Rom Coms Wildcard: Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
The Fumblers are stuck at home while their Grandma is recovering in the hospital. To pass the time and keep their mind off of the fact that there's no steaks, they watch Napoleon Dynamite. One of us spent 4 hours working on the shading of their upper lip, and it may surprise you who it was.

Transcript
Gather together from the cosmic reaches of the universe. Here in this great screening room with comfortable recliners are the most powerful forces of good ever assembled.
Speaker B:Keith, grab you. Grab you a tray.
Speaker C:Terry, I have no choice, okay? Off to my box of frogs. I have Derek.
Speaker A:Or you see somebody with like taking a picture of something on the ground and their nasty ass feet are in the. God, I hate that. And the power twins, Zap and Jordan with their magical lemur snort dedicated fumbling their way through movies one forgotten gem at a time. This week we make a dang case of Dillo with 2004's Napoleon Dynamite. This is fumbling through film. Are you and Tammy still together?
Speaker C:No, not really.
Speaker A:Why is that? Well,
Speaker C:she's jealous. Says I'm living too much in 82. Yeah, I dumped her. What about your girlfriend?
Speaker A:Well, things are getting pretty serious right now. I mean, we chat online for like
Speaker C:two hours every day, so I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious. I'm just really trying to raise a few bucks right now so I can
Speaker A:bring her out for a few days.
Speaker C:Yeah, what does she look like?
Speaker A:She's got sandy blonde hair. She's a pretty good looking face. But I'm just getting really, just kind of to. Because she hasn't even sent me a
Speaker C:full body shot yet.
Speaker B:Hey, you know,
Speaker C:I got a little project that we might be able to
Speaker A:make little moolah with Rune.
Speaker C:That sounds pretty good. Have you ever heard of nylon polymer?
Speaker A:Hello and welcome to another one of a kind, genre defining, brand new episode of Public Through Film. The only show that dares to bring together three dudes to talk about movies. These, however, aren't just any movies starting
Speaker B:to prove they might be.
Speaker A:What'd you just mutter? You are the muttering man.
Speaker B:Starting to prove that they might be.
Speaker A:Oh, Keith thinks they might be any movie.
Speaker B:I'm starting starting to agree with you now.
Speaker C:Derek we hired. Oh, he's changing his tune again. He's wishy washy. This guy.
Speaker A:Keith is a flip flopper. Flip flop, flip flip, flip flopper. A waffler. If he were a politician, waffles, Karl Rove would be all over you. Destroy you in the media.
Speaker C:Yeah, I can't wait till I release my dissertation about this whole topic and then just blow everyone's minds. Finally prove this to be true.
Speaker A:Well, Terry, keep your diagrams and your dissertations to yourself because right now we gotta do this. Bye, Davis. Oh, wait. These aren't just same movies. These are the ones we've missed, overlooked, or feel are simply worth revisiting. Hence, while Keith is on my side. They are any movie. And Terry is staunchly entrenched on the not any movie side of the fence.
Speaker C:Yep, it's one of the life's great debates.
Speaker A:He's on the llama side of the fence. No, we're on the case of Dylan
Speaker C:side of the fence, huh? Yeah. Well, you guys still gotta feed me. Give me your slop.
Speaker A:Yep. Anyway, my name is Derek, and I am a Fumbler, joining me here in the Fumble Dome, which is now in Idaho. Out the plains, there's mountains in the background. Anyway, it's the prime minister of fumbling and film, Keith.
Speaker C:Hey.
Speaker B:Hey, what's up, everybody? It's kg, fumbler extraordinaire. And I, too, am stuck in 92 and 82.
Speaker A:Stuck in 82.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker A:That's only. You were, like, seven years after your mom did the best thing she could have ever done. See, I remember things.
Speaker B:No, no, that's. Yeah, that's. I peaked 82.
Speaker A:You peaked in 82 at 7.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Good time.
Speaker B:I think that was second grade. I was a little drummer boy in the Christmas.
Speaker A:I think you say I was a little drunk.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker B:Played the little drummer boy in the school Christmas program.
Speaker C:Roll of lifetime.
Speaker B:Bam. It was. I peaked right there.
Speaker A:Rollie was born to play. He's got two hands that could hold drumsticks.
Speaker C:Yeah. Nobody else could do that.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker B:Both.
Speaker A:The. The actual stick and the. The chicken and.
Speaker B:Or turkey braining turkey.
Speaker A:The other person over there with drumsticks and one in each hand is Dr. Rave, Kansas. Terry.
Speaker C:Yep. Just about to. I was just about to do drum solo, but now that you've introduced me, I better be quiet. So. Yeah, this time, no drum.
Speaker B:Still using. He's still using chicken drumstick soda. Dudes. Drum solo.
Speaker A:Which is the only way to do it.
Speaker C:That I know. Yeah, my snare drums are really greasy.
Speaker A:You know what else is really greasy?
Speaker B:This podcast.
Speaker A:This podcast.
Speaker C:Oh, it is.
Speaker A:Yes. It's got a. It's got a sheen to it.
