Napoleon Dynamite
★★★★
This was one of my favorite movies from 2004. It is so weird and strange, and really spoke to the digital film major in me to know that you could create something so memorable with such a low budget.
Napoleon Dynamite is actually a very well choreographed and directed film by Jared Hess. Though his resources were few, he uses it to his advantage and creates a world that both seems of the past and present. The jokes and payoffs are well calculated and the timing is masterful. I don't know how much credit to give to the script or to Jon Heder for creating a one-of-kind, memorable character in Napoleon. Even if you find him super annoying, you will undoubtedly mimic his gestures and sayings when the movie is over. You'll never say, "Gosh!" in the same way again.
I was curious to see how my teenager would receive this movie and she was all in. Because of its set design and the costumes, you never can grasp what decade you are in, which in a weird way, makes this film timeless. This movie also showed me that I possibly haven't matured that much, because the mindless gags still ended up making me giggle, ligers and all.
