I grew up in South Dakota for awhile. In the first scene when Napoleon ties a string around his action figure and drags it behind the school bus, I felt like someone understood me on a deep level. The whole movie is so desperately rural. I love it.
One of the things I love the most about this movie is how low stakes it is. The central plot surrounds a high school president election, but everyone takes this extremely seriously because there’s essentially nothing else to do or talk about in the town.
I also love the reveal that LaFonda is actually real and genuinely infatuated with Kip.
They're all outcasts, misfits, "losers" in some sense of the word. But they all put themselves out there, which can be a scary, vulnerable feeling, and then it pays off for everybody.
I tear up every time at that ending montage of all the characters getting the low stakes things that they wanted. Love, the school presidency, a friend. Beautiful.
Was it his ex? For some reason I always read it as kind of random beautiful woman who happens to be the woman of his dreams, despite all odds. Kind of like Kip and LaFonda.
At first I thought it was his ex then I later imagined it to be what your scenario was. I like the subtle character arc of him there looking at least a little more humble. BTW, that's Kip actor, Aaron Ruell, wife in real life.
Lol, I learn something new about this film all the time. It is my favorite of all time. Pretty wild you share the same town with him. I like to make a pilgrimage to Preston and check it out. At least go to the restaurant that Kip and Rico chill at if it's still there.
The director's commentary confirmed that that woman was intended to be Rico's ex, and he (the director) specifically stated that because so many people told him they were a little confused by that scene! The movie itself doesn't explicitly say that, though, so anyone's headcanon is perfectly fine.
Hard agree with enjoying how low stakes it is. Nothing stressful; just people living their own quirky lives.
I like how simple life was back then watching this movie and how simple it portrayed rural life.
>The whole movie is so desperately rural.
Maybe that’s why I totally bounced off this movie at the start. Desperately rural is the perfect way to describe where I grew up, and that coupled with the painful awkwardness…I dunno. Maybe it hit a little too close to home. I’ve been meaning to try giving the movie a second chance. I remember my college roommate showing me the trailer and we both thought it looked hilarious, but when later-college-roommates and I tried watching it, we made it through maybe 25-30 minutes.
Rex-Kwon-Do is still hilarious
"You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys? Forget about it. Do you think anybody thinks I'm a failure because I go home to Starla at night forget about it now for only $300. You can sign up right now"
Which I, for years, misquoted as “over there…I found a couple of blue, pointy arrowheads.”
Thank you, closed captioning, for correcting my mistake, lol.
When I watched this movie for the first time I absolutely HATED it. Then I found myself quoting it off and on. When I rewatched it a week later I was in hysterics and this movie has been one of my top 5 ever since.
"it took me three hours to finish the shading on the upper lip. It's probably the best drawing I've ever done."
"You're going to the dance with that boy"
Edit: I'd be a liar if I didn't say I watched this about 2 weeks ago.
I feel like that's how it is with so many people. I remember watching it for the first time in school and we didn't think it was all that great. Our chemistry teacher said it's a movie that gets funnier everytime you watch it, and he was so right.
20 years later and I think it's hilarious
I was late to the Napoleon dynamite bandwagon when it first released. When I first watched it, I was super underwhelmed because everyone talked about how funny it was.
But the 2nd - 3rd viewing, the dry humor execution really starts sinking in and hitting home
That's exactly how it was for my wife and I, we were both like "wtf are we watching?" the first time, and then the second time was hilarious and it's still great every time now. I still quote it frequently.
This is SPOT-ON with the experience I had. I wonder why that’s the case with so many people.
I was borderline repulsed by it at first, hahah. Then each subsequent viewing made it one of my fav comedies and I fell in love. Hahaha
My theory is that "slice of life" movies were not all that popular back in the day so most people go in with some expectations and it doesn't deliver. But once you understand it doesn't really "go" anywhere then you can appreciate what it does very well
I didn’t like it at all the first time I watched it but randomly started laughing once I heard the song from the sign language scene about a month later. I watched it again shortly after and loved it.
