Totally Over-rated

Napoleon Dynamite

Finally! It's so good to see at least a few kindred souls out there; I thought I might be the only person on the planet puzzled by ND. Don't get me wrong, I love the character. Jon Heder's Napoleon might be the most adorable dork to ever inspect 4H milk samples for defects, but the pacing of this film is just horrendous. It's a little like watching some ancient geezer with a walker attempt to cross the street -- you're really pulling for him to make it, but you're not sure you can handle the interminable wait. The best thing about this film is all the great one-liners.

Hubby and wife writing team Jared and Jerusha Hess fare much better with Nacho Libre, but that might just be the influence of Mike White. In any case, go make yourself a dang quesadillah and rent Nacho Libre instead! 

Re: Napoleon Dynamite

Re: Napoleon Dynamite

Wait, you liked Nacho Libre more than Napoleon Dynamite?  Wow, that's pretty singular.  I'm curious if you dislike slow movies in general, or if it's something else.  That is, how do you feel about, for example, Aki Kurousmaki's films, or _Autumn Sonata_, or things by Jarmusch and Hal Hartley?  This would shed some light.  I mean, I'm not convinced ND was brilliant film making, but I thought it was pretty enjoyable. Mostly, I really didn't think that pacing was one of its central problems.

I do think it's reasonable to say that ND is over-rated, or at least over exposed.  The ubiquitous "Vote for Pedro" shirts got tiresome, quick.  A case where overrated is the right term--that is, the movie itself seems good (7/10, perhaps), but not nearly as good as its celebrity would suggest.  At least that's my impression.

Re: Napoleon Dynamite

Jaybriel:

Wait, you liked Nacho Libre more than Napoleon Dynamite?  Wow, that's pretty singular.  I'm curious if you dislike slow movies in general, or if it's something else.  That is, how do you feel about, for example, Aki Kurousmaki's films, or _Autumn Sonata_, or things by Jarmusch and Hal Hartley?  This would shed some light.  I mean, I'm not convinced ND was brilliant film making, but I thought it was pretty enjoyable. Mostly, I really didn't think that pacing was one of its central problems.

Good comment.  I like Napoleon Dynamite, and Jarmusch, Hartley, and Kaurismaki.  I think there is a link between them in pacing.

Re: Napoleon Dynamite

I'm not against slow movies in general; just in this genre. I expect a comedy to move at a brisker pace, especially a film like Napoleon Dynamite. It's not a satire along the lines of Waiting for Guffman or a subtle meditation on human foibles along the lines of Broken Flowers -- its goal is to make you laugh out loud. Which it does, it just takes a while to get there.

It would be similar to walking into a disco and finding that everyone is dancing ballet -- there's nothing wrong with ballet, it's just not what you're expecting in that context.

Re: Napoleon Dynamite

Re: Napoleon Dynamite