When I first saw this film, after several recommendations from friends, I had no idea what to expect...only that it was supposed be funny. At first, I was just trying to figure out what was going on, and didn't know how to feel about this lanky guy with red, curly hair standing in snow boots and holding his Trapper Keeper while waiting for the bus. Napoleon Dynamite (played by Jon Heder) doesn't really win over the audience when the first thing out of his mouth is the answer to a simple, harmless question from a much younger kid on the bus, "What are you going to do today Napoleon?" His answer seems harsh, "Whatever I FEEL like doing. GOSH!" However, we soon learn that Napoleon is a harmless dweeb whose peculiar phrases soon become quite catchy.

This movie has a very loose plot involving getting a prom date and a class election for president. However, what really drives the film is its rich set of off-the-wall characters. Napoleon lives with his four-wheelin' grandma and his much older brother, Kip (Aaron Ruell). Kip is small and nerdy and has a nasally voice. Unemployed, he spends most of his time on the Internet, "chatting with babes all day." When he asks Napoleon to give him a ride into town, the film cuts to scene pictured above where he is on rollerblades being pulled by Napoleon who is riding his bike. This scene cracked me up because I remember doing something very similar with my brother when I was a kid (just switch the rollerblades for a skateboard).

When grandma is injured in a four-wheeler incident, Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) arrives in his orange van to take care of the Dynamite boys, who obviously resent this arrangement with one of them in high school and the other in his thirties. Uncle Rico seems to live in the past, trying to re-live his high-school football days and wondering what might have been. In one scene, he says something to the effect of, "Man. If coach would have just put me in, we would have won state. We'd be champions and I'd have gone pro, makin' millions of dollars."

Napoleon's neighbor is a shy, young girl named Deb (Tina Majorino). We first encounter Deb when she comes to Napoleon's door trying to sell him Glamour Shots and/or little handmade keychains and other trinkets in order to pay for college. Kip, overhearing this yells out, "Your mom goes to college!" which seems to offend her and she runs away in tears, leaving her wares on the front porch. Napoleon decides to return them and so starts their awkward love story. Later in the movie, he tries to compliment her by saying, "Are you drinking 1% milk because you think you're fat? Cuz you could probably drink whole milk if you wanted to."

And last but not least, there's Pedro (Efren Ramirez). He's the new kid who Napoleon takes under his wing. Napoleon is intantly impressed with Pedro's bike. "Ever take it off any sweet jumps?" is a question that leads to a very funny wide angle shot of them using a home-made ramp. I loved this scene because I used to do the same thing with my friends when I was a kid. Pedro seems out of place in the school due to his latino race, and Napoleon is out of place because he is, well, Napoleon...so they bond together quickly. Pedro, who seems so very shy and unassuming, shows no fear in two major areas which really drive the plot of the movie. First of all, he decides to ask out the most popular girl in the school. "How are you going to do that?" asks Napoleon. Pedro replies, "I don't know. Build her a cake or something." HAHAHA. I love that line. Later in the film, Pedro decides to run for class president, which sparks the "Vote for Pedro" frenzy that has spilled over into our culture. I must admit, I now own a "Vote for Pedro" T-Shirt just like the one pictured below.

Many will see this movie and find it horrible. And it is hard to argue with them for this movie doesn't really have well-known actors, an award-winning script, or special effects. Furthermore, nobody really even heard of this movie until long after it had left the theaters. But word of mouth has been spreading by those who have seen it and have found the diamond in the rough. They love the quotes. They love the nostalgia. They love the quirkiness. But most of all they love the characters. And so do I.

I am also quite impressed with how "clean" this movie is. Being pushed by MTV, I had expected the language to be filthy, but it wasn't. Part of that is due to the fact that Jon Heder is Mormon and refuses to curse on screen. Hence we get "Flippin' Idiot!" and "GOSH!" instead of the alternative. Also, there aren't any situations or scenes which are inappropriate either. Hence I felt comfortable showing this to my ten-year-old and she'll now go around saying, "Whatever I FEEL like doing. GOSH!" and can be caught wearing her own "Vote for Pedro" T-Shirt.

One final point. If you rent or buy this movie, be sure to keep watching after the final credits for an extra scene which lasts 10 minutes or so and features Kip's wedding where he sings the song "Always and Forever" which includes the following, unforgettable lines:

Vote for Pedro! GOSH!