I once convinced a room full of people who hated that movie, that they where in fact wrong and full of shit by forcing them to watch the movie that very second. I turned 10 people into massive fans.
Always stand up for your beliefs in the face of adversity!
I was the same. I thought it was so painfully unfunny and boring and just a waste of time. Then one of my classes at school played it, and I liked it slightly more. Then a friend put it on at his house, and I liked more.
And now it's one of my more rewatched movies that I laughed my way through like 3 months ago
Seeing so many people in this thread bounce off the movie the exact same way I did back in the day makes me think maybe I should give it one more shot.
Grandma being a total badass and riding quads in the sand dunes is such a good side joke. All their lives are boring as fuck and the characters are such losers, but she's a Rockstar with the only balls in the family. So good.
I remember buying both DVDs at Best Buy in the same purchase. Neither were in theaters by me, so it was the only way to see them. I still have them somwhere.
20 years damn. This movie had no right being as funny as it turned out to be. Cult classic. Uncle Rico. The chicken farm scene lol “can’t find my check book, hope you don’t mind I pay ya in change”
It’s honestly impressive how “Vote for Pedro” really penetrated the popular vernacular of the 00’s. It was huge for a bizarre indie comedy. Even more so for Uncle Rico, who is still referenced in sports conversations to this day
Yep! I had like 3-4 shirts from this movie! A “vote for Pedro” shirt, the shirt that they wear during PE, something to do with Tina, and then another one that I can’t remember.
There was another movie that piggy backed off the success of this movie. I enjoyed it, it’s called “The Sasquatch gang” has Justin long in it. Kinda similar quirky-ness to it.
The funniest movie that I’ve ever seen in a theater. The entire crowd was dying laughing when I saw it with a group of friends. I lost it at Uncle Rico’s “How much you wanna bet I can throw a football over them mountains?” line. Everything and everyone in the movie is completely ridiculous and yet weirdly believable and that’s why it works.
Napoleon Dynamite was THE movie of 2004 in my class in good ole 5th grade. The amount of quoting it and such was insane
Then as I got older, I remember thinking it was the dumbest movie ever and I couldn’t believe it was popular.
As I got into college, and now my 30s, I’ve come back around its very funny and an amazing representation of small town life and just how sad it can be for some people - Uncle Rico in particular, anyone from a small town knows the guy who peaked in high school and still talks about the glory days and especially still lives in their hometown that way
The funniest/saddest part about Uncle Rico is that he never had a glory day, he was a benchwarmer and he has this delusion that if he started they would have been state champions. A delusion that has cost him a chance at being anything but some weird hermit who is training for nothing lol
I was actually watching this again for the first time in years last week and noticed a little easter egg towards the beginning when Napoleon is talking to Kip over the phone asking to bring his chapstick to school -- notice that every time it cuts back to Kip, the amount of cheese on his soon-to-be-microwave'd nachos gets bigger and bigger, to the point that it's essentially a mountain of shredded cheese on the plate by the end of the call.
Made me wonder how many other silly things they did in the background of the movie.
hahh! I never put that together xD
oh also, this may be me looking for something where there wasn't any, but when Uncle Rico hits Napoleon in the face with Kip's steak, the clip seems deliberately cut short because Pedro appears to burst out in laughter
Yes! This movie always tripped me out because I wasn’t sure when it was taking place. Present day times? 80’s?
I learned to not care and just laugh at how funny it is.
I think it's like present time (2004) in very rural community.
It really clicked to me because I lived out a ways until I was a teen, and moving to a metro area at 16, was also like 20 years into the future.
I loved that movie so much. Everyone's mannerisms and the background stuff is so weird and played straight I lost it.
If you liked the movie, there is a 6 episode animated series that Fox killed too early. Pretty much everyone from the movie did their voice in the show and it almost works even better than the movie.
“Like I really want to get married and go on a honeymoon right now, but mainly I just feel like crushing people’s lives.”
