Napoleon Dynamite is a Stupid Comedy Movie, Which is What Makes it Perfect

By F. Morina

April 25, 2023

2004 was an important year for notable comedy movies such as Mean Girls, White Chicks, and Dodgeball. In the midst of those popular comedies came a cult classic: Jared Hess’, Napoleon Dynamite. Not your typical comedy, it’s one for the books, feeling like multiple SNL skits rolled into one.

Napoleon Dynamite follows nerdy and awkward teenager Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) and his day-to-day life as a high schooler in a small town. From his new best friends Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and Deb (Tina Majorino), his uncle, Rico (Jon Gries), and his brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), who's in a new online relationship, Napoleon goes through multiple dilemmas surrounding these characters as the days go on. With no real plot, it still holds to be one of the funniest movies of the early-2000s.

Jon Heder controls the movie. You will be repeating his basic lines like “God!” to yourself throughout the day, attempting, but never achieving his brilliant delivery. Giving the audience second-hand embarrassment every time he speaks, Heder embodies the most awkward teenager that we see in every high school. The supporting cast will give you just as much embarrassment as Efren Ramirez plays a confident new kid who is actually just an outsider, Tina Majorino plays a shy girl who just keeps to herself, and Jon Gries plays the weird uncle scamming people for money. Though Heder plays the title character, the movie wouldn’t be the cult classic it is without the supporting cast.

The comedy in this movie is not for everyone, but the writers knew exactly how to make stupid humor, actually funny. Who knew that a conversation between three guys watching commercials on TV could make you laugh for ten minutes straight? The writing is the definition of niche, not like any other comedy film anyone has seen before. Jared Hess does a perfect job of showing that was purposeful, writing a script only certain people would enjoy, most likely people like him.

If you’re in the mood to laugh and to watch a movie with absolutely no thinking required, this is the movie to watch. This could even be a movie to watch with the whole family, with no real violence or bad language involved. Just a stupid comedy movie with stupid humor, which is what makes it perfect.

Napoleon Dynamite, a Fox Searchlight Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for thematic elements and language. Running time: 95 minutes. Four stars out of four.