Watch
Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite

2004
Romance
Comedy
1h 36m
From Preston, Idaho comes Napoleon Dynamite (Heder), a new kind of hero complete with a tight red 'fro, some sweet moon boots and skills that can't be topped. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Your probable score
?

Napoleon Dynamite

2004
Romance
Comedy
1h 36m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 43.43% from 12965 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(12964)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 14 Aug 2007
10
5th
People like this? People quote this? People rank this as one of their favorite films? Show me these people, and I will show them the back of my hand.
Rated 25 Jul 2016
88
75th
Wes Anderson's "Autism is Hilarious."
Rated 14 Aug 2007
68
32nd
Well, it's definitely original. It's like someone watched a bunch of Wes Anderson and Coen brothers, read some Daniel Clowes comics, and decided, "this stuff is cool, but it's just NOT QUIRKY ENOUGH." The overall quirkiness and deadpan humor got tiresome after a while, but there were some laughs and it was fun to see something different.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
55th
I'll give it points for originality. There are a couple of hilarious moments in the movie, but it kills me because there's almost NO damn plot.
Rated 17 Mar 2017
90
90th
I majored in Socially Awkward so I enjoyed this like you enjoy going out into public and not asking a complete stranger how much they weigh and what their exact ethnicity is.
Rated 20 Jan 2007
65
30th
Napoleon Dynamite has some laughs and gets a few points for being so defiant about its complete lack of any sort of story, but a lot of it is just annoying and gimmicky.
Rated 29 Aug 2009
80
20th
To be completely honest, watching this movie would make you think of it to be a cinematic disaster. However, when it is over, you find yourself to be quoting it all of the time! You really do hear the phrases "Freaking idiot, gosh!" and the occasional "Tina you fat lard" which really does make the movie a success. The only movies I can think of being quoted as much as this one are the movies by Shakespeare! Eventually, it does get old, but it was a blast while it lasted.
Rated 06 Apr 2009
83
89th
It's essentially a movie about dumb people acting stupid, but the style of comedy is so fresh and original that it just works. Maybe better than any other comedy of its decade. There are a lot of surreal moments and a lot of LOL moments. Jon Heder's performance is genius and it amazes and delights me that someone could even come up with the idea for such a freak-of-nature character... it reminds me of Monty Python. This film makes Dumb & Dumber's writers look like a bunch of strait-laced stiffs.
Rated 02 May 2007
37
34th
Among this film's targets is a man who wistfully reminisces about a missed opportunity in a high school football game decades past, sincerely inquires his nephew as to whether time travel has yet been discovered, and suffers physical injury in his discovery that it does not. Its feel-good conclusion represents a last-minute effort to dilute its misanthropic tone and send the audience home feeling as though they have been rooting for the underdog; don't buy into it.
Rated 22 May 2007
86
98th
I probably like it a little more just for the fact it was made on the real cheap but it falls into the category of movies that make me laugh and I'm not sure why. I love those kind. It also has the best dance scene of any movie.
Rated 07 Feb 2008
93
96th
If you're not cracking up in the very first scene, this movie isn't for you. It's definitely a love it or hate it kind of movie and I LOVE IT. It's got a buttload of hilarious scenes. Gosh!
Rated 15 May 2008
93
86th
How long were you quoting this movie after it came out?? You're still doing it aren't you. Me too.
Rated 29 Nov 2011
100
97th
This movie feels therapeutic every time I watch it. It's so calm and uneventful, but funny too that it's more there for you than you are there to pay attention to it. It's like watching someone's home videos- there's things here I haven't seen anywhere else whether it be banal or weird. It doesn't feel like the movie ever ends or begins, I could watch it on a loop for days. You could chalk it up to not much happening in the plot, but it entertains despite little going on.
Rated 28 Jan 2009
75
65th
All of the plot-parts are retarded, all of the characters are retarded, the whole film is just plain retarded. But I'll be damned if it isn't incredibly hilarious. Hardly great storytelling or great movie-making (although it's visually impressive) but it's a damn good time if watched with friends. I can imagine it's not the kind of thing you want to watch several times, unless you see it with someone else who hasn't seen it before. It succeeds at what it attempts: Being retarded to get a laugh.
