Napolean Dynamite

Pretty self-explanatory
Post Reply
User avatar
LessThanZero
Posts: 1119
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 10:26 pm
Location: Kalamazoo
Contact:

Napolean Dynamite

Post by LessThanZero »

This has probably been covered many times, but Elvis' B&C persona translates into a WONDERFUL movie! Vote for Pedro!
Loving this board since before When I Was Cruel.
LittleFoole
Posts: 743
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 2:25 pm
Location: TN, USA

Re: Napolean Dynamite

Post by LittleFoole »

LessThanZero wrote:This has probably been covered many times, but Elvis' B&C persona translates into a WONDERFUL movie! Vote for Pedro!
Ummmm....opinions, and all....I thought it was a stupid movie - and I'm usually one to embrace creative stupidity (I must finally be getting old and cranky - the mrs. sure thinks so...LOL ;) ) Hey, to each his/her own - glad you enjoyed it !!!
User avatar
Extreme Honey
Posts: 622
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:44 pm
Location: toronto, canada

Post by Extreme Honey »

I didn't really get it...it wasn't funny it was just odd. What the hell was the plot? I couldn't come up with that crap if I was drunk, divorced and high on 20 different tropical leafs...
User avatar
Emotional Toothpaste
Posts: 420
Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 1:15 pm

Post by Emotional Toothpaste »

GEEZZZ, you idiots, I thought it was funny . . . just because I've been online all day with a bunch of hot babes.
User avatar
Mr. Average
Posts: 2031
Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:22 pm
Location: Orange County, Californication

Post by Mr. Average »

It is interesting how many conceive of the characters in the film Napolean Dynamite as pure cartoons, and that the plot is so oblique that it just isn't worth the effort.

I have a different opinion. For once.

The film depicts a number of interpersonal vignettes that seem absurd on their face, but actually play out in some variation every day in middle America. Grandma as guardian of the kids. Kip as the high school graduate loser still living at home , spending hours a day on the internet, looking for his soulmate (Peace Out). Napolean, the high school nerd who, at 17, is still on a massive growth spurt that gives him the grace of a Sumo wrestler on a tennis court. His insecurities push him to try to find something, anything, that will lead to acceptance and maybe, just maybe free him from the circle of social poverty that he is locked into. Thus, his dancing practice leads to the highpoint of the film, a great dance to Jamiriquia's "Canned Heat". Pedro as the out of place immigrant who has al but given up, but makes a one last play to 'fit' into the new social orer that surrounds him.

This is a film very much like Raising Arizona. It takes a few times for it's strange humour to surface. But it is not all nutty and wacky stuff. These types of people are everywhere, and they are searching for answers to lifes big questions. The coastals think the big issues are thiere to deal with, and the residents of JesusLand have it all so easy. But this movie portrays a group of people in daily crisis, trying to find their way. Their problems are no more, or less significant than any others.

I like the movie. Sure, a llama called Tina is a little strange, and Uncle Rico's attempt to hold on to his 15 minutes of fame as he enters the lonely later years of his life is touching. But the movie is not a social anomaly. There are a million Napoleans, Kips, Uncle Rico's, Grandmas, Debs, etc. They are all around us.

And we are, in many ways, not too dissimilar from these characters that, initialy, appear to be mere cartoons of real people. I think it is a fascinating look at a real social phenomena.

Now, excuse me while I go practice my dance moves with La Fawnduh.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
kimmy
Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 10:38 pm
Location: Ashland, WI (Heard of it? Probably not!)

Post by kimmy »

I LOVED this movie!! As its tagline says, "He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove."