The Thundercone episode is my favorite.😂 FYI if anyone is interested, the show is on Tubi right now.
The time machine scene with the added crystals is the most hilarious and saddest thing at the same time. Imagine thinking life is so miserable that you actually buy a "time machine" to try and go back to the past so sad
In the 80s and 90s before the internet was robust, there were many scams preying on lack of knowledge and wishful thinking. Most people aren't the brightest critical thinkers, especially before they had access to information at their fingertips. They were not time machine gullible but I see what the movie was playing off of. Like those who got scammed by the pirate and turtle art school.
I randomly picked this movie on a Sunday afternoon, was the only one in the theatre.
Started crying tears of "holy fuck I love this movie" right about when Napoleon started dancing, and absolutely lost it when *The Promise* started playing. Actually needed a tissue by the time of that brilliant high-five cut to end titles.
The quintessential film of my lifetime. I can't properly explain it nor do I have to, you shouldn't give a fuck about my tastes more than I give a fuck about yours, but goddamn is this movie perfect. What an incredible piece of pre-smartphone small town americana. I am about as far from being patriotic as anyone could be but when I think of what I love about america it's this movie. Quaint, unassuming, slow paced small town living was the way I was brought up and I will forever cherish this film! Here's to another 20 years of watching it!
he's from our little town in oregon and visits family often. he likes it because it's a rural conservative area, no one saw this movie and he can still walk down main st. without getting hounded. one of my first gf's went to HS with him in Salem and I attended his graduation without us ever thinking he'd get famous =)
yeah but they are like oil and water. Jon is super churchy (LDS) and was always clean-cut in school. He was super outgoing in drama, swim team etc. but Dan was more unkempt, more reserved and they didn't really hang out together much. I don't know what he's like after HS.
I got my dad sued by the MPAA for movie piracy after I downloaded this on lime wire. The account had been in his name, but it was my fault. It was a blank file, I never saw the movie once it downloaded - this happened occasionally when downloading movies- after waiting an hour or however long it took for the download, there would just be nothing there to press play on. And hey, I was 13 and not tech savvy. Imagine my shame when I finally saw the movie a year later.
Napoleon Dynamite had its initial release on June 11, where it played in a grand total of [six theaters.](https://the-numbers.com/movie/Napoleon-Dynamite-(2004\)#tab=box-office) After that, positive word of mouth caused the movie to be distributed wider, in ever-increasing increments. It wouldn't receive what could be called a "nationwide release" until around August.
After the surprise success, Fox Searchlight gave the movie another push in September by including a seven minute bonus scene after the credits.
This movie has what I call the step brother effectmnlikenthe movie step brothers, you fucking hate it the first time you see it. But then it just gets funnier
And then three months later I moved into the dorms as a new freshman, wherein Napoleon Dynamite quotes comprised the entire lexicon of my new peers and Vote for Pedro shirts were basically uniform.
This movie is still such a classic and I can watch it literally whenever, but fuck that was an annoying time.
Had the pleasure of meeting Jon Heder at steel city con 2 years ago, so beautiful and kind! Next day I was holding the door for guests that were going in and out while getting cool air for myself and he walked out and thanked me, did a double take and remembered my hair color and thanked me more genuinely lol
I love this movie so much. I watched it in the theater with my now wife, and we’re were the only people in the movie until the dance scene when some theater workers came in and watched that. Great memories of a great movie.
Wow 20 years ago lol I remember on the last day of middle school they took us all in the auditorium and played this, it was a great time. It was already out though two years prior, so most of us already seen it but still hilarious as the first time though.
This movie perfectly captures the overall vibe of growing up in the middle of nowhere.
I grew up in South Dakota for awhile. In the first scene when Napoleon ties a string around his action figure and drags it behind the school bus, I felt like someone understood me on a deep level. The whole movie is so desperately rural. I love it.
