*This was another one of those pleasant T.V. moments that I could only watch by default at the end of my channel flipping, having had my share of classic senior high flicks. Napolean (Jon Heder), an Idaho high school teen, leads a cast of iconic roles that you can wallpaper memes about. With its bare bones cinematography, Oscar nominated music, and Millennial humor, it remains a cult classic! Director and Writer Jared Hess proved that gems can still be produced with low budgets and gifted professionals.
The movie pulls you into a caricature countryside, making you savour every key detail so much that you dread leaving it. Napoleon struggles to mature through "babes," bullies, and bed wettings. He refreshes our bittersweet high school moments, more relatable to the turn of the century. He's no athlete, so he sticks to tetherball and doodling. Napoleon befriends Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and everything turns around for him. Yes, Pedro casts the stereotypical Mexican immigrant, but he made it hilariously in good taste, running for class president. There's still the usual popular kids like Summer (Haylie Duff) 'Barby' with her 'Ken' jock boyfriend Don (Trevor Snarr), yet he charms with his silent movie wit. Napoleon's socially awkward brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) is a freeloading bachelor in his 30s obsessed with internet love. They are raised by a hardy, single llama-owning grandma (Sandy Martin), who gets injured offroading on her motorbike, leaving the boys to fend for themselves in the hands of Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), a remnant of the past century bravado.
As you can see, the roles crisply bring Millennials to the fore. Dance crosses racial barriers, bringing R&B to the mainstream and rehashing retro. These teens have no money, as Napoleon is seen constantly perusing the local thrift shops and others keep breaking out with entrerprising ventures. Napoleon's fantasy personas drive the narrative, finding a crush (Emily Kennard) more creative than him. Minorities enjoy more empowerment, as my son noticed he recently saw a "Vote for Pedro" shirt. Mixed couples are center stage with the unlikely courtship of dimunitive Kip and his online date bombshell, LaFawnduh (Shondrella Avery), who likes to dress Kip up with 'hotline' bling.
Indeed, subcultures and race differences were explored with clean boundless humour, without controversy. Napolean rises to hero status by sheer determination to realize lofty dreams and display today's brazen entitlement. We even get an encore scene after credits. This is no doubt a TOUCHDOWN!
* Fox Searchlight Pictures/ Paramount Pictures. "Discover Ideas About Funny Quotes." Pinterest, TheZodiacCity, Rose Wellborn, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/50947039505502988/
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