It's easy to see here (and I've also experienced this with people I've talked to) that people either love ND or totally dislike/don't understand it. There seems to be no middle ground on this one.
...even in a perfect world, where everyone was equal..
scielle
Posts: 672
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 4:14 pm
Location: Berkeley, CA; London, UK; Montreal QC; Toronto ON; New York

Post by scielle »

My friend ran for undergrad student union president on a Napoleon Dynamite platform, complete with Jamiroquai campaign video and Vote for Conter t-shirt. (See it here: http://www.electionsmcgill.ca/conter/ad ... emovie.wmv)
And he won :wink: With a biggest voter turnout in SSMU (Student Society of McGill University) history, no less!
Last edited by scielle on Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
LittleFoole
Posts: 743
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 2:25 pm
Location: TN, USA

Post by LittleFoole »

Mr. Average wrote: This is a film very much like Raising Arizona. It takes a few times for it's strange humour to surface.
Hmmmmm, now....that's an interesting observation - I happened to thoroughly enjoy Raising Arizona....and I "got" ND, just didn't think it was worthy of all the hoopla/hype. I feel it just doesn't compare to, say, Liquid Sky...or Memento....or Very Bad Things....or (...dare I say it ??) Eraserhead....LOL :wink: Perhaps I'll give it another viewing at some point and try to be a lil more openminded....
User avatar
LessThanZero
Posts: 1119
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 10:26 pm
Location: Kalamazoo
Contact:

Post by LessThanZero »

Thank you Mr. Average! That is exactly how I feel! I just didn't have the energy to type all of that!
Loving this board since before When I Was Cruel.
ice nine
Posts: 1213
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 9:54 pm
Location: A van down by the river

Post by ice nine »

We all have different views of what humor is. Some people (my dad included) don't 'get' Andy Kaufmann. Some people like Robin Williams' humor as the other thread atests to. Some of us like a subtle, dry humor and some of us like "Married With Children/Three's Company" humor.
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think that you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt
- M. Twain
martinfoyle
Posts: 2502
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:24 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Contact:

Post by martinfoyle »

Yet another dvd edition is just out, though this looks like it really does have everything on it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EH ... ance&n=130
User avatar
DeathWearsABigHat
Posts: 145
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2005 5:05 pm
Location: Cheshire, UK
Contact:

Post by DeathWearsABigHat »

I quite liked the film, it was silly & weird.

Just one question, is there any EC connection to the film apart from the character's name? Are the filmmakers EC fans or was it just an enormous coincidence?
"trust the wizards, here we go" http://www.trustthewizards.com
martinfoyle
Posts: 2502
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:24 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Contact:

Post by martinfoyle »

Coincidence. Apparently the first the film makers heard about it being one of Elvis' pseudonyms was when an extra mentioned this to them during filming.
User avatar
Mr. Average
Posts: 2031
Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:22 pm
Location: Orange County, Californication

Post by Mr. Average »

It is termed a coincidence, but I would liken this "coincidence" to the same "coincidence" that gives George Harrisons "My Sweet Lord" the same melody as the Chiffons "He's So Fine". I really believe (maybe I'm niave) that George did not set out to plagarize "He's So Fine", but the connection to the melody was subliminal. I can only imagine life as a songwriter, and being tangential to one of the greatest songwriting duo's in history, the pressure to create must be extraordinary. So when the melody flowed, he did not immediately distinguish as something he had heard before...

Napolean Dynamite was somewhere implanted in the sublimal mind of these filmakers.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
bobster
Posts: 2160
Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:29 am
Location: North Hollywood, CA

Post by bobster »

Well, the story actually goes that Jared Hess ran into a guy (homeless?) calling himself that and he just liked the sound of it. I'm assuming the possibly homeless guy might have seen a copy of "Blood and Chocolate" at some point and, well, liked the sound of it, so it's at one or two or three removes.

I still haven't seen it, possibly because I was mildly irked that Hess went out of his way to point out he's not an EC fan. It's okay to not be an EC fan, of course -- nobody's perfect -- but why rub our nose in it? "Why? Oh Why?," I plantively ask.Looks really funny, though. Maybe this week I'll finally get around to it.
http://www.forwardtoyesterday.com -- Where "hopelessly dated" is a compliment!
User avatar
BlueChair
Posts: 5959
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:41 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Post by BlueChair »

I thought it was an okay movie - not something I need to watch more than once.
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
User avatar
mood swung
Posts: 6908
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 3:59 pm
Location: out looking for my tribe
Contact:

Post by mood swung »

Your mom goes to college.

Heck, yes, you need to watch it more than once! Gosh!

I love this movie.


But I liked Shaolin Soccer, too.
Like me, the "g" is silent.
Post Reply