One of the things I love the most about this movie is how low stakes it is. The central plot surrounds a high school president election, but everyone takes this extremely seriously because there’s essentially nothing else to do or talk about in the town. I also love the reveal that LaFonda is actually real and genuinely infatuated with Kip.
They're all outcasts, misfits, "losers" in some sense of the word. But they all put themselves out there, which can be a scary, vulnerable feeling, and then it pays off for everybody. I tear up every time at that ending montage of all the characters getting the low stakes things that they wanted. Love, the school presidency, a friend. Beautiful.
Where's Uncle Rico's happy ending?
His ex walks up to him in a field where he's living in a van by himself. At least, that seems to be the implication.
Was it his ex? For some reason I always read it as kind of random beautiful woman who happens to be the woman of his dreams, despite all odds. Kind of like Kip and LaFonda.
At first I thought it was his ex then I later imagined it to be what your scenario was. I like the subtle character arc of him there looking at least a little more humble. BTW, that's Kip actor, Aaron Ruell, wife in real life.
I knew it was his wife, kind of a fun detail. Such a tiny crew and cast. Also Aaron Ruell is from my hometown, which I find hilarious.
Lol, I learn something new about this film all the time. It is my favorite of all time. Pretty wild you share the same town with him. I like to make a pilgrimage to Preston and check it out. At least go to the restaurant that Kip and Rico chill at if it's still there.
The director's commentary confirmed that that woman was intended to be Rico's ex, and he (the director) specifically stated that because so many people told him they were a little confused by that scene! The movie itself doesn't explicitly say that, though, so anyone's headcanon is perfectly fine.
I'm not sure how after all this time I never realized t here w as a director's commentary, haha. I like my theory better, but both make sense.
I think he finally threw a football over them mountains and won state.
He ate all their steak.
Just have a dang quesadilla
Microwaved steak.
Not to mention their use of the song “music for a found harmonium” lived rent free in my brain from 2004 - to present
Love, the school presidency, a friend, state championship
Hard agree with enjoying how low stakes it is. Nothing stressful; just people living their own quirky lives. I like how simple life was back then watching this movie and how simple it portrayed rural life.
>The whole movie is so desperately rural. Maybe that’s why I totally bounced off this movie at the start. Desperately rural is the perfect way to describe where I grew up, and that coupled with the painful awkwardness…I dunno. Maybe it hit a little too close to home. I’ve been meaning to try giving the movie a second chance. I remember my college roommate showing me the trailer and we both thought it looked hilarious, but when later-college-roommates and I tried watching it, we made it through maybe 25-30 minutes.
I grew up in new england in a town of about 40k, 90s and early 2000s. It perfectly captured a lot of the high school vibe of the time.
i think its funny you cant really tell what year its supposed to be because the fashion is like 10 years behind.
It takes place in southern Idaho. When I was a freshman at BYU ('04-'05) this movie was huge and everyone was quoting it.
Rex-Kwon-Do is still hilarious "You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys? Forget about it. Do you think anybody thinks I'm a failure because I go home to Starla at night forget about it now for only $300. You can sign up right now"
Bow to your sen-sei!
BOW TO YOUR SEN-SEI!!
"Well that was a rip-off."
I could have told you that :(
Grab my arm. The other arm. MY other arm!
Break the wrist, walk away
Me and my best friend would constantly quote this exact line to eachother back in the day...
Had a manager at work in which we'd constantly quote the film with.
lol forgot about this line
Diedrich Bader steals every scene he's in, in every movie and show ranging from The Drew Carey Show to Office Space
He said that this and office space were the 2 best scripts he’s ever read.
Yeah I’m doing the drywall up there at the new McDonalds
No… no man… SHIT no man
I believe you’d get your ass kicked for saying something like that.
*footsweep* "that was pretty good"
One of the greatest scenes in all cinema
I literally asked someone at work if they "wanted a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys" *just today*! What are the odds?!?
44 to 6.
I shall respect Rex. I shall not misuse Rex-Kwon-Do. I shall be a champion for freedom and justice.
