Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite. 2004 Fox Searchlight Pictures, Paramount Pictures & MTV Films.
Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez
Director: Jared Hess
Buy Napoleon Dynamite at Amazon.

A funny, heartwarming film about one of the most unlikeable characters in cinematic history.

Napoleon Dynamite (Heder) is an awkward and socially inept teenager who lives with his grandmother, and his older brother Kip (Ruell), who sits online the entire day "talking to babes" (while "training to be a cage fighter") in a small town called Preston, Idaho. He spends his time drawing, daydreaming, failing at tetherball, and getting picked on by the popular kids.

After his grandmother is injured in a dune riding accident, Uncle Rico (Gries) is asked to watch Nap and Kip. Rico lives in his van, and seems permanently stuck in 1982. He and Kip embark on a project to sell a Tupperware-like product door-to-door. See, Kip wants to meet his online girlfriend who lives in Detroit.

Meanwhile, Napoleon makes two new friends in school. Pedro (Ramirez) is a transfer student from Mexico who immediately decides to run for class president. Deb (Tina Majorino) is a shy and sensitive young lady who takes a liking to Napoleon until Rico tries selling her some breast enhancement herbs and hinting that it was Napoleon's idea. The movie ends well for all; Pedro becomes class president, Kip gets married to his online sweetheart, Rico wins his girl back, Grandma recovers and comes home...and Napoleon becomes friends with Deb again.

Napoleon Dynamite, the character, is somehow one of the more unlikeable characters I've ever seen in any movie, but it still doesn't prevent his own movie from being a good one. Recommended.