated film

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

It has been nearly 14 years since this film was released to the masses. I did not see it until 2015. It was on cable and I recorded it on my DVR, and it is one of the best indie films ever made. Since then, we've given up our DVR, and I didn't see it again until 2018, when I found it on HBO GO. It still goes down as a classic to me.10/10

This has become a CLASSIC for very good reasons:1. THE WRITING is absolutely spot-on, reflecting the angst of teenagers who (like Charlie Brown of "Peanuts") are loners and losers. If you aren't entertained by examining what it is like to be a loser or outcast, you won't like this movie. I found myself constantly saying OMG as the writers introduced yet another character of hilarious (and losing) proportions. If you have a relative who wants you to sell Amway or Tupperware and become a millionaire in the process, you"ll "get it" when you see Napoleon's uncle. If you have a male relative who has fallen in love with a girl who is "inappropriate", you"ll "get it" when you see Napoleon's brother. If you're a person of color and you've experienced racial discrimination, you'll "get it" when you're in the middle of a high school election involving Napoleon's close friend who is Mexican, Pedro. These are only a few of the characters who make Napoleon Dynamite so captivating and entertaining.2. THE ACTING is in short PERFECT! Jon Heder nails his character, an aimless teenager trying to find meaning in his middle class (if not lower class) lifestyle. All the actors were cast in roles that fit them perfectly, and they carry off their parts in a convincing way. Remember, these characters fall far short of perfect, in fact they are very imperfect. It ain't easy carrying off a part which has so many negative features; but the actors do it. Therein lies the genius of the movie. We are first astonished and shocked by the characters, then come to appreciate their inherent goodness as the movie develops.If you don't like Napoleon Dynamite, then you'd better have your funny bone checked. This is a very different comedy, but it is of a genius genre -- made up from an excellent knowledge of how teenagers relate to one another, an excellent knowledge of what it is like to be a loner, and an excellent knowledge of how teenagers somehow survive that very challenging, anxious, fearful time in their lives.

Almost as good as the film are the one star reviews! My wife and I laughed our butts off reading the reviews written by people who haven't a clue! In our lives, we were Napoleon and Deb. Actually, both of us are a composite of all these very realistically portrayed high school kids. The jerks who mocked and bullied Napoleon, are the same jerks who write these one star reviews! This is such a real life depiction of what high school is like for the majority of us. It is a time of life when social acceptance is so important. We were never a part of the social scene at high school. We were the outcasts who were mocked and ridiculed and shunned. Neither of us had a date. We never went to a dance like Napoleon and Deb did because it was only a place where we would undergo more mockery, more bullying, more shaming and more ostracization. Seeing Napoleon and Deb at the dance is very romantic for us. We wish we could have had the opportunity to have met at that age. In reality, if a Napoleon and a Deb WERE to go to a dance at high school, they would be laughed out of the building. I don't know if the video that Netflix sends out has the extra features with the filmmakers commentary. If it does, watch the film while listening to the commentary. The film has many events from his life. Perhaps that is part of the reason why some people find the film silly and stupid and boring. They simply cannot identify with a lifestyle in a rural, mostly Mormon, mostly white, mostly conservative community where there are no strip clubs, no prostitutes walking the streets, no night life and no big city trappings whatsoever. Most of the people in this community are close knit families who teach their children morals and values and the kids, for the most part, are really good kids who really are quite different from their more sophisticated, streetwise, jaded counterparts from the big city. The kids do actually get in trouble, but it's for things like Napoleon does at the beginning of the film; dragging a He-Man Action Figure on a string behind the school bus, an actual event in the filmmakers life. If you understand more of where he's coming from, the film makes much more sense and you can appreciate it so much more. We love Napoleon. We identify with him. He's a good kid. Yes, he's awkward, has bad hair, is socially inept, is given to great flights of fancy and he doesn't quite fit in with his superior intelligence and his poor judgment in displaying that superior intellect around a bunch of idiots who look down on him.I love his guts and his total lack of pretense. He is who he is and he has a few moments of glory as he wows the kids with a totally awesome dance routine in a campaign rally supporting his pal Pedro in his successful bid for Student Body President! This is part real life and part fantasy and 100% Ten Stars for a really good movie that is really relevant for a lot of good people who were not in the social elite as kids. And that means most of us.The bad reviews? Go ahead and read them, especially if you love this film! It gives YOU a chance to laugh at the jackasses who laughed at you when you were a kid! It's really fun! They are showing how stupid they are and you can laugh at THEM! Enjoy! Seriously, you can understand the mindset of persons giving Napoleon Dynamite a bad review. It's the same mindset as the Beavis and Butthead types who would give Casablanca, Gone With The Wind or Citizen Kane a one star review! Totally laughable!

Gosh, this was a good movie! The scary part is that you can relate to it! It was a tiny bit like Forest Gump, with the title character seemingly everywhere. It was a slice of real life, with an everyday, geeky character who is having trouble at school and at home with a dysfunctional family and can't fit in anywhere. He makes a new friend in Pedro at school, who develops a crush on the popular girl (who can't relate there?), and Napoleon launches on his crusade of adventures and misadventures. He was a bit like Charlie Brown-a misfit with a small circle of friends who never gives up despite his many failures! This was truly a good film with a good cast and collection of good scenes and odd sense of humor. Jon Heder was excellent in the lead.*** out of ****