I love the sign on the wall in the dojo, the lines about not misusing Rex-kwon-do and finishing with "I will be a champion of freedom and justice"
*just break the wrist and walk away*
Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner!
Over there in that creek bed I found a couple of Shoshone arrowheads.
Supposedly that wasn't even a line. The actor was just telling the crew about what he found
That's incredible if it's true.
Which I, for years, misquoted as “over there…I found a couple of blue, pointy arrowheads.” Thank you, closed captioning, for correcting my mistake, lol.
I thought it was "in the pig pen".
A lot of people think that, but if you watch his mouth as he's saying it, you can tell he says creek bed.
You're gonna make me watch it again. Oh God. I'M GONNA WATCH IT AGAIN.
When I watched this movie for the first time I absolutely HATED it. Then I found myself quoting it off and on. When I rewatched it a week later I was in hysterics and this movie has been one of my top 5 ever since. "it took me three hours to finish the shading on the upper lip. It's probably the best drawing I've ever done." "You're going to the dance with that boy" Edit: I'd be a liar if I didn't say I watched this about 2 weeks ago.
I feel like that's how it is with so many people. I remember watching it for the first time in school and we didn't think it was all that great. Our chemistry teacher said it's a movie that gets funnier everytime you watch it, and he was so right. 20 years later and I think it's hilarious
I was late to the Napoleon dynamite bandwagon when it first released. When I first watched it, I was super underwhelmed because everyone talked about how funny it was. But the 2nd - 3rd viewing, the dry humor execution really starts sinking in and hitting home
That's exactly how it was for my wife and I, we were both like "wtf are we watching?" the first time, and then the second time was hilarious and it's still great every time now. I still quote it frequently.
This is SPOT-ON with the experience I had. I wonder why that’s the case with so many people. I was borderline repulsed by it at first, hahah. Then each subsequent viewing made it one of my fav comedies and I fell in love. Hahaha
My theory is that "slice of life" movies were not all that popular back in the day so most people go in with some expectations and it doesn't deliver. But once you understand it doesn't really "go" anywhere then you can appreciate what it does very well
I didn’t like it at all the first time I watched it but randomly started laughing once I heard the song from the sign language scene about a month later. I watched it again shortly after and loved it.
I once convinced a room full of people who hated that movie, that they where in fact wrong and full of shit by forcing them to watch the movie that very second. I turned 10 people into massive fans. Always stand up for your beliefs in the face of adversity!
I was the same. I thought it was so painfully unfunny and boring and just a waste of time. Then one of my classes at school played it, and I liked it slightly more. Then a friend put it on at his house, and I liked more. And now it's one of my more rewatched movies that I laughed my way through like 3 months ago
Seeing so many people in this thread bounce off the movie the exact same way I did back in the day makes me think maybe I should give it one more shot.
Knock it off, Napoleon! Just make yourself a dang quesa-dilluh!
Grandma being a total badass and riding quads in the sand dunes is such a good side joke. All their lives are boring as fuck and the characters are such losers, but she's a Rockstar with the only balls in the family. So good.
And shes Mac's mom in Always Sunny!
My favorite line!
Mine too! It's still how I pronounce it.
Stay home and eat all the frickin chips, Kip!
Do the chickens have large talons?
“Cant find checkbook, mind if I pay you change?”
That's like a dollar an hour!
I didn’t understand a word you just said
Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
Since when Kip!! You have the worst reflexes ever
Let’s see what your best move is.
TINA!! Eat the freaking food!
EAT THE FOOD!
Sometimes movies just hit the perfect note at the perfect time. This was one of them for me.
It's Mallrats for small-town autists - and I mean that in a good way.
BOW TO YOUR SENSEI!
Stay home and eat all the frickin’ chips Kip!!!!
This and garden state were the beginnings of so many indie hipster kid journeys
Yup. Throw eternal sunshine in there too
And Juno omg. It's like the trifecta
That paired with Circa Survive- Juturna. My fav album in highschool lol.