Rated 10 May 2014
3
18th
The only thing I really like about this movie is that the characters are genuine nerds: awkward, unattractive, lonely, weird in a completely unquirky just-get-away-from-me manner... these aren't Hollywood-nerds who would actually be pretty cool people in real life- the inhabitants of this bizarre, stuck-in-the-80s rural Idaho twilight zone are actually believable as social outcasts.
Rated 31 Mar 2007
52
31st
Lacking the technical skill of Napoleon, and the pith of dynamite; this is one of the largest misnomers since Naked Lunch.
Rated 07 Jul 2009
100
98th
Forget those other "high school movies", this is what high school is really like: dorky, quirky, and freakin' awesome.
Rated 05 Feb 2008
75
52nd
Horribly overrated half of the time, criminally underrated the other half. The truth lies in the middle
Rated 19 Jan 2010
28
19th
Remember when a friend of yours excitedly told you this was amazing? Yeah.
Rated 20 Jul 2009
90
66th
You either love this movie or you hate it. I love it.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
67
48th
You would definitely be able to brand this movie with a cult-fame status. Some people love it and other people love it. I don't find the movie side-splitting hilarious but there are a couple of laughs here and there. You'll probably enjoy this if you enjoy quoting comedic one-liners from movies with your friends.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
67th
A good film, but it got way too overexposed and, I admit, watched it too many times.
Rated 23 Aug 2012
95
73rd
A thoroughly quirky, odd little film that nonetheless manages to hook you and then converts you to its mystical little religion by the final reel. I don't know how this is done, and obviously it was pure happenstance since no one from the cast or production team has had anything like its success, but its success is palpable.
Rated 16 Jul 2013
71
40th
When I first saw it, I loved the strange quiet mundane nature of it all and the quotability of some of the lines, but looking back, this is a very enjoyable but awkward and somewhat bland film despite it's mild pop culture staple status.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
94
85th
I loved Napoleon. A lot of people thought this movie was mean, but I thought it was actually very affectionate. Funny, sweet.
Rated 12 Jan 2007
70
66th
Loved it when it first came out. Unique brand of comedy that unfortunately doesn't hold up to multiple viewings (this could also be attributed to the horrible fad it became).
Rated 12 Apr 2010
1
0th
At what point is this movie a comedy?? What a load of ABSOLUTE BS!!!!!!!!!
Rated 31 Jan 2009
60
50th
I'm probably not allowed to like this, but the quirky athmosphere and the fantastic characters did it for me. Also the ugly 80's aesthetics are truly disturbing.
Rated 30 Aug 2010
84
84th
It's, well... there's a squeamish feeling that develops from the voluminous amounts of bad food that seem to make it onto the screen, and in a sense this feeling also carries over into the movie itself. Are the characters tragedies dressed up into heroes? Or are we supposed to just suspend reality and enjoy this slighty wacky, shonkily-drawn, curiously quotable movie...? If you can manage it, the latter is what I recommend.
Rated 01 Mar 2007
10
0th
The most pointless film ever? You just have some geeks that are borderline retarded on screen and are expected to laugh at the losers. Claims to be quirky and cool but can't hide the fact it's unbelievably shallow and never threatens to rise above mind-numbing tedium. I cry myself to sleep at night when I think of all the people who like this. One can only hope that the falling educational standards of the 21st century means kids are misspelling "complete shit" as "Cult classic"
Rated 31 Jul 2009
89
95th
A love it or hate it experience. It is hard to descibe why I like this film so much without using cliché words like offbeat, quirky and strange. But "Napoleon Dynamite" is those things and more. I find it moving, touching as well as funny also, and at some weird level that I find hard to explain this film really connects with me. I am more than happy to ignore the negativity of those who quickly became sick of the unusual hype that surrounded this film because I genuinely love it.
Rated 05 Aug 2015
100
99th
It's not everyone's style of humor, but every joke hits for me and it's my personal favorite comedy.
Rated 25 Mar 2007
69
47th
