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Title: Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jon Heder | ... | Napoleon Dynamite | |
| Jon Gries | ... | Uncle Rico | |
| Aaron Ruell | ... | Kip | |
| Efren Ramirez | ... | Pedro | |
| Diedrich Bader | ... | Rex | |
| Tina Majorino | ... | Deb | |
| Sandy Martin | ... | Grandma | |
| Haylie Duff | ... | Summer Wheatly | |
| Trevor Snarr | ... | Don | |
| Shondrella Avery | ... | Lafawnduh | |
 |
Bracken Johnson | ... | Randy |
|
|
Carmen Brady | ... | Starla |
| Ellen Dubin | ... | Ilene | |
|
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J.C. Cunningham | ... | Jock #1 |
|
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Jimmy Stevens | ... | Jock #2 (as James Smooth) |
Preston, Idaho's most curious resident, Napoleon Dynamite, lives with his grandma and his 32-year-old brother (who cruises chat rooms for ladies) and works to help his best friend, Pedro, snatch the Student Body President title from mean teen Summer Wheatley. Written by Anonymous
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The love/hate reactions I've seen do not surprise me at all. This movie is very different, it's own style... and it is PURE GENIUS. But it's definitely not for everyone... you have to back off and understand the mood and general feel of the movie before you have the context to find the actions of the characters funny. Then you will "get it". And what is this context I'm referring to? This movie explores the very essence of boredom and mediocrity as you follow the daily life of a dorky guy doing uninteresting things in a small, unexciting town. Napolean's constant, open-mouth, blank stare says, "I'm only tolerating this monotonous existence because I've got nothing better to do." It took me about 15 minutes into the movie and then I GOT it. The movie has no real plot because it isn't about an interesting story, it's about the real life that exists BETWEEN the interesting stories. Ever call up your bud because you're bored, then talk about what you're not doing, then decide to get together and be bored together, and spend the remainder of the evening trying to think of something to do to no avail? This movie is about this very type of thing... a tribute to the ordinary every-day stuff that you have no reason or desire to remember... like eating reheated leftover Hamburger Helper, or that old shirt you wear when you're working that you're not afraid to get dirty, or some magazine you flipped through to pass the time in the dentist's waiting room.
I constantly found myself saying, "This all seems too strangely familiar. I knew a guy like that. I've done stuff like that. I've been to a store like that. I've been in a house like that." This isn't the kind of movie to make you suddenly laugh out loud, it's a movie that will first make you chuckle, and then chuckle some more, and pretty soon you can't stop laughing as scenes and characters continuously remind you about the absurdity of watching random, stupid pointlessness. Why would something boring be interesting to watch? You'll just have to see it to understand.