Speaker C:Yeah. It's not the most healthiest of podcasts, but it is. You do crave it from time to time, right?
Speaker A:Yes. It's crispy, crunchy, and I guaranteed no trans fats.
Speaker C:And sopping wet with grease.
Speaker A:And sopping wet. This is the wettest podcast in town.
Speaker C:Now, that I can agree with.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And since it's so wet, we should tell people why it's so wet every. Derek, Keith, don't you just. You just took something as innocent as moistness of a podcast and turned it into something.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's classic Keith.
Speaker A:Classic Keith. Anyway, every month we watch movies. Well, every week we watch movies. Not just any movie. Every month one of us chooses a theme, a genre, a guiding light. Some sort of. Oh, flyer that's selling Tupperware and herbal enhancements.
Speaker C:Or presidents.
Speaker A:Or presidents.
Speaker C:It's a big theme of this film. Plum flyers.
Speaker A:Lot of flyers in this film. Hand drawn flyers. I love it. Anyway, we use those handdrawn flyers and guiding lights to. To make us watch movies. We watch movies that adhere to those things and then on the fourth week, we really fumble. We watch a movie that's given to us by the wheel of death. And that's this week. But before we get to this week, this is DTF down to fumble. Y2 year 2 M5. The M stands for month.
Speaker C:And that's what tells us that.
Speaker A:I know I gotta make sure everybody's on board. And that's a Keith month. So Keith, let the people know what we were in for this month.
Speaker B:Well, I had to thoroughly live up to my self proclaimed nickname, the romcom guy here. And thus we watched romcoms. I start everything's off with When Harry met Sally.
Speaker A:When Harry met Sally. I actually went back to the tape to find the quote. And you called yourself the romcom aficionado.
Speaker B:Oh, at least it wasn't romcom God.
Speaker C:I guess that's like next level. First it's the fishado, then it's the guy, and then it's the God.
Speaker A:Yeah, and. And you're almost God tier.
Speaker C:That's the.
Speaker B:That's like the man, the myth, the legend. But yeah, for rom coms.
Speaker C:Let's see at the end of this episode if he. He transforms to his final form.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Keith ascends. He can. Terry, you and I were left behind. We're like his acolytes watching rom com heaven.
Speaker C:We'll be here to spread his word.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, if I get left behind, I'm gonna be pretty pissed off.
Speaker C:You're gonna be good.
Speaker B:I'll put in good up in good work for you.
Speaker A:Well, I mean if it's. Yeah, well, what if it's like because
Speaker C:you have more to do on this mortal coil.
Speaker A:But then I'll be super pissed off. I don't want to do more things.
Speaker C:It's like, oh, Keith's good, but you gotta stick around for a little bit more.
Speaker B:You have to spread the good word of rom coms.
Speaker C:Yeah. The rom com God needs his. His disciples. And you're gonna go around and start up as his congregation.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:And I'm gonna help.
Speaker A:I'll be one of them disciples that gets pissed off and does stuff.
Speaker C:Judas. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker A:You're gonna stabil. But, you know, just named. Yeah, I'll. I'll deny his name or something like that.
Speaker C:Hey, too Derek, as you stabbed him in the back.
Speaker A:He's Caesar as well.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Do all sorts of stuff.
Speaker C:Rom Com. Caesar.
Speaker B:First he said we were being safe. Take this.
Speaker A:First week we had, he said when we had When Harry met Sally, then W2 was Terry, and you did eagle versus shark. Eagle versus shark. Then W3 was me, and we watched Harold and Maude. Then we put some movies on the wheel. We spun it, and we got Napoleon Dynamite. Napoleon Dynamite. And Terry had the power of veto, and he didn't use it.
Speaker B:This is again, the fact that I won the wheel. It might go with my ascension to Rom Com God.
Speaker A:Oh, that's true.
Speaker B:Special powers going on.
Speaker C:I'm the king maker. I just allow his.
Speaker A:Terry is the king maker. Napoleon Dynamite from what year is Napoleon Dynamite? 2000. What?
Speaker B:4.
Speaker A:Now, before we talk about our viewing of Napoleon Dynamite from 2004, or before I even do a deep dive into Napoleon Dynamite from 2004, did any of us have any previous experience, knowledge, history of Napoleon Dynamite from 2004?
Speaker B:Well, back in 2004, I. I saw this movie.
Speaker A:So that's the last time you saw it?
Speaker B:No, not the last time, but that I saw it when it first came out, yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Impressive.
Speaker B:It was at the time. Yeah.
Speaker C:This is. I feel like this is one of those movies that, like, hit big around my high school era. High school, middle school era. Very popular in the zeitgeist. It was a movie that I watched the first time, and I thought it was so stupid, but this has happened to me a few times where I think it's so dumb and I didn't like it at all. And then I start talking about it with my friends, and then it becomes like the. The things I talk about. I started cracking up because I was like, wow, that was hilarious. But I'm like, I don't think that when I watched it and then I rewatch, I'm like, oh, it was funny. Never mind.
