I finally saw Napoleon Dynamite today.
I am a little underwhelmed - people like Wes Anderson have been doing this sort of quirky oddball film for years and with better results. People call ND a cult film, and it seems to me that it was a conscious effort on the part of the film-makers to create a "cult" film; usually a film gains cult status after years of neglect - ND had "cult classic" stamped on it before it released, and as such, much of the film's quirkiness feels contrived. I guess that's what happens when subcultures become absorbed into the mainstream - "indie" and "alteranative" are as much "labels" as anything else at the moment.
On the plus side, there are some genuinely funny scenes (irresistably quotable, I know) and the soundtrack is great - I'm always a sucker for prom scenes with 80s music, and ND didn't disappoint in this regard.
Any thoughts?
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I had heard a lot about this movie ...
I had heard a lot about this movie before I saw it... people saying it was the funniest movie ever and yadda yadda. I saw it one night with a friend after we got pretty stoned and I fell asleep midway through what I thought was a tragic tale about a ginge with no social skills and dry lips.
A couple of weeks later I thought I'd better watch it alone and I did and I too was underwhelmed. It didn't live up to the hype... or rather, the hype was over hyped hype and as such the movie kinda... floundered under the weight of the hyper hyped hype machine. I could barely tell you what happens in the movie, except I did quite like his dance. And the shoes he wore kinda looked like the ones Waverley from Shortland Street had on at BDO.
I got it out one day on DVD and watched ...
I got it out one day on DVD and watched it without having heard anything about it. I really liked it. I thought it was really sweet. Despite the oddness of the characters they were still after the same things anyone can relate to - friendship, love, acceptance. I guess there was a lot of hope wrapped up in there too. Pedro, despite being a misfit becomes achieves his dreams, Napoleon bravely manages to wow the crowd with his 'skills' and in doing so helps out a really good friend, scrawny white kip's online girlfriend turns out to be this giant goddess of a balck woman, yet that makes no difference to their love. Its like even though they are all social outcasts they all managed to have their own little moments of greatness. I found it funny too, but this is what really made the movie work for me.
I like any movie that has Alphaville on ...
I like any movie that has Alphaville on the soundtrack.
There are actually a few 80s ...
There are actually a few 80s one-hit-wonders on the soundtrack.
//There are actually a few 80s ...
//There are actually a few 80s one-hit-wonders on the soundtrack.
Yes but what does that have to do with Alphaville? They had masses and masses of hits. Hell, Adam Brody's even named his band after one of their songs. What higher level of cred is there?
I guess the only Alphaville song I had ...
I guess the only Alphaville song I had ever heard in my life was Forever Young - on an 80s compilation of one hitters... I dunno.
A close (-ted boy-) friend at school ...
A close (-ted boy-) friend at school used to be obsessed with Alphaville, so I've heard what they were doing up until about their 4th album! I think their debut was still best. I always liked 'We are the Jetset'.
Anyone know 'Hands to Heaven' by (UK band) Breathe? It's pretty amazing weepy slow 80s action... I love it. Up there with Escape Club's attempted come-back slow number 'I'll Be There'. Yes, they did another album after 'Wild Wild West'. I fondly remember the video on whatever video show was on TV at the time.. probably the one with Pauline Gillespie?
And Joanna, while having a "what am I ...
And Joanna, while having a "what am I doing here?" moment sitting in a crap diner in Tokyo I was buoyed up by hearing Spice Girls' '2 Become 1' ... a little surprised how easy it is to spot who's singing at various points. I love the way the chords drop below the line "that's the way it's gonna be". Gonna? Gotta?
How's Tokyo going for you? I'm trying ...
How's Tokyo going for you? I'm trying to think of some cool places you should go for good times, but strangely enough, I'm drawing a total blank. But ooh, cherry blossom season's coming up!
I'm always a fan of the Spice Girls for cheering upness (hell, that's what I used all the way through 1998 when I first moved to Auckland), but I'm a bit confused by your quote - are you thinking of the line "it's the only way to be" perhaps?
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Oh yeah, and Adam Brody's band is ...
Oh yeah, and Adam Brody's band is called 'Big in Japan' so you can take heart in that.
//'2 Become 1' Great song. I ...
//'2 Become 1'
Great song.
I would have been more impressed with ND if it had had some Spice Girls music on it (but only off the first album). Even a Spice Girls reference would have been satisfying.
Oops, yes, "only way to be". I knew I ...
Oops, yes, "only way to be". I knew I didn't have it right.
I'm still in the excited tourist phase of being here, so yeah, loving it. I'm sure culture shock will kick in and I'll be hating everything soon enough. :) Right now I'm at home, sick with a cold, so that kinda sucks.
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Wouldn't be the Bar otherwise, would ...
Wouldn't be the Bar otherwise, would it?
true true...
true true
Places I liked in Tokyo: 1. Lion ...
Places I liked in Tokyo:
1. Lion beer hall in Ginza on the main drag. Be sure to ask for the roast beef when the guy seats you (stocks are limited, so you gotta be quick).
