Napoleon Dynamite

[Weak2ndAct]

Xixax-dramatic-exits are so last year.

[eloquentpilgrim]

Aparently you can get Napoleon Dynamite Chap-stix on E-bay.

"Can you please just bring me my sticks? My lips hurt real bad!"

[matt35mm]

I have one of those!  My cousin found it at some convention, and gave it to me because she thought maybe I liked the movie.  I like it okay but, since I'm not really a die hard fan, I'll give it to a friend of mine, one of whom is sure to be a die-hard fan (because 1/2 of the entire high school-aged population are die-hard fans of this movie).

Even though I think that this is a mediocre movie, I think the chap stick is a brilliant marketing tool.

[eloquentpilgrim]

Isn't it just.
They've also got Napolean Dynamite watches that TALK, going for around 70 bucks on E-bay.
I kind of relate Garden State with Napoleon Dynamite as they are both marketed towards the uber-nerd american teen, who's not really a total dork, jut a cool nerd into low-fi music and indie films.

[pete]

wow, I got that promotional watch for free.  I guess it's time to sell it.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I really don't watch to read another bickerfest, but is Mutinyco leaving because of an arguement in the Napolean Dyhnamite thread?

I can see Thrindle getting mad about the whole treating women like objects thing... and I'm sure I'm missing something, but in the Napolean Dynamite thread?

Does it get tackier?

[Sleuth]

Well, when you ask it that way, it's more like a coincidence.

[matt35mm]

I kind of relate Garden State with Napoleon Dynamite as they are both marketed towards the uber-nerd american teen, who's not really a total dork, jut a cool nerd into low-fi music and indie films.

Yeah so do I.  Although, it seems like ALL the kids (nerds, dorks, cool kids, etc.) like Napoleon Dynamite.  I don't have any big problems with the movies except that they don't amount to much, since I see them both as, essentially, "teen movies."  Especially Garden State, which is well-meaning and all, but it lacks the perspective that'll make it work for older (or simply those who are further along in their philosophical abilities) members of the audience, which restricts its followers to the 14-25 crowd (but HEY!  That's the group that buys the most tickets and DVDs!  It's the reason that these films have done so successfully.  So I'm sure Fox Searchlight isn't bummed about it.)

If anything, it's sorta cute that a bunch of kids now think that they are into "Indie Movies" because they like these two movies.  True that both movies were independent films, both bought at Sundance and all, but they only scratch at the surface of what can be done in the realm of independent film, or studio-financed film, for that matter.

It's sorta like me thinking that I'm into indie music because I listen to The White Stripes.

[eloquentpilgrim]

Haha.
I agree with the scratching the surface comment. But I guess there's the idea that these sort of movies will lead people to even more deep-thinking films, which is always a good thing.

[ono]

Possible spoilers.  Saw this just now.  Pretty empty film, but nice in the end.  Not really that funny (I only laughed out loud a few times), not really that stereotypical (as far as the Mexican goes), but it's hard to tell where the director's coming from.  Most characters were too underwritten for anything to get too heavy.  (But yeah, I too thought the movie was going to take a dark turn when Rico and GlamourShots girl were alone.  Also, silly misunderstandings in movies like the bust cream one really annoy me, and are an indicator of lazy writing.)

Once I surrendered the fact that no one is really like this, and I got over Napoleon's annoying speech patterns, I was able to enjoy it more.  There's no point in intellectualizing much about this film because there's nothing much here.  It's not like anyone should have expected any profundities.  The film really meandered, and I admired it for that, in a detached way.  In some ways it was very predictable (unlike pete who said there were no setups and punchlines, I saw them coming), and in other ways it wasn't.  Every time I think something involving is going to happen, it's like the director backed away.  A few choice things saved the film from total mediocrity - the dance (though it's been done), and the final tetherball scene, to name two.  The film will wash over you, and never go that deep, but it's good if you want to smile a bit and kill an hour and a half or so.

[Ravi]

it's good if you want to smile a bit and kill an hour and a half or so.

"Kill" being the operative word.

[Stefen]

I stand corrected. I agree with most of what was said in this thread. The meatheads really do love this movie and have made me hate it.

[Weak2ndAct]

Consider me a meathead.  I thought I would hate the movie, I was fully prepared to.  But it won me over, and I've watched it a couple times now.  

A couple days ago, a friend watched it, and was so offended by it he started screaming at me and questioning my taste altogether.

[Stefen]

OMG Weak2ndAct! HI YOU!


A/S/L?


buttsecks?

[Pas]

This guy is annoying