Speaker B:So you've been doing this podcast for a really long time, then just without recording it?
Speaker C:Yeah. Yeah. Basically, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker A:I had seen Napoleon Dynamite not once, not twice, not three times. I don't know how many times I've seen this movie. It's a lot, actually. Saw in theaters. I worked in the movie theater when this movie Came out. So I saw it quite a bit. Bits and pieces then, because I used to work at the projection booth.
Speaker C:So you just sit back there and watch it?
Speaker A:Yeah, I used to watch one of any 10 movies at any given time, so.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker A:Napoleon Dynamite. Bought the DVD when it came out on dvd, Watched it, then sold the DVD in a yard sale, probably.
Speaker C:Oh, but it came in handy this week, wouldn't it?
Speaker A:Rebought the DVD this. This week.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I actually recently, within the last year, watch this movie with my teenage daughter. I thought, you're gonna get kick out of this because she. Yeah, she liked it, but she has a problem with cringy anxiety moments. So it was a treat to watch it with her because this movie is nothing but cringy anxiety moments.
Speaker B:Yeah, I played the trailer for my son, and he had that. He goes, he can watch himself. And then when the power came back on at the house, I was like, all right, gotta hurry up and watch this movie. And my wife's like. She's like, I'll watch it with you. And she got in about 15 minutes. She goes, all right, I think I'm good.
Speaker A:Has she seen it before?
Speaker B:Yeah, she'd seen it before, but she. That it scratched whatever itch to watch it again. She's like, all right, 15 minutes. And she's like, I'm good.
Speaker A:All right. She got to see grandma fall off.
Speaker B:That was probably. Yeah, probably right around that time, I think.
Speaker C:Yeah, Everything changes.
Speaker A:Everything changes. To call it the quarter point.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's the. Yeah. Last thing. The last time I watched this was in when I had Covid.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:I just turned it on. It was like one of those, like, comfort quote unquote movies. I was like, I'm just gonna play this, try to get some vibes off it. I think I fell asleep, but it was nice.
Speaker A:This is one of those movies that, when it used to have cable, if it came on, no matter what part of the movie it was on, I'd watch it till I was, like, done. You know, like, oh, I gotta go do this, or time to turn off the tv. It's like Shawshank Redemptions. Like that too. Like, it used to be on TV all the time. Okay. I'm stuck watching. Yeah. Cult classic. I think Napoleon Dynamite's a cult classic too.
Speaker C:I agree with that. I agree with that.
Speaker A:All right, well, now that we know that we're very well versed in Napoleon Dynamite, Keith is going. To our knowledge, Terry, very superficial. What I. I know it's hard to believe, but if you and I were just relaxed. Right now. Keith is going to take us closer to Napoleon Dynamite than we could have ever imagined. In another patent pending Fumbler. Steep deck.
Speaker B:Now one thing I will say is that if you go to IMDb and you look to up buddy comedy, quirky comedy, satire, teen comedy, comedy romcom does not come up in this. So according IMDb, I think we've broken our streak of I don't know.
Speaker A:I think this is a romantic comedy.
Speaker B:There, there's some romance in there. There's usually as much as any of the other.
Speaker A:It's a teen romance.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But a romance on the list.
Speaker B:It's a listless and alienated teenager helps his new friend win the class presidency and they're small western high school while dealing with his bizarre family life back home.
Speaker C:That's one way to describe it.
Speaker B:That's a very one. Yeah. Tagline is he's out to prove he's got nothing to prove.
Speaker A:That's a shitty tagline.
Speaker C:I don't know about that.
Speaker B:Oh, let's see what the other ones are here.
Speaker A:He's not out to prove anything.
Speaker B:It's going to be a dynamite summer.
Speaker C:I like that.
Speaker B:And same planet, different flipping world.
Speaker C:I don't know about that.
Speaker B:I don't like that one. But it's going to be dynamite. Summer is pretty good though. I don't like that one.
Speaker C:Know how I describe this movie? Besides. Yeah, just some generic like that. I feel like upon. Yeah.
Speaker B:So this movie came out on August 27, 2004. So Dynamite Summer.
Speaker A:Dynamite end of summer.
Speaker B:Kind of caught the end of it there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Ended up with a bang, not a whimper.
Speaker B:It's a good. You know what, it actually has a good late summer vibe to it. Even though it is in school and like they're doing like going for class president. So it's probably more like September ish or something like that. Like when they're doing all that stuff. Or do you. Oh no. Do you vote the year before for who's going to be the president the next year?
Speaker A:I have no idea.
Speaker B:I don't know. It's got like it. I don't know. It seems like it's nice and warm out. It seems like it's some. It seems like it's got a summer vibe to it. Anyway. Anyway. Had a budget of 400,000.
Speaker A:Oh this is indie af as well
Speaker B:and made somewhere around 40 million overall.
Speaker C:Wow. That's pretty awesome.
Speaker A:That's a hit.
Speaker B:Bonafide. Now this movie, it was directed by Jared Hess.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:He also wrote it along With Jerusha
Speaker A:Hess, I'm assuming, like a brother, a cousin, a sister. I've never heard that name before.
