ITFO: Napoleon Dynamite

[Occhidiangela]

I am at a loss.

My son and daughter rented the film "Napoleon Dynamite" a few weeks ago, and I did not watch it. Was busy with other matters. The film did not in any case arouse my interest. My daughter and her buddies did a project for school, and used Napoleon Dynamite as part of the theme. They got a good grade on the presentation. I saw about half the film tonight and am still wrinkling my eyebrows.

Is this like "The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" or "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and is niche compelling just because it is simply awful?

I am still shaking my head. What made this film commercially viable?

Occhi

[Urza-DSF]

I am at a loss. 

My son and daughter rented the film "Napoleon Dynamite" a few weeks ago, and I did not watch it.  Was busy with other matters.  The film did not in any case arouse my interest.  My daughter and her buddies did a project for school, and used Napoleon Dynamite as part of the theme.  They got a good grade on the presentation.  I saw about half the film tonight and am still wrinkling my eyebrows. 

Is this like "The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" or "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and is niche compelling just because it is simply awful?

I am still shaking my head.  What made this film commercially viable?

Occhi
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I've got no clue myself. Still havent seen it though my brother aparantly thought it was hillarious. I just thought it looked stupid as hell, and he even said that there were a lot of parts that were really dumb with a couple of funny bits inbetween.

Still, cant see why its done so well either, guess underestimating people is the best option here.

[jahcs]

There were a few funny things in the film. Scratch that. There were some things to make fun of in the film. It may just make the audience feel like there is somebody worse off than they are while still being able to identify with the theme of the movie.

[Refrigerator]

My theory is that this movie was made entirely for the dance scene near the end. The rest of the movie was just painful, but I did actually enjoy that part of it. It almost made the movie worth watching!

[Copadope]

I watched "Napoleon Dynamite," and I loved it. I can't say exactly why I liked it so much, but I think it's because the movie is so stupid funny. And not like "Dumb and Dumber" stupid funny, because it's not outrageous or toilet humor. I guess it's more of a stupid-lame funny. The characters and settings are so plain and serious, but at the same time completely off the wall. But in any case, I found it hilarious, and I think I will like it even more if I watch it again.

It's also a very quotable movie. I've only seen it once, but I can repeat quite a few memorable lines.

[Zafarium]

Speaking of stupid movies for the sake of stupidity (spelling?) anyone seen FUBAR? That is a cult classic! And has some VERY quotable lines in it... such as...
"Turn up the GOOD! Turn down the SUCK!" and who doesn't like... "I THINK YOU SHOULD TAKE UP A NEW SPORT!!! LIKE KNITTING!!!!" (written in all caps because said character was shouting at said time.)

[Savingsupertokyo]

The only way that Napoleon Dynamite could be better is with zombies. Of course I say that all movies are better with zombies.

GOSH.

[pakman]

The movie itself sucks. However, I still liked it because it is so quotably funny. Everyone knows someone like Uncle Rico, GOSH, Idiots. And ligers, they're pretty much my favorite animal.

[Savingsupertokyo]

What irks me is that people that LOVE stupid shows like Seinfeld, the show about nothing, just don't get Napoleon Dynamite.

[Occhidiangela]

What irks me is that people that LOVE stupid shows like Seinfeld, the show about nothing, just don't get Napoleon Dynamite.
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Seinfeld, such few times as I saw it, was hit and miss. I have seen perhaps 15 episodes on and off over the years. The actors deliver their lines with a clean professionalism that I find refreshing. Some of the topics, themes, and gags I found inaccesible.

I did enjoy the Soup Nazi, but none of the others really stick in mind beyond the one where they all have a contest on who can put up without self abuse for the longest. That was one of the first I saw.

Napoleon Dynamite struck me as a director beating a horse with lame characters, but I confess, I did not see the end, nor the whole show. I can't come up with a reason to spend 2 hours of my life any time soon to change that, unless I am hit by a bus and hanging in traction. At that point, I imagine I'd watch most anything on the screen.

Compare that to this. I rented two films this weekend that I had not seen before. Glengarry Glenross and Swordfish.

The former had been recommended to me by a friend. In enjoyed it well enough (man, that cast was LOADED!) but I found my suspension of disbelief pushed just a little too hard on both the language/interaction among boss-salesmen, and the cop deferring to any of them during the investigation.

Swordfish started well, and then went . . . where? OK, Halle Berry is lovely, but I can't figure out what her mammary flashes, nice enough eye candy I suppose, add to the story. Formula perhaps?

Jackman's "hacking" skillz demonstrated by fast typing and a seven screen PC rig? Some real throwaway PC speak doth not a techno thriller make.

When the film was over, my wife's comment was "well, that was guy film" and I thought "Hmmm, sorta, more of a formula film that took a decent enough idea and failed to weave together a story: all flash, no boom."

As to the skycrane carrying the bus . . . sorry, I know too much.

Occhi

[Mithrandir]

At the time I watched it, I thought Napoleon Dynamite was a mediocre film. The movie seems to get more and more hilarious as time passes however, in large part due to its very, very quotable nature.

