No, that's not a comment on the movie, though it could be. It's a comment on the *style* of the film, which resembles a 90-minute commercial by Joe Sedelmaier. Joe was responsible for the well-known Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" ad and a host of similar ones in which people stood around with droopy, frozen-face expressions while ostensibly uproarious things happened to them. And yeah, this approach can be pretty funny the first couple of times you see it. But the one-joke humor wears pretty thin after awhile, especially when extended beyond the limits of a 30-second commercial.
It seems paradoxical, but the self-conscious, calculated understatement of "Napoleon Dynamite" comes off as heavy handed *overstatement*. Okay, guys, we understand the blunted affect and terminal geekiness; next joke, please.
Yes, there are a few (very few) funny bits in the movie: the cow killing, the 1% milk scene, and Napoleon's masterful drawing of his date. If only the film hadn't tried so hard to be "so geeky it's cool," it would have been vastly improved.
For a truly understated -- and greatly superior -- comedy about the endearing interaction between offbeat misfits, see "The Station Agent."
It seems paradoxical, but the self-conscious, calculated understatement of "Napoleon Dynamite" comes off as heavy handed *overstatement*. Okay, guys, we understand the blunted affect and terminal geekiness; next joke, please.
Yes, there are a few (very few) funny bits in the movie: the cow killing, the 1% milk scene, and Napoleon's masterful drawing of his date. If only the film hadn't tried so hard to be "so geeky it's cool," it would have been vastly improved.
For a truly understated -- and greatly superior -- comedy about the endearing interaction between offbeat misfits, see "The Station Agent."