Speaker B:The hometown is Olive, Kansas. Terry. What?
Speaker C:Wait. Olatha.
Speaker B:She is married to Jared Hess.
Speaker C:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:So him and his wife.
Speaker A:Him and his wife wrote it. Okay.
Speaker C:Yeah. That's awesome.
Speaker B:Yep. As I mentioned, he's the director of this movie, and I was like, man, what other movies he directed? He did Nacho Libre, which I actually enjoyed. And then he came with Gentlemen Broncos.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Then a few other things. He had jumped into TV for a bit. He did Son of Zorn, Last man on Earth TV series, which I think
Speaker A:I did watch a little bit of with Will.
Speaker C:Will Arnett.
Speaker B:Will Forte.
Speaker A:Will Forte.
Speaker C:Oh.
Speaker B:But most recently, a Minecraft movie.
Speaker C:Oh, really? Oh, nice, huh?
Speaker A:Classic.
Speaker C:Big money maker.
Speaker B:He's also the voice of General Chungus in Minecraft.
Speaker C:Chungus. That's why I call my cat sometimes.
Speaker A:Oh, Terry.
Speaker C:No, she loves it.
Speaker A:I bet she does. All cats love to be called Chunkus,
Speaker C:especially it's Big Chungus.
Speaker B:Yeah. Nobody wants to be called Little Chungus.
Speaker C:Oh, no. Oh, I would think that's an insult.
Speaker B:He also wrote this movie along with his. Along with his wife, and she directed two things of her own.
Speaker C:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Austin Land.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, a woman travels to Jane Austen's theme park, to a Jane Austen theme park in search for her perfect gentleman. Starts Carrie Russell, Jennifer Coolidge.
Speaker A:That's sort of Austin.
Speaker B:A U S C E N. Yeah,
Speaker C:I like that premise, though.
Speaker B:And the other thing she did was just a short called 95 senses, but a ain't one. Exactly. She helped. Well, she wrote Napoleon Dynamite. She wrote Nacho Libre. She wrote Gentlemen Broncos. She helped create and write for the Napoleon Dynamite cartoon that was out for a bit. She wrote the screenplay for Austin Land. They both worked on an animated movie called Thelma the Unicorn that came out in 2024. Anything about that?
Speaker A:You know, I think Gentleman Broncos had Jermaine in it.
Speaker C:Did it?
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker C:Remember? Some crossover. How about that?
Speaker B:It did. It did.
Speaker A:Yeah. See, I thought I remembered that.
Speaker B:So a couple of things here about. A couple extra things about Jared Hess here. The scene of the farmer shooting the cow in front of the school bus full of children is based on a true anecdote from his life, from his childhood.
Speaker C:One of the funniest scenes in the whole movie. Yes.
Speaker B:The llama's name is actually Dolly. She belongs to his mother.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker C:Oh, cool. They have a personal connection with the llama.
Speaker B:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker A:Why'd they call it Tina. Then I.
Speaker B:Who knows. Just that maybe didn't want the tongue better. Didn't want to insult it.
Speaker A:Llama might sue.
Speaker C:Oh yeah. It doesn't want to be the representative. It's not playing itself. Yeah, it's normally very friendly. Llama will eat any food you give it. But it's Tina. Tina's a different character.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's. It's called acting, Derek.
Speaker A:I know. I'm sorry.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Be careful.
Speaker C:The llama. The Llama's Acting guild might come for us. We really Careful.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:The lag.
Speaker B:So this movie is pretty much that the acting debut for. Yes, for. For Lily but also for John Heder Heater.
Speaker A:Oh, hold on. Is the llama's name Dolly or Lily?
Speaker B:Dolly. Sorry, my bad.
Speaker A:Okay. I thought Keith was trying to like gas there.
Speaker B:No, no. This is the first full length movie that he is in. He is in a short movie called Palooka and it follows the main character as he skips school with his two friends, picks up a winning lottery ticket and go to go thrift shopping where they find a wig for Guile's shaved head. And it's. Some of this is what the basis of that they then eventually made Napoleon
Speaker A:Dynamite out of because of the shaved head.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's one of the scenes that's in it. But it's got John. He heaters in this. And it was written and directed by Jared Hess.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Interesting.
Speaker B:He's been a lot of different movies. 94 of them to be exact. Big career for a guy.
Speaker C:It is big.
Speaker B:He's venturing Bench warmers with David Spade and Rob Schneider. Oh man. Make up for the missed opportunities in childhood. They form a three player baseball team to compete against the children's little league squads.
Speaker A:Oh boy.
Speaker C:That sound fun.
Speaker A:Rob Schneider vehicle as I'm sure it's great.
Speaker B:He plays Napoleon bona frog in the teen turtle TV series.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker C:Bona frog.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:He does terrible command to receive. Yeah.
Speaker C:Please don't tell me to do that.
Speaker A:Carry Bona frog.