It's amazing how well this film was done considering the budget, the actors, and the studio. Films like this are a testament to the fact that quality entertainment doesn't have to involve aliens from outer space, epic, slow-mo fight scenes, millions of dollars on special effects, and high caliber talent. Sometimes something as simple as a blank stare from Jon Heder can get the job done.
Rated 10 Apr 2007
91
92nd
This movie changes lives, for better or worse.
Rated 24 Jul 2020
28
2nd
Clearly an acquired taste, the film doesn't work at all because Hess (and his cast) don't really seem to have a handle on how to approach these characters (or stage or perform them for comic effect, if that's what the intent is). It just sort of sits there on screen as a document of these actors reading a script, which means the film quickly becomes stultifying - lacking say the sensory feel of a GUMMO, or the eccentric humanity of a Wes Anderson. A very strange, mildly unpleasant experience.
Rated 12 May 2007
80
86th
- really great :: It's more of a "laughing at" movie than a "laughing with" movie...if you know what I mean. I don't know what else to say about this film except this: it will definitely grow on you.
Rated 04 Jan 2009
87
84th
I might have liked this movie more than the average bear because when it came out, I was currently living in Pocatello, ID. This, people, is exactly how they act over there...it's the most bizarre thing I've ever witnessed. The downside to this movie being made, was that I couldn't go anywhere without hearing people do horrible impersonations of Napolean. =/ This should be under the "documentary" genre. =P
Rated 23 May 2007
10
3rd
I guess I didn't get it. It was one of the stupidest movies I've seen.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
97
98th
This is more of a nostalgia thing for me than anything. If you fall into the small demographic the director made this film for, you will love it more than cheese-covered chimichangas. If you don't you'll probably be scratching your head, wondering what all the fuss is about.
Rated 09 Jun 2007
90
86th
Surprisingly funny. The anti-_Ferris Bueller's Day Off_. A two-hour catalog of all the dorky things we all used to do when we were adolescents, especially for us guys
Rated 15 Jan 2010
90
86th
This is one of the funniest, most original movies I've ever seen. Even besides the major characters, practically every single minor character in this movie was memorably funny.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
3
0th
Jesus Christ. I suppose if it had made an effort it could have been worse.
Rated 23 Jun 2018
79
33rd
It was funny and reaaaaally beautifully shot, and maybe it says something poignant, but it did not get to me emotionally. At all. And the character arcs are super wonky. Like Napoleon's brother's arc makes no sense. Not to mention his skeezy uncle's ending. It's like these men do nothing real for self-improvement and end up having amazing girlfriends...
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
78th
Love it or hate it, who cares. Take this movie with a grain of salt.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
0
7th
I get it, he says stuff strangely. Hilarious.
Rated 30 Jul 2012
75
40th
I know I'm in the minority of serious moviegoers, but I found Napolean Dynamite's absurd pointlessness charming and amusing throughout.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
79th
Honestly, who watched this movie and didn't relate to have the things they did (to a lesser extent, hopefully)? Such a funny movie. What, you don't like it? GOD, IDIOT!!
Rated 02 Jan 2010
10
4th
Most overrrated movie EVER. The plot doesn't even seem to exist. Other than a few laughable lines or moments it's boring as they come. The climax comes and goes without you even knowing and then you get to the end and say, That's considered a movie? Don't buy the hype and waste your time.
Rated 11 Jun 2011
57
59th
I don't care how many douchebags like this movie; I like to think the movie is laughing at them rather than with them. It sells out a bit by going for some broad, easy laughs near the end, but it's still one of the better comedies of the 2000s.
Rated 14 Feb 2016
95
98th
There is nothing like it. Deeply funny and well crafted.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
87th
A cult classic. If you don't like it the first time, watch it a second time. Actually... sit in a room with ppl who LOVE the movie, and seem to have some sort of brain defect that prevents them from not quoting the movie 24 hours a day.... and then watch it a second time. You might find it funnier then.
Rated 20 Nov 2010
20
7th
I was prepared to really like Napoleon Dynamite. Sadly, It wasn't funny at all, and didn't have likable enough characters, or quirky situations that could make it funny. The actors, apart from Heder, who played his part well, all seemed like they didn't care, and the story didn't really have anything occurring in it. It wasn't a narrative. Instead, it was just a series of events, one that I was sad to have witnessed.
