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I just finished watching the movie Napoleon Dynamite, and to tell you the truth I’m not sure what to think. I watched it twice last weekend as well and I have to say that it’s quite perplexing. I’ve heard different opinions about this movie…some say it’s completely hilarious and others that it’s completely stupid. I say that my opinion doesn’t fall into either of these two categories.

If you haven’t seen this film, it is about a high school boy named Napoleon who is, in nice terms, a complete dork. The plot includes Napoleon helping his friend Pedro…the underdog…win class presidency, but I found that the plot was not the key point of this story. This movie shows what life as an outcast is like, but also shows that you can rise above, that you don’t need popularity. Some of my friends have said that it was the funniest thing ever…that every little thing Napoleon said (i.e. Whatever I feel like, gosh!) and did was completely hilarious. And the first time you watch it, it is. This guy is just so out of it-he draws pictures of unicorns and ligers, he takes his phone all the way out of the front door to call Pedro-that it’s hard not to be at least a little amused. However, the second time instead of just laughing at his actions, you feel sorry for this guy. He’s a hopeless dork with an uncle who’s living in the past and a brother who spends all his time in chat rooms and his only friend is the new guy who just came in from Mexico. I must say that the actor who played him portrayed the character extremely well. From the first time you see him you can tell what a dork he is (this is also due to the clothing…but oh well). He consistently managed to keep a sort of dazed look, and the posture fitted the character quite well. Anyways, so you start to feel really sorry for this guy, and it’s depressing because you know there are people like that out there and that you would treat them pretty much the same way. But, in the end you learn that he has a place in the world, even though his situation doesn’t change at all.

This is the kind of movie that you can’t really ruin the end of…even seeing once doesn’t really ruin the end. Though it is simple, there actually is a lot to this movie that is hard to notice, especially the first time through. In the end, it conveys a happy message, but its also rather depressing. (other people have told me that they thought it was depressing too)

One thing that I found really funny about the movie, was not in the movie itself but what people did after the movie. This movie doesn’t seem like it would have much impact on people…but strangely it does. Right now I’m intstant messaging someone with a screen name that is one of the things that Napoleon is always saying, and I’ve been hearing people in class and elsewhere saying stuff from the movie. Not quoting, but saying stuff as Napoleon would. (i.e. an under the breath “yes” after accomplishing something). There’s this one guy in my English class who has the “Vote for Pedro” shirt that Napoleon was wearing to support his friend.

In conclusion, this movie may have seemed a little stupid and somewhat pointless, but somehow it has an effect on people. Somehow it touches them in one way or another…as strange as this may seem.

I dono…I liked it anyways.