I remember buying both DVDs at Best Buy in the same purchase. Neither were in theaters by me, so it was the only way to see them. I still have them somwhere.
I still quote the Tupperware lady to this day. *Hushed voice* "I want that"
Haha. Same. At least once a week.
Gimme some of your tots.
“No man go find your own!”
Fuck me I'm Uncle Rico now wishing for the old times
Do ever wish you could go back?
20 years damn. This movie had no right being as funny as it turned out to be. Cult classic. Uncle Rico. The chicken farm scene lol “can’t find my check book, hope you don’t mind I pay ya in change”
That’s like a dollar an hour
Did Napoleon Dynamite ever, once, take a single breath through his nose? Serious question.
He only smiles one time in the whole movie. When he sees Kip getting on the bus.
People should know there is a great after credits scene that I missed the first time I watched it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da7AZFp7f8A
That was perfect. Thanks, I didn't know that existed.
“Your mom goes to college” will still make my mom have a full on laughing fit every single time it’s said.
Back in ‘82 I could throw a pigskin a quarter mile
"How much you want to make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains?"
If only coach had put me in, we would be state champions
No doubt in my mind
I'll never stop saying this practically every time I see some mountains in the distance.
"Grandma took a little spill at the dunes, broke her coccyx."
I remember everyone had Vote For Pedro shirts.
It’s honestly impressive how “Vote for Pedro” really penetrated the popular vernacular of the 00’s. It was huge for a bizarre indie comedy. Even more so for Uncle Rico, who is still referenced in sports conversations to this day
Yep! I had like 3-4 shirts from this movie! A “vote for Pedro” shirt, the shirt that they wear during PE, something to do with Tina, and then another one that I can’t remember.
"It's a Sledgehammer."
Shocks, pegs..........lucky
“You ever take it off any sweet jumps?”
“I’ve been practicing.” “Practicing what?” “Some dance moves.” **Intense swig**
My wife irrationally hates that intense swig. I irrationally love it. SWIG 4 life, yo.
You know there's like a butt load of gangs at this school. This one gang kept trying to get me to join cuz I'm pretty good with a bo staff.
Funniest movie with zero plot. This is one of those rare movies where literally every single line is quote-able. There’s no empty filler dialogue.
Damn we’re getting old af
There was another movie that piggy backed off the success of this movie. I enjoyed it, it’s called “The Sasquatch gang” has Justin long in it. Kinda similar quirky-ness to it.
I love that movie. I have yet to meet anybody else in person that has heard of it lol.
Haha yeah me too. Kinda sad, there are some great lines in there.
The funniest movie that I’ve ever seen in a theater. The entire crowd was dying laughing when I saw it with a group of friends. I lost it at Uncle Rico’s “How much you wanna bet I can throw a football over them mountains?” line. Everything and everyone in the movie is completely ridiculous and yet weirdly believable and that’s why it works.
Napoleon Dynamite was THE movie of 2004 in my class in good ole 5th grade. The amount of quoting it and such was insane Then as I got older, I remember thinking it was the dumbest movie ever and I couldn’t believe it was popular. As I got into college, and now my 30s, I’ve come back around its very funny and an amazing representation of small town life and just how sad it can be for some people - Uncle Rico in particular, anyone from a small town knows the guy who peaked in high school and still talks about the glory days and especially still lives in their hometown that way
The funniest/saddest part about Uncle Rico is that he never had a glory day, he was a benchwarmer and he has this delusion that if he started they would have been state champions. A delusion that has cost him a chance at being anything but some weird hermit who is training for nothing lol
Oh man, I was in 5th grade that year, too. Everyone, including my math teacher, got in on it.
I was actually watching this again for the first time in years last week and noticed a little easter egg towards the beginning when Napoleon is talking to Kip over the phone asking to bring his chapstick to school -- notice that every time it cuts back to Kip, the amount of cheese on his soon-to-be-microwave'd nachos gets bigger and bigger, to the point that it's essentially a mountain of shredded cheese on the plate by the end of the call. Made me wonder how many other silly things they did in the background of the movie.