Speaker C:No. Now I have to. I have no choice. I'm compelled off to my box of frogs.
Speaker A:I have got a box of frogs. Just in case it ever comes up.
Speaker C:In case somebody orders me to do it. I had to, you know, comes up quite a bit.
Speaker B:He does do decent amount of voice work. In addition to Napoleon Bonafrog, he also. He's in Monster in the movie. The movie Monster House. Very please have ever seen that
Speaker A:skull?
Speaker B:No. Reginald Skull Skinsky. But Monster House is actually a really, really good animated movie.
Speaker A:It's good.
Speaker C:I like that one.
Speaker B:I like that one. He. Where Did I just see something else? I think you guys would really actually enjoy knowing. He's plays voice in. Sorry. The Legend of Korra. He. That he plays in two episodes. Uh, he's Ryu and uh, and dad voices.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Most recently though, he's been in a movie called I See the Demon.
Speaker A:That sounds interesting. As long as a demon's a demon,
Speaker B:you're kind of a horror guy yet. Have you heard of this one?
Speaker C:I See the Demon? No, I have not.
Speaker B:At a surprise birthday party, an emotionally vulnerable woman experiences unexplained phenomenon that threatens to turn the best night of her life into a never ending nightmare.
Speaker A:Is the demon's name Icy?
Speaker C:Icy the demon. He's like icy. No, it's not.
Speaker B:And then see the demon.
Speaker A:I wish it was Icy the Demon. And it's a demon with just like tons of diamonds.
Speaker C:Oh, he's a diamond demon.
Speaker A:He's iced out.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:Diamond demon. Yeah.
Speaker B:This movie all stars John Grease as Uncle Rico.
Speaker A:Uhhuh.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:So apparently he was about to like, retire from acting and focus on writing.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And somebody else had called him in to play a role in some other small movie. Jared Hess had, I think was helping edit and had seen some of the stuff and was like, oh, that guy's perfect. And brought him in to play Uncle Rico for this movie.
Speaker A:Oh, nice.
Speaker B:He's in Running Scared, which I mentioned during our When Harry Met Sally Deep dive. But in 1985, he's in a movie that I really enjoy called Real Genius.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:An uptight teenage prodigy enters a top engineering college, but feels awkward among the freewheeling students. When professor aims to turn their laser project into a military weapon, he and his offbeat roommate plot to ruin the plan. This stars Val Kilmer does have our. Our boy in here. And he plays. Plays Laszlo, which is this dude who lives in.
Speaker A:Lives in a house with some other vampires.
Speaker B:No, he's. He's a former. Like. So it's about like all these like, you know, geniuses that work at the school and stuff like that. But Laszlo is like one of the original ones and he kind of like ends up staying there and he. And he hides. They keep the guy, keep seeing him around campus. And then eventually he sees that the guy comes into like his room and walks into his closet and then disappears. And later on he finds out that, like, there's a secret door. Like if you pull it, this door opens up and there's this like almost like little like minecart roller coaster type thing. Going all back to his thing until he finds the guy. And this guy Laszlo is down there. He's just entering all the. He's using his genius. He made this thing so he can enter into all of these different raffles and like giveaways and stuff like that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:The movie's really funny.
Speaker A:Sounds like it.
Speaker B:But I always remember him. I remember him mostly as Laszlo and then Uncle Rico. Second.
Speaker A:So real genius is what you said. What's the movie where the two guys in their science project make an attractive woman?
Speaker B:Weird science.
Speaker C:Science.
Speaker A:Weird science.
Speaker B:Which is also actually very good.
Speaker A:That's a. Another movie. Like I. I know those two titles, but I couldn't. When you said real genius, I was like, oh, yeah, the one where they make the girl. And it wasn't that at all.
Speaker C:I was thinking about the babies who get super intelligence.
Speaker A:Baby geniuses.
Speaker B:Baby geniuses. And that's not good.
Speaker A:That's not good too.
Speaker B:Yeah. Oh, he also apparently is in the current season of fall.
Speaker A:It's like babies versus dogs or something like that, isn't it?
Speaker C:No, that's cat versus dogs. Cats and dogs get intelligence.
Speaker A:Oh, I forgot about that one too.
Speaker C:Yeah. All right. Versus dogs. That's something I'd watch.
Speaker B:Just.
Speaker C:Just feral dogs.
Speaker A:They're like. They have to protect their fort, their baby fort, while bunch of feral dogs are attacking them.
Speaker C:It's like a movie. Yeah. Getting picked off one by one.
Speaker B:All right, I got some fun facts for you guys.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:Fun. Fun it up. Keith.
Speaker B:John Heter was. Was paid $11,000. Play Napoleon Dynamite, who was playing the thousand dollars, the main character.
Speaker A:That's it. Well, it was only a $400,000 budget, so. $1,000, that's a decent percentage.
Speaker B:The movie grossed over 40 million in
Speaker A:the U.S. did he give me that the back end?
Speaker B:Probably not.
Speaker A:Other than a thousand dollar chicken, the
Speaker B:first time exposure, every dish shown during the opening credits is then eaten by a character later in the movie.