Rated 14 Sep 2009
100
94th
I know we've all heard the catch-phrases a million times, but I still love this movie.
Rated 25 Sep 2010
68
65th
Oddly captivating. This seems to be one of those movies you like or you don't. Not great by any means but there were some pretty funny parts , and it can be strangely endearing at times.
Rated 14 Feb 2008
80
96th
Bred for it's skills and magic, this is a fantastic film.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
50
10th
I get it, but I don't really care.
Rated 17 Mar 2010
40
11th
Wow. I've never seen anything so painfully awkward in my life. If I wanted to see people feeling awkward about themselves and those around them, I'd go to a Furry Convention.
Rated 02 Oct 2022
6
70th
Just rewatched for the first time since summer of 2004, and have doubled my rating here (my previous review centering on lifeless energy & unlikable protagonist). Mind you I still don’t LOVE it by any means… but hell, I might now love it compared to most film and TV comedy produced in the last half decade or so, which I fairly unilaterally hate. Call it nostalgia for early to mid 00s pop culture I guess; I’ll definitely own that, no use denying it.
Rated 01 Nov 2007
74
51st
Wes Anderson's Gummo.
Rated 20 Aug 2007
70
54th
Fun catch phrase factory with goofy characters. Episodic nature of this movie is actually one of it's strenths.
Rated 01 Feb 2007
27
13th
This movie fails to be interesting enough to warrant watching, it just doesn't have anything to grab your attention much less hold it. There are some amusing and even funny scenes, but they are rare. I certainly understand the plight of "losers" but there is no nostalgia there. Forest Gump works because people like to be reminded of the 60s. Does anyone really want to relive a horrible high school experience? If so, then this film is definitely for you. And so is psychotherapy.
Rated 11 Sep 2011
10
1st
I don't like being expected to laugh at how mind-numbingly dumb the characters are.
Rated 26 Feb 2007
27
0th
One of the most overrated movies of our time. It's humor is dumb, and why some think it takes something special to get it, it doesnt. On first watch I almost liked it. I laughed out loud a time or two. The second time around I realized it is simply an attempt to seem more profound than it truly is. Pass this one up.
Rated 18 May 2008
10
6th
What shit is this?
Rated 16 Jun 2013
13
0th
Painful to watch.
Rated 21 May 2007
40
19th
A comedy?
Rated 14 Aug 2007
43
27th
IT'S REALLY NOT THAT FUNNY. STOP QUOTING IT ALL THE TIME.
Rated 22 Apr 2020
75
10th
On future viewings, Napoleon Dynamite isn't as transcendent as the cult status is has achieved, but it is an enjoyable and sometimes endearing comedy. The intentional awkwardness does feel forced at times and the film is at its best when it finds an emotional balance between comedy and drama. It is what it is, I guess, and it was a good career birth for both Heder and the directing Hess team. Also, Uncle Rico steals every scene. All of them.
Rated 17 May 2008
45
5th
Bad acting, bad plot, bad direction, bad music, bad cinematography. The best part of this movie is the ending credits.
Rated 15 Apr 2009
0
0th
No, no, no, no, no. I can't not believe this exists. For the sake of good idiotic humor erase this from the planet Earth!
Rated 10 Sep 2008
37
12th
Incredibly boring, with characters that have no story arcs; starts nowhere, goes nowhere yet ends even dumber than when you entered. Completely worthless.
Rated 27 Nov 2011
60
36th
It can be quite funny when it's not choking on it's own quirkiness (which is most the time). I'm just thankful that I can once again go through a day without someone thinking they are a real jokester because they say, "Gosh!" like Napoleon or has some other killer quote to throw out there.
Rated 16 Oct 2010
40
27th
So, he can dance!!
Rated 14 Aug 2007
60
16th
Almost all the funny parts are already in the trailers.
Rated 30 Dec 2008
30
14th
Not funny. Not good.
Rated 10 Oct 2013
96
85th
Many would argue that 9/11 or the 2008 financial crisis mark the beginning of the end of the neoliberal era and Fukuyama's "End of History," but I would argue that the millennium was born with this movie.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
0
0th
This is movie is terrible. I cannot stress how really bad it is. If someone you know tells you it's good or starts quoting it, you punch them in the face. I'm serious. There is NOTHING redeemable about it. Warn everyone you know. It blows.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
88
74th