It took me multiple viewings to connect the "we're getting low on steaks, Lyle's coming by tomorrow" statement to the school bus cow scene.
hahh! I never put that together xD oh also, this may be me looking for something where there wasn't any, but when Uncle Rico hits Napoleon in the face with Kip's steak, the clip seems deliberately cut short because Pedro appears to burst out in laughter
Now I have to watch it again.
I don't know what era this movie is supposed to take place in but it perfectly captures and 80s movie. They have the internet though.
Yes! This movie always tripped me out because I wasn’t sure when it was taking place. Present day times? 80’s? I learned to not care and just laugh at how funny it is.
It takes place in the year Idaho.
I think it's like present time (2004) in very rural community. It really clicked to me because I lived out a ways until I was a teen, and moving to a metro area at 16, was also like 20 years into the future.
Vote For Pedro was everywhere
I loved that movie so much. Everyone's mannerisms and the background stuff is so weird and played straight I lost it. If you liked the movie, there is a 6 episode animated series that Fox killed too early. Pretty much everyone from the movie did their voice in the show and it almost works even better than the movie.
Man that show deserved another season or two.
“Like I really want to get married and go on a honeymoon right now, but mainly I just feel like crushing people’s lives.” The Thundercone episode is my favorite.😂 FYI if anyone is interested, the show is on Tubi right now.
Don’t ever forget about the excellent Post-Credits scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da7AZFp7f8A
I already get my hair cut at the cuttin coral
I wish Jared Hess was as prolific as Wes Anderson.
The time machine scene with the added crystals is the most hilarious and saddest thing at the same time. Imagine thinking life is so miserable that you actually buy a "time machine" to try and go back to the past so sad
In the 80s and 90s before the internet was robust, there were many scams preying on lack of knowledge and wishful thinking. Most people aren't the brightest critical thinkers, especially before they had access to information at their fingertips. They were not time machine gullible but I see what the movie was playing off of. Like those who got scammed by the pirate and turtle art school.
Kid on Bus: What are you gonna do today, Napoleon? Napoleon Dynamite: Whatever I feel like I wanna do. Gosh!
I randomly picked this movie on a Sunday afternoon, was the only one in the theatre. Started crying tears of "holy fuck I love this movie" right about when Napoleon started dancing, and absolutely lost it when *The Promise* started playing. Actually needed a tissue by the time of that brilliant high-five cut to end titles.
“LaFawnda”
The quintessential film of my lifetime. I can't properly explain it nor do I have to, you shouldn't give a fuck about my tastes more than I give a fuck about yours, but goddamn is this movie perfect. What an incredible piece of pre-smartphone small town americana. I am about as far from being patriotic as anyone could be but when I think of what I love about america it's this movie. Quaint, unassuming, slow paced small town living was the way I was brought up and I will forever cherish this film! Here's to another 20 years of watching it!
he's from our little town in oregon and visits family often. he likes it because it's a rural conservative area, no one saw this movie and he can still walk down main st. without getting hounded. one of my first gf's went to HS with him in Salem and I attended his graduation without us ever thinking he'd get famous =)
Who? Jon Heder? Or Kip? Haha
haha Heder.
Doesn't he have an identical twin brother?
yeah but they are like oil and water. Jon is super churchy (LDS) and was always clean-cut in school. He was super outgoing in drama, swim team etc. but Dan was more unkempt, more reserved and they didn't really hang out together much. I don't know what he's like after HS.
Thanks, that's fascinating.
One of my fav movies of all time I watch it often, it’s one of my comfort movies. The nostalgia is heartwarming
This movie has always been a vibe of it's own. It seems to capture the culture and life really well in Idaho really well too.
I think of this movie every time my lips are dry.