Speaker C:That's a great opening credits. I just want to throw.
Speaker A:I love that opening credits.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:John. John Grease is actually a vegetarian. So even though he's eating those steaks the whole time, like he's constantly like wiping, you know, with the napkins, wiping his mouth because he's putting the meat in.
Speaker A:Throwing off this sneaky Rico.
Speaker B:That opening title sequence was partially reshot due to some of the executives at Fox Searchlight not liking the look of the actor's hands who had placed the food into the shot. They flew out a hand model reshoot some of them with the surprise.
Speaker C:Didn't like the look of the hand.
Speaker A:I'mma tell you what. You know, sometimes, like, you're online and people post a picture and if they ever get some nasty hands or nasty feet in it, I'm just like, get the out of here, man.
Speaker C:What kind of hands are we talking about?
Speaker A:Like, hands with, like, little nubby nails or they're all gross, like, stuff like that. Like, oh, man, you fingers, get out of here, man. Or you see somebody with like, like taking a picture of something on the ground and they're nasty ass.
Speaker C:Oh, you see like their big old toe. Just.
Speaker A:God, I hate that.
Speaker B:Yeah, really feeling. Feeling things. Feeling seen on this whole.
Speaker A:But you post pictures of your hands and feet online.
Speaker B:No, but I. I will say, like, if I'm taking. If I am taking a picture of something, I'm holding it in my hand. I. I will make sure that, like, you can't see my, like, nails that I've chewed on or like.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, that's just courtesy.
Speaker B:John had her now. He didn't make a lot of money, but he did keep much of his Napoleon costume from when filming wrapped, including his vote for Pedro shirt. Pedro, wow.
Speaker C:He got to keep that at least.
Speaker B:He has since traded away.
Speaker C:Oh, he traded it.
Speaker A:Why would you do that?
Speaker B:What do you think you got for it? I don't know.
Speaker C:$5,000.
Speaker A:Jamira Kwai's hat.
Speaker B:Oh, that'd be kind of fun. Jamaica's head. That'd be awesome.
Speaker C:The lightsaber mace Windu used in episode
Speaker A:two, the purple one.
Speaker B:No, there's no. Samuel Jackson isn't trading that away for anything.
Speaker C:Samuel Jackson got the vote for Pedro shirt. And he got the lightsaber.
Speaker A:What about from the same movie? The facial prosthetics that Emperor Palpatine wins.
Speaker C:Oh, that would be awesome. And then he could just wear that when he feels like it.
Speaker B:Yeah, Leatherface. Yeah. No, he traded for the original Golden Snitch from Harry Potter and the Source. Too bad.
Speaker A:Looking back, I bet he wishes he could have his shirt back.
Speaker B:Probably. Probably. Now, finally. And this is because you guys are big video game guys. Pray to me. But in 2007, a video game based off the movie was released for Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable consoles.
Speaker C:PSP.
Speaker B:I have no idea.
Speaker A:There was a Napoleon Dynamite video game.
Speaker B:No idea what the hell you did on it.
Speaker C:Well, how would you. Yeah, I mean, there was that game called Bully. I wonder if it's kind of like that Rockstar's Bully.
Speaker A:I bet you, like, walk across and you like fling things at the llama.
Speaker C:You relive moments of the movie.
Speaker A:Why would you want to do that?
Speaker B:Yeah, like you gotta nail the dancing perfectly.
Speaker C:It has a bunch of mini. It's a game with a bunch of mini games in it.
Speaker A:Oh. It's like WarioWare but Napoleon Dynamite.
Speaker C:It's Napoleon Wear. It's got a 7.4.5 out of 10 for my IGN.
Speaker A:It sounds like a banger.
Speaker C:Right. That's the PSP version. But they gave the DS version a 7.0.
Speaker A:Wow. It was made for the dual screens.
Speaker C:That's why GameSpot called the game Irrelevant in a poor effort, not even halfway amusing. Wow.
Speaker A:Irrelevant games.
Speaker C:Radar said 1 out 5 saying it butchered the source material and recommending stay far far away. This guy says totally unsatisfying.
Speaker B:Wow. Yeah. It doesn't sound like a game that would be satisfying anyway.
Speaker A:No, like do you want a game of the source material?
Speaker C:And it came out three years after the first movie, the only movie. Why would they do that?
Speaker A:Why does anybody do anything? To be honest?
Speaker C:We have to watch a gameplay play through this thing.
Speaker A:I'm about to go find it at GameStop.
Speaker C:Yeah. Derek will come in and review it for us.
Speaker B:The final, final thing I have here and then we'll move on. For the 20th anniversary, John Hater, Efron Ramirez and John Grease were all asked the question about where they thought their characters would be now in 2024. 20th anniversary there header said that Napoleon would be working two part time jobs, pay for alimony and child support for two illegitimate children and they would be not and he would not be as charming as an adult. Ramirez said that Pedro would have married Summer Wheatley and had five children while owning a bakery and working as a local politician on the side. And Greece said Uncle Rico would still be an entrepreneur having started a YouTube channel featuring illegal teenage backyard wrestling. Wow.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:None of those things sound as appetizing.