2. A bar called GQ, also in Ginza. This place is hilarious: they play the world's most bootylicious array of 70s funk, and what do the punters do? Line dancing! I rembemer almost pissing myself with laughter at one episode: it was my first time there and they were playing some real toe-tapping, finger-snapping stuff and I was having a giggle at the line dancing. Anyway, you can request songs, so I asked the DJ to play... umm, I think it was Le Freak by Chic. Anyway, the instant the song came on, the entire dance floor EMPTIED! I couldn't comprehend it - such a moneymaker-shakin' song and no-one's dancing! But I heard one guy say to his buddies as he left the floor: "I don't know the steps to this one". Yup, at GQ, apparently you only dance if you know the set moves. (NB: I never saw this elsewhere; only GQ). Before GQ, we'd always, always go to the German beer hall & restaurant Pilsen nearby. Alas, it's closed now.
3. Underneath Tokyo station, there's a tachi-nomi place that specialises in imported beer. I forget the name, but if you head in a "one-o'clock" direction as you head out the Yaesu Exit, you should run into it after a few minutes.
aaaargh, you poo-holes are hijacking my ...
aaaargh, you poo-holes are hijacking my thread!
Well, while we're on the subject of ...
Well, while we're on the subject of Japan - I've always wanted to visit Kamakura. It's where Ozu lived - and many of his films are set there.
I felt the same way after watching it ...
I felt the same way after watching it for the first time, and many people had told me how funny it was and how much I'd like it, etc... But I thought it was an hour and a half of nothing. I found it far more interesting the second time around tho...
I thought it was ok. Pretty much the ...
I thought it was ok. Pretty much the same as everyone else here, I had been told/heard how great it was by my mates who had quoted all the funny lines from it so when I actually got to watch it they humor wasn't such a suprise.
it is a good quote movie though.
'its a liger, its pretty much my favourite animal its a cross between a tiger and a lion. Its bred for it's skills and magic."
" girls only like guys with skills, like numchuck skills, computer hacking skills bow hunting skills, they only liek guys with great skills. "
Two of my more favourite quotes from the movie
I thought it was a fantastic movie....
I thought it was a fantastic movie.
me too....
me too.
that's ok...
that's ok
Having never met him, only going by ...
Having never met him, only going by Saul Hudson's comments back in the day, I always pictured tclak as looking like Napoleon Dynamite. :D
Haven't seen the movie yet, but would like to. Didn't really get hyped among my friends.
Actually, I saw the end credits on a ...
Actually, I saw the end credits on a plane - had decided I was in no mood to watch it as an in-flight thing - and was very very impressed that they had 'The Promise' by When In Rome playing. That's an incredible / terrible / amazing song. I listen to it kinda scarily regularly...
The thing that messed with me is that I ...
The thing that messed with me is that I expected something easier to digest when I saw the MTV logo in the opening credits (not having seen the trailer, etc)... but the movie really is on a different wavelength from start to finish, uber-subtle, not 'MTV' in the slightest. I really need to watch it again with fresh eyes, I think- at the moment my lingering impression is that there was no point in making it, which is probably a little hasty!
foetus, I'm so with you on that one. ...
foetus, I'm so with you on that one. All my friends were quoting it, and then I finally saw iand the first thing on the screen is the MTV logo - I thought 'oh god here we go' and all hype-driven expectations disappeared. Which ended up being a good thing, as it made the movie seem a lot better.
Another thing that's weird (in relation to the MTV thing, I guess) is that ND is a Mormon film. Like, really Mormon. And Uncle Rico is a vegan. Ha ha ha.
OK... just watched it for the second ...
OK... just watched it for the second time. It is a brilliant movie. I think the hype thing totally messed with me the first time 'round, but this time I just let the story go along at it's own pace, and it really hooked me. Aww, I'm feeling so positive at the moment! Well worth a second chance people!
Ja. Just thinking, someone said that ...
Ja. Just thinking, someone said that Wes Anderson has been doing this sort of thing better for years - I really think this is a bit different to his films. His have a touch of fantasy or magic, the unknown, to them whereas the whole point of ND is the stifling mundanity (???) of Anywhere, USA. But here I go being a BA again. Blah blah blah.
// And Uncle Rico is a vegan. Huh?...
// And Uncle Rico is a vegan.
Huh?
/And Uncle Rico is a vegan. Are you ...
/And Uncle Rico is a vegan.
Are you sure? I'm sure I saw him wolfing down a big slab 'o beef... or was he?
//Jon Gries (Uncle Rico) was asked to do many scenes in which he was eating steak. Gries, who is a vegetarian, would chew the steak and later spit it out. In fact, there is one scene, in which you can see Gries spitting the chewed meat into his hand.
Wow- more ND trivia at imdb.com
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Well! That's some dedication....
Well! That's some dedication.
Especially cos he's a hardcore ...
Especially cos he's a hardcore vegetarian (think that's what I meant by vegan in a blonde moment). There's something on wikipedia about him not drinking milk or eating eggs. Or something.
He really looked like he was enjoying that steak, too...
//Jon Heder helped to make the ...
//Jon Heder helped to make the boondoggle keychains between scenes
What great talent.
if you watch the movie with commentary ...
if you watch the movie with commentary on, there's some great trivia on that too.
You know who doesn't like Napolean ...
You know who doesn't like Napolean Dynamite? This guy:
[ http://www.beatjeremycoon.com/ ]