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Feb. 26, 2006 My forth venture into the world of the now iconoclastic cult figure, Napoleon Dynamite, brought me to an end that left my appetite more satisfied than the last time and the assurance that my looking forward to a few more hours of this cleverly written, produced and directed movie will be worth the investment. Napoleon Dynamite simply demands a minimum of a second watching if not several additional viewings for the full and proper indulgence of this already classic play. And so today I did indeed dine at the midwestern world of “Magnus Dunamis”. John Heder’s portrayal of Napoleon may be a comic style that doesn’t please every single member of our world full of oddballs, but it might be that Heder comes too close to home for those few objectionable types. Napoleon is believable, but not just believable because one walks away from the film realizing that he has encountered Napoleon more than once in his life. As well, the viewer may realize that the Napoleonistic world is not quite as shallow and predictable as he may have hoped as he naturally compares it to his own life which lacks the depth he once accused Napoleon of but now discovered it is not quite so. Our society breeds insecure people. Napoleon is no different but unlike much of the population he has little if any personal buffers to this internal torment thrust upon humanity from the worst of our kind. His grand skill, he imagines, is drawing a “Liger” (a cross between a tiger and a lion). But much of this helps Napoleon be the film’s anti-hero. The looser that wins and by doing exactly what his adolescent nemeses suggest with great insincerity but rarely carry out which is “listen to what your heart says.” Napoleon does just that in catapulting his friend Pedro into the role of student body President. All around him Napoleon lives in a world where everyone but him is blessed with one or more outstanding or redemptive qualities (as he sees it) which license one to not just live but express himself in his teenage world, if not the entire world. But approximating him seems to be an army of losers who have succumbed to the pretentious life, something it appears Napoleon cannot bring himself to do. “Magnus Dunamis” isn’t alone in this virtue and has a couple of companions that join him in this lot of honesty. These losers (so to speak) are found doing the very thing (being true to their own words, ideas and thoughts) which those that bask in the light of popularity, good looks, money, and social acumen all typically will mouth as the way of life, but rarely chose in reality. The smiles of these “in-crowders” are based on exceeding acts of self-gratification and absent when others succeed. But even a few of these pretenders that surround and invade the life of Napoleon seem to find a way in the darkness. “The Dynamite’s” Uncle Rico is played by Jon Gies who is an accomplished actor. Uncle Rico is obsessed with a life that passed him by back in 1982, the life of a hopeful high school quarterback. Clinging to his still active adolescent charm Uncle Rico ends up just where he started, living out of an 80’s styled party van, throwing a football and meeting up with a woman who is riding a bike and no doubt finds Rico’s good looks, remnants of athleticism and van ownership more attractive than anything she has seen in a while. Kip, Napoleon’s 30-year-old brother is a classic lost cause. Aaron Ruell plays the role all too convincingly. Unquestioningly Ruell has had some first hand experience with such a person (this is not a discredit to his acting skills and if indeed he has never met such a person as the character Kip, then all the more applause for his performance). Kip spends his time “chat rooming” online. As the ultimate loser, Kip has no social interaction other than online, though there is nothing preventing him (other than himself) from the social indulgences life offers. Unexpectedly this lost cause that has absolutely no self-identification finally meets another onliner who comes to visit him in the context of a love relationship that has developed online, site unseen. LaFawnduh (as it is spelled on the cardboard placard Kip holds and she gets off the bus) is an Ebony Queen who transforms Kip into a white gangsta’ minus the guns and threats of violence. Kip finds his identity with his new love. So with a Do-rag on his head they both board a bus and leave to explore life together (the post credit portion of the movie shows them getting married). Finally there is Pedro. Efren Ramirez accomplishes Pedro’s role. Pedro is simply, Pedro. A Spanish transplant who is a little more north than his familiar Mexico. Here in Idaho Pedro is out of his element but well received and taken in by Napoleon Dynamite. Pedro hasn’t been infected by the Americana self-esteem problems of most teenagers and decides to run for class President. Unaware that he lacks skills (at least in the mind of the midwestern adolescents) Pedro presses on to charm a girl named Deb (played by Tina Majorino) who is one of the trio that make up Napoleon’s world of genuinely trustworthy friends (that being Napoleon himself, Pedro and Deb). Pedro concludes he needs to run for class President against the stereotypical popular girl named Summer (played one of the Duff duo, this being Haylie Duff, sister of Hilary), a cutesy blonde and no doubt future gold digger who easily charms her way through the student body. In the end it is Napoleon’s recent interest in learning to dance (which is accomplished alone in his bedroom via an 80’s tape by someone named DeQuan, a video dance instructor) that saves Pedro from being his own victim. After giving one of the most boring speeches in high school history as he stumps for himself before the student body, a skit is required as part of his campaign but Pedro’s well is dry (never minding his awful speech) and is found nothing to offer. But to the rescue comes Napoleon. Dressed in his “Vote For Pedro” T-shirt and outdated moon boots that appear to have been stolen from Vanilla Ice, Dynamite performs a dance routine that stuns the students and earns him a standing ovation, ultimately resulting in Pedro winning the election and a changed perspective on life. So why is this story so appealing? Read above, it is simply hilarious and has been played out in some form or fashion since adolescents were permitted by society to form and regulate their own world. Predictably pleasant are most of the scenarios with a few “Cracker Jack” surprises to make sure the viewer knows he isn’t smarter than the movie itself. But something else came to mind when watching this movie, something unexpected but highly prescriptive regarding the intended and unintended thematic underpinnings of so many popular stories. Allow me end with a Bible reference. Isaiah 53:4 (New International Version) “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken of God, smitten by him, and afflicted.” Pedro needed a redeemer and Napoleon forsook his own reputation (and the movie made it abundantly clear that Napoleon’s reputation, what little of it there was would have been understandingly clung to), abandoned self-concern and danced, uninhibitedly in an attempt to provide for Pedro what Pedro could not provide for himself. Was the intent of Napoleon Dynamite a spiritual lesson? Probably not but in the end it is hard to ignore such a lesson hidden in one of the zaniest movies in the last several years. ------------ About the author: Guy Arthur Thomas was born an Air Force brat and raised mostly in South Carolina. He has traveled and lived in the Middle East and the Pacific Islands but makes his home in Virginia. Guy has a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical studies and enjoys social, political and religious discussions. Email: Guyarthurthomas@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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