Speaker C:Yeah, we do. Now listen up here.
Speaker B:Well, the bakery. The bakery that.
Speaker A:That I guess literally appetizing if the bakery was good.
Speaker C:I just don't want everybody. Or like a new Napoleon Dynamite set in the present day where they're all old now. I don't want that.
Speaker A:Please don't ever do that.
Speaker C:Studios listen now we don't want it.
Speaker A:It's probably already in the works.
Speaker B:Terry, we have, in our separate conversation we have discussed the fact that we continue to maybe start predicting some things and then entering things in the pop culture and not you may have done something else.
Speaker C:So I don't Need a movie where Napoleon Dynamite's the dad and now he has to watch for his kids and they all goofy in high school now. I don't need that.
Speaker B:Well, in three years, we'll find out what's the. The 25th anniversary. Yeah.
Speaker C:Then, then especially I don't need a video game adaptation of the second movie that's coming out.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, yeah. That's what we're going to get. Yeah.
Speaker A:In. In like the world of improvisational comedy, if somebody says, don't do this, you know what they're going to do? They're going to do that. That's literally what. How I. How the game works.
Speaker C:You think I'm egging them on?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Yeah, go ahead and do it, guys. Go ahead and do it. Make that.
Speaker A:Not that they're egging them on. I feel like the people at 20th Century Fox, which is now owned by Disney and Disney will do that. Yeah, they're going to do that. They'd be like Terry said, don't do it means we probably should do it
Speaker C:just to spite him.
Speaker A:Didn't even think it was an idea until I heard how good it was
Speaker C:from how much you did not want it.
Speaker B:I mean, 2020. In 2029. By the time we get there, like, I mean, they'll be. They'll be done with. They'll be done with you. The new they'll be done with you. Of Avengers movies. They'll be. They'll be done with.
Speaker A:Take the rights to the movie somehow
Speaker B:Mandalorian, I think all the Avatar movies will be done by. By then they'll have nothing.
Speaker C:No, they will not.
Speaker B:And they'll have to turn around and make this movie.
Speaker A:This is James Cameron's next movie is.
Speaker B:Oh, yes, yes. Yeah.
Speaker A:The Next Breed or something like that.
Speaker C:The Next Breed. The boy time to my two. The Next Breed is what you call. The Next Breed is a very disturbing subtitle for any film. Besides maybe like Aliens or Gremlins or Critters.
Speaker B:Is that one.
Speaker A:I don't know, but that's what it's going to be.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:I would be happy for James Cameron to direct anything besides Avatar, so. Sure. Please, Disney, if you're listening, I'm only on board if James Cameron is.
Speaker A:He used crazy CGI to have Uncle Rico actually throw the football over the mountains.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:And then. Yeah, his Napoleon Dynamite's brother dates a navi.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Or is a navi.
Speaker C:Oh, he became. Yeah, they just be.
Speaker A:He is one now a Kip Navi. I would like that. That'd be funny.
Speaker C:I Would love a Kip Navi.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Avatar 4. If we get Kip in there.
Speaker A:Jeez. Napoleon. Napoleon.
Speaker C:I already have plans. They put me in a tank and my mind swapped inside of the body of a navi.
Speaker A:It's pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Speaker B:I'm so strapped with babes online all day.
Speaker C:Are all over me now. Napoleon.
Speaker A:We're sticking our hair together. Isn't how they get it on in V town. Yeah.
Speaker C:Their tails.
Speaker A:Or is their hair connect? Like their braids? Right? Like they connect their braids. The end of their braids.
Speaker B:The. The tail is with the thing they fly on that they connect with.
Speaker A:Oh, I don't know. I just remember I was like, is that supposed to be sexy? I can't. I couldn't tell.
Speaker B:Yes, Derek, it is.
Speaker A:I don't like that at all. Keith, stop.
Speaker C:Hang on.
Speaker A:Anyway. God damn, Keith, that was close. Way too close. Keith, you got your water.
Speaker B:I did. I did.
Speaker A:Wet your whistle.
Speaker B:I did. Yeah. I was. I was struggling to get through the end of the Deep down. Especially since this is, like, supposed to be the really wet podcast.
Speaker A:This is the wettest podcast that I know of.
Speaker C:Yep, yep. If it ever gets a little too dry, we just turn the hose on.
Speaker B:Yes, we do.
Speaker A:I don't like that voice at all.
Speaker C:The. Keith's new character. First it was British guy last week, and now it's. There's British Keith, and now it's Bruv, it's Wet Keith.
Speaker A:And there. There's probably a lot of crossover between those two as well.
Speaker B:Oy, bro.
Speaker C:Okay, No, I don't like that at all. It's worse.
Speaker B:Grab your trainers.
Speaker A:Grab your trainers. At least he didn't say grab your ankles.
Speaker C:Whoa. Huh? This is the best podcast we've ever done.
