‎Napoleon Dynamite (2004) directed by Jared Hess • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Napoleon Dynamite

2004 Directed by Jared Hess

He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove.

A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.

Jon Heder Aaron Ruell Jon Gries Efren Ramirez Shondrella Avery Haylie Duff Tina Majorino Diedrich Bader Sandy Martin Trevor Snarr Emily Dunn Ellen Dubin Samantha Marsden

95 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Lucy ★★★★★ 3

how do i rate a movie higher than 5 stars
Review by Ryan Narc ★★★★ 2

"Hey, Napoleon. What did you do last summer again?"
"I told you! I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines!"
"Did you shoot any?"
"Yes, like 50 of 'em! They kept trying to attack my cousins, what the heck would you do in a situation like that?"
"What kind of gun did you use?"
"A freakin' 12-gauge, what do you think?"

I find Napoleon Dynamite to be one of the most entertaining movies about basically nothing, ever.
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 4

Sublime sweetness. Within its endless plains and its paths to nowhere, the world of Napoleon Dynamite tells a story of discovery. No one changes or becomes who they really are, and acceptance is not on the mind of the characters. The people wandering this shaggy landscape only seek a partner for tetherball.
Review by Ryan Hodes ★★★★★

Step aside, The Godfather. Take a seat, Pulp Fiction. Get out the goddamn way, Casablanca. There's a new undisputed masterpiece in town, and his name is Napoleon Dynamite.

I was delighted to see this come up when I was TV surfing last night, and although I haven't seen it in nearly 10 years, it was just as utterly hilarious as 12-year-old me remembers. Isn't it wonderful when you rewatch some beloved movie from your childhood and it holds up as well, if not better, than you remember?

Napoleon Dynamite is stupid, bizarre, silly, ridiculous, and most importantly, gut-bustingly funny. I seriously can't remember the last time I've laughed that hard for that long. The film doesn't have a dull moment.…
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★ 2

Bizarre, surreal, voyeuristic, and brilliant.

Napoleon Dynamite still pulls off all kinds of sweet jumps.
Review by DirkH ★ 12

Comedy = any discourse or work generally intended to be humorous or to amuse by inducing laughter.

This film= ^ not that.

Recent reviews

Review by Leo Kirby ★★★★½

This is so much better than I thought it would be. Fantastic performances from the leads, and really great directing.
Review by aleisha ★★★★

every time something in my life goes right I hear napoleon’s voice in the back of my head going “yessssss” the way he says it in the milk tasting scene
Review by Maroni ★★★½

This is a weird movie because I remember absolutely loving it in the theatre the first time I saw it when I was 17 (I have never since then been in a theatre of people laughing so hard) and then ever since, it’s never been as funny. I suppose all the one-liners just got worn out by everybody saying them all the time. Which really is a testament to how great the dialogue was. It was almost...

too good.
Review by Jaydon Carlson ★★★★

I think this is the weirdest movie I’ve ever seen. I don’t even know what to say about it.
Review by Ryan Hodes ★★★★★

Step aside, The Godfather. Take a seat, Pulp Fiction. Get out the goddamn way, Casablanca. There's a new undisputed masterpiece in town, and his name is Napoleon Dynamite.

I was delighted to see this come up when I was TV surfing last night, and although I haven't seen it in nearly 10 years, it was just as utterly hilarious as 12-year-old me remembers. Isn't it wonderful when you rewatch some beloved movie from your childhood and it holds up as well, if not better, than you remember?

Napoleon Dynamite is stupid, bizarre, silly, ridiculous, and most importantly, gut-bustingly funny. I seriously can't remember the last time I've laughed that hard for that long. The film doesn't have a dull moment.…
Review by Jon

Masterpiece
Review by firstordersheev ★★★★★

Delightful awkwardness, every step of the way.

Napoleon Dynamite, in my opinion, is one of the absolute greatest comedies of all time. It manages to be funny and endearing without having to go out of its way. The Idaho small town setting is one I have personal experience with, and the makers really replicated the look and feel of that environment rather well. While the movie is explicitly shown to take place at the time it was made, there's a great sense of timelessness as well - the home computer in Napoleon's house that would've been outdated in 2000, the vague 70s/80s vibes of the soundtrack, and not relying on topical or current subjects to make jokes namely.

What makes…
Review by zoe ★★★★

beautiful
Review by Courtland Hopkins ★★★½

Fantastically quirky but strangely compelling. I don't know if it'll age well. I still like it. It captures the fun of mundane small town life.