Napoleon Dynamite

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

If you're like us, you remember high school for its letter jackets, flattering class superlatives, and weekend-long cheerleader orgies. Unfortunately, not all are as fortunate. Napoleon Dynamite gets the four-eyed perspective on the blunder years with the gawky Napoleon (Jon Heder) indifferently absorbing daily jock beatings and ridicule while maintaining the most bizarre circle of friends this side of the G8 summit. But deliverance comes in the form of new kid Pedro (Efren Ramirez), who arrives with an improbable goal: class president. Along the way, the two battle class queen Summer (Haylie Duff), Napoleon's online-obsessed brother, and his horribly sadistic uncle. Filmed indie style (i.e., cheap) and featuring fresh faces (i.e., ugly actors nobody's heard of), Napoleon Dynamite puts an art-house face on a familiar cinematic standard that's equal parts Revenge of the Nerds and Better Off Dead. In essence, it's the classic dorks vs. cool kids story we can all…er, you can all relate to.