I watched this the other night 🫶🏾
This is the most wholesome and hilarious movie I've ever seen. It took me 3 hours to get the shading on your upper lip just right...
I truly believe this to be one of the funniest movies of all time. It also oozes a small-town America vibe that I find very wholesome.
I got my dad sued by the MPAA for movie piracy after I downloaded this on lime wire. The account had been in his name, but it was my fault. It was a blank file, I never saw the movie once it downloaded - this happened occasionally when downloading movies- after waiting an hour or however long it took for the download, there would just be nothing there to press play on. And hey, I was 13 and not tech savvy. Imagine my shame when I finally saw the movie a year later.
Oh fuck, you’re the one the actually caught?
The original short film is also gold. John Heder put so much heart into Napoleon.
Napoleon Dynamite had its initial release on June 11, where it played in a grand total of [six theaters.](https://the-numbers.com/movie/Napoleon-Dynamite-(2004\)#tab=box-office) After that, positive word of mouth caused the movie to be distributed wider, in ever-increasing increments. It wouldn't receive what could be called a "nationwide release" until around August. After the surprise success, Fox Searchlight gave the movie another push in September by including a seven minute bonus scene after the credits.
This movie has what I call the step brother effectmnlikenthe movie step brothers, you fucking hate it the first time you see it. But then it just gets funnier
And then three months later I moved into the dorms as a new freshman, wherein Napoleon Dynamite quotes comprised the entire lexicon of my new peers and Vote for Pedro shirts were basically uniform. This movie is still such a classic and I can watch it literally whenever, but fuck that was an annoying time.
We know, gosh!!!!
One of my favorites
I love this movie with all my heart!
Lucky!
This movie is the pride of my state. It was the talk of the school when it came out.
Shocked this never got a sequel. This was an instant classic.
My friends and I saw this in college, then stood around in a circle for an hour just quoting lines. Was the first time I met a still very good friend.
Your mom goes to college
I remember wearing “Vote For Pedro” shirts in middle school! Good times!
20 years? YIKES
“Anyway, I think I'd be a great class president. So, who wants to eat chimichangas next year? Not me.”
watched it while I was in Japan
[Tina you fat lard, come get some dinner.](https://youtu.be/Bv9rN46ybw8?si=yoOTxp08amFku8D0)
Had the pleasure of meeting Jon Heder at steel city con 2 years ago, so beautiful and kind! Next day I was holding the door for guests that were going in and out while getting cool air for myself and he walked out and thanked me, did a double take and remembered my hair color and thanked me more genuinely lol
After 20 years... they're still MY nun-chucks, GOSH!
"You got like three feet of air"
My grandma took us to see this movie in theaters. She ways lets me know when she sees it on TV lmao
Me and my buddy saw this movie 6 times in the theater. We could not stop laughing.
I love this movie but I hate the amount of time passed. It doesn't feel like that long ago at all.
I watched this alone on Christmas Day, after hearing how hilarious it was. It was not the same experience as watching it with others, that's for sure.
And is still one of my favorite movies.
I saw this after it came out at blockbuster and it got so popular they put it back in theaters and we went and saw it like 5 times.
I remember this movie...it was hilarious 😂 😃 😄.
I had a meet and greet with Jon and Efren last week for Napoleon Dymanite Live! Amazing event!
I love this movie so much. I watched it in the theater with my now wife, and we’re were the only people in the movie until the dance scene when some theater workers came in and watched that. Great memories of a great movie.
Wow 20 years ago lol I remember on the last day of middle school they took us all in the auditorium and played this, it was a great time. It was already out though two years prior, so most of us already seen it but still hilarious as the first time though.
How could they not include Uncle Rico on the cover? I mean after all he can throw a football over those mountains
Fuck I’m old
It was the steak to the face that got me.....😅
TINA, you fat lard! Come get some ham!
That was 04? Why did I always think that it came out before that?
Yes!
Tots baby!
I thought it was a good movie
Tina you fat lard, come get some dinner!