I was lucky enough to see this in the theater, before we became inundated with quoting, quoting, QUOTING; my *** 1/2 (88) mark is what I would have ranked it back then, but today I'd probably give it closer to a *** (75). There's no real point to it, but it's original and very funny (and, of course, the endless aping of its routines have diminished that. See also: Monty Python and the Holy Grail).
Rated 14 Aug 2007
35
10th
I kept waiting for the funny to happen. And it never did. Still, I guess the film gets some points for originality.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
65
60th
The movie and the sense of humor was funny but i wasn't sure what i was watching. Nothing seemed to be happening and it was just the same thing over and over again.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
9
2nd
Reasons why this movie doesn't get a zero: 1) The scene in the dojo is actually funny. 2) It is funny when he gets hit in the head with a steak and falls off his bike. Those are the only two redeeming qualities of this piece of shit. It's not funny. It has no quotable lines that are funny. Terrible. Not recommended to anyone with taste. Recommended to retards who want to feel good about themselves.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
2
0th
Wow, a movie without a plot or a joke released by MTV Films. I never would have thought this to be possible. It actually took four tries to make it all the way through this wretched movie that so many people seem to find hilarious.
Rated 28 Dec 2009
63
39th
At the end of this movie I felt empty, as if two hours of my life were sucked from my soul, never to return.
Rated 20 Jul 2009
1
11th
Completely impossible to enjoy in every respect.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
10
5th
uhhhh..........what did i just watch?
Rated 01 Nov 2013
20
0th
Most idiosyncratic movie? Agreed except for the "syncra" part! It has camera work. It has acting. It has costumes, props & some music. It may actually be wickedly funny and infinitely entertaining once you make it past the 30 minute mark. Well. I didn't. Life is just too short. One might eat a sandwich, pleasure oneself, and maybe even do something productive during the ~90 minutes it would take to watch this. All vastly superior options. And isn't a "comedy" a movie that makes people laugh?
Rated 14 Aug 2007
10
3rd
I refuse to list any reasons why I hate this movie, simply challenge anyone to give me a respectable reason why they liked it.
Rated 29 Dec 2007
21
2nd
Don't get me started on this overrated piece of rubbish: Long, boring and terrifyingly unfunny. What's the point of anything that happens in this movie?
Rated 14 Aug 2007
30
0th
Sort of like that annoying 'fro kid from Psychonauts. Psychonauts was good. This isn't.
Rated 18 Jun 2024
60
40th
I laughed a few times. Thought I'd hate it at first but ended up thinking it was okay by the end. I'm somewhat suspicious of those that really like this movie, though.
Rated 11 Apr 2021
70
82nd
This shouldn't work at all. It just shouldn't. And yet it does. Anchored by Jon Heder's fabulous lead performance & featuring quite a strong cast of characters, it's a bizarre ride through 2000's rural Idaho that somehow feels both grounded & surrealist at the same time. The self-aware edge, the awkward humor, & even a neat little romantic subplot bring it all together. I can absolutely see why it's so polarizing, but while it's not the funniest thing ever I enjoyed it. Great post-credits bit.
Rated 27 Jan 2012
0
1st
This was never funny and anyone who thinks it is funny is my enemy.
Rated 02 Mar 2020
0
4th
Dumbest thing I've ever half-watched. Couldn't make it all the way through.
Rated 06 Dec 2017
2
21st
Boring. Unfunny. Weird. I managed to view only 17 min of it
Rated 01 Sep 2012
100
83rd
amazing. ligers, pubescent moustaches, parts of my whole childhood up on screen.
Rated 14 May 2015
87
70th
Awkward, charming, and a little bit awesome
Rated 20 Feb 2011
55
43rd
While eccentric and quirky, this film's characters are suppressed by a poor and pretentious script.
Rated 22 Apr 2012
80
58th
It's a retarded film alright, the plot, the acting, the lines suck. But somehow when everything is combined together, there is this odd charm that makes the film quite entertaining. Guilty pleasure.
Rated 03 Feb 2013
20
0th
Simply terrible. It's not funny, just stupid.
Rated 29 Apr 2016
12
55th
W4E2P1S1V0M1A1R2. I think it's actually pretty tough to create a movie solely as a platform for some dumb jokes and goofy characters, but not have the platform swallow the movie and/or devolve into mayhem. This one succeeded. A simple story that you neither care about nor are offended by, leaving you to focus on the laughs.

Collections

Loading ...

Similar Titles

Loading ...

Statistics

Loading ...

Trailer

Loading ...