It was said best earlier in the thread that a large part of the comedic value comes from the serious charcters in serious situations doing and saying completely ridiculous things things. It's not the greatest movie ever, but it was entertaining and has provided me with a few giggles further down the road - which is worth something since most movies nowadays are forgotten as quickly as I walk out of the theater or they are put back in the box.

[Professor Frink]

Swordfish started well, and then went . . . where?
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The only reason I enjoyed watching Swordfish was because I saw it being filmed. If you stand at the intersection of Figueroa and Wilshire in downtown LA, you can see pretty much every outdoor "city" location used in the film.

*spoiler alert* The scene where the bus is carried around by a helicopter through Los Angeles? That was done through the incredible special effects wizardry of using an actual (and huge) helicopter, an actual, full-size bus, and flying it around LA, swinging it repeatedly past office buildings where people were working. They did that over and over during business hours for about two days.

-- frink

[Occhidiangela]

The only reason I enjoyed watching Swordfish was because I saw it being filmed.  If you stand at the intersection of Figueroa and Wilshire in downtown LA, you can see pretty much every outdoor "city" location used in the film.

*spoiler alert*  The scene where the bus is carried around by a helicopter through Los Angeles?  That was done through the incredible special effects wizardry of using an actual (and huge) helicopter, an actual, full-size bus, and flying it around LA, swinging it repeatedly past office buildings where people were working.  They did that over and over during business hours for about two days. 

-- frink
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And the FAA allowed that? OK, I guess so long as the insurance was paid up front. Having flown around a few times myself with a load on a cargo hook, to inlcude a few that went "dynamic," I must say that I bet the pilot of the Skycrane must have had much fun with the filming.

Occhi

[SpazBear]

I thought the movie was pretty good. For some reason I can't put my finger on, it seems to have struck a chord in me (and with others, apparently).

Eminently quotable, indeed. In fact, here's a spot where you can get all kinds of quotes from the movie. it's hilarious.

[whathuh]

I saw this movie too many times.
1: With my girlfriend (she suggested it; I wanted to see Cellular--very good movie), payed $14.50 for 2 hours of crap. I seriously considered getting up and walking out of the theater, but I just had to know if it would get any better. I got out of there at the end so fast I didn't even realize there was an extra scene at the end.
2: My brother happened to see the movie, and wouldn't you know it, he loved it. He rented the dvd and pretty much forced me to watch it again (I don't get to spend much time with him when he's at college).
3: Saw it on the bus going to Charleston for Boy Scouts. First time my dad watched the movie as well (he was in total agreement with you occhi, didn't even watch the whole thing). Since there was nothing else to do, I watched it.

An odd occurrance happened on the third time I saw the movie. I actually laughed. Not at the movie or anything, but just the absurdity of my brother when I saw it with him during the second time. I have come to a conclusion that the movie is only funny if you have low standards for humor (and I mean really low, to the point where intellectual jokes aren't as funny as yo mama jokes) and you see it with a group of people who also think it is funny.

Now I get to watch it a fourth time in spanish class (in spanish nonetheless). Makes me wonder what Pedro will sound like.

What irks me is that people that LOVE stupid shows like Seinfeld, the show about nothing, just don't get Napoleon Dynamite.
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I think people love stupid shows like Seinfeld because the same amount of humor in Napoleon Dynamite is in each and every Seinfeld episode, just condensed into 30 minutes (or is it an hour?). Personally, I don't watch Seinfeld much, but my favorite episode is where Cramer dresses up as a pimp, without realizing that he looks like one (using Joseph's technicolored dreamcoat). To me, that is funny, and so is the dance scene at the end of Napoleon, but Seinfeld has jokes more frequently than Napoleon.

It might also help that Seinfeld is a sitcom and has laughter when appropriate, and as we all know, laughter is one of the two contagious human activities.

[dwa]

Hmm, to me, Napoleon Dynamite captures the essence of what shows like Seinfeld promised, yet (imo) failed to deliver; ordinary people in ordinary situations responding to them in the most hilariously wrong ways. It doesn't fall into the trap of turning every character into a "movie character", who spend every second of the film trying to come up with "great lines" instead of lines that actually work and are believable.

And as for Cellular??? I normally subscribe to a "whatever floats your boat" philosophy; after all, taste is almost entirely subjective, but to call Cellular's ceaseless insults to the audience's intelligence (the very premise throws any chance at one suspending disbelief right out the window) a great film while denigrating, well, just about any other flick, really begs a lot.

[Occhidiangela]

Hmm, to me, Napoleon Dynamite captures the essence of what shows like Seinfeld promised, yet (imo) failed to deliver; ordinary people in ordinary situations responding to them in the most hilariously wrong ways.  It doesn't fall into the trap of turning every character into a "movie character", who spend every second of the film trying to come up with "great lines" instead of lines that actually work and are believable.

And as for Cellular???  I normally subscribe to a "whatever floats your boat" philosophy; after all, taste is almost entirely subjective, but to call Cellular's ceaseless insults to the audience's intelligence (the very premise throws any chance at one suspending disbelief right out the window) a great film while denigrating, well, just about any other flick, really begs a lot.
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In a slight hijack, I saw Traffic last night on DVD, rented from Blockbuster.

That was a pretty good film, wish I had seen it before. I confess finding a few of the "resolution" scenes a bit flaky.

Occhi