Speaker A:All right, we need to do it. We need to talk about our viewing of Napoleon Dynamite.
Speaker C:We should. And we will.
Speaker B:Might be worthwhile, maybe.
Speaker A:Worthwhile. Hey, the movie's still good. I like it.
Speaker C:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker B:As. As do I. It falls right into as far as, like, the things that make up possibly any movie is one of those ones that, you know, really felt like I need to revisit. Had watched it, hadn't watched it a long time. Is it perfect movie? No, but it's. It's got so many fun. Just little bits in there that even, like, if there's any part where. Well, first of all, it doesn't even seem to drag. It is like an hour and 32 minutes. Doesn't need to cut anything oh, high praise from Keith.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Is. I, I, I, I dug it. It didn't seem slow to me at all. You know, it was kind of churning along. But even, like, a couple of things that are kind of like, yeah, who? You know, I think, like, when Pedro's taking the. Pedro's taking the cake up to the girl's house. I don't know if I need that. You know, they probably could have just combined that in with, like, him asking the one girl instead. There's enough other stuff that you're like, that was just a funny, like, little interstitial bit that pops up in, in between here. Whether it's Uncle Rico talking about his football days or, you know, Kip and La Fonda. Like that scene where they're at the park, they're like, feeding each other ice cream. And then she takes off his glasses, which he obviously can't see shit then. And then she gives him that giant chain.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's more of like a hangout movie. It doesn't really have, like, a strong plot thread. I feel like there's, like, segments. Yeah. It's like, okay, now he's running for president, now they're going to the dance.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:They have, like this little, like, many stories within the story.
Speaker A:I think it's one of those slice of lifes.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, like you said, Derek, like, it was on tv. You could just sit down and pick up and watch it from wherever. Like, I don't think there's any part of this movie where you don't know what's going on. If you just happen to turn to the channel and it's on, like, you're, it's, it's almost like you can watch it from any, you know, any point. Obviously, if you get to a certain point, doesn't make any sense. You just show up during the dance.
Speaker A:During the dance. You'd be like, that was weird. But like, what is this now?
Speaker B:I want to go, I want to go back and watch the rest of it. Yeah, something like that. And is it going to be on repeat and I'll just continue to watch it again?
Speaker A:More than likely.
Speaker B:My dad, my dad used to do that with stuff. Like he, he would watch something and then he'd start watching again. I'd be like, what are you doing? He goes, I missed the first 10 minutes.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:And so he continued to watch. And I'm like, okay. But he'd watch the whole thing completely over again.
Speaker A:You know, there was a time when people would do that at the movies. If you got There to miss the first 15 minutes. You just stay for the next show and watch the first 50 minutes or whatever.
Speaker C:Oh, loophole.
Speaker A:Yeah. It's like weird. Like, why would you want to do that? But people did that.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:Can't explain it.
Speaker B:You watch it the second time, you're like, oh, now that joke makes sense.
Speaker C:Now it all makes.
Speaker A:That's who that person is. Now I get it.
Speaker B:Okay. Yeah.
Speaker A:So this movie has like a gabillion quotable things in it. I think I felt like if this movie came out, there were lots of things that just became part of the Zeitgeist. Like Terry said, like different, like vernacular. People just said them all the time.
Speaker C:It was huge.
Speaker B:You know that.
Speaker C:Yes, yes. I think it was a freshman.
Speaker B:So it was like this, was this, like, highly quotable at the high school then.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah. Me and my friends would talk about all the time.
Speaker B:Did you have any friend who tried to put thoughts in the pocket?
Speaker C:Give me your thoughts. We would say that a lot.
Speaker B:Give me your thoughts.
Speaker A:I haven't eaten anything all day.
Speaker C:He literally just ate.
Speaker B:Yeah, he literally just ate lunch.
Speaker C:And I love the, the pettiness of just crushing them in his pocket so he can't enjoy them either.
Speaker A:This whole movie has a level of pettiness and sort of, like, snarky quality to it, but it's not. I mean, it's kind of mean spirited at times, but they're very lovable loser types.
Speaker C:There's such, like, low stakes for everything.
Speaker A:Yeah, super low stakes. Which leads me to what I was going to say, my favorite. We get. Think I'm. I'm giving you time because I'm going to give you mine. Your favorite little one. Quotable moment. Mine is, your mom goes to college, and for some reason that is so upsetting to Deb that she just runs away, leaving all of her stuff at Napoleon's house.
Speaker B:Well, I, I. Because he. Kip does it and like, trying to do Napoleon's voice. And I'm like, I don't know. Because maybe she just wasn't looking like. Because sometimes she kind of like looks down in a way or stuff like that. Was she not looking at him to see that?
Speaker A:No, that was just Kip and Kip's voice. But you see, like, the look he had, very smug look on his face.
Speaker C:Oh, he was so proud.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:It's not even a great burn, but it just worked because your mom goes to college. Yeah, I like the.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:When he asks Pedro if he's ever taken his bike off any sweet jumps.
Speaker B:Especially when he turns around next and does that thing and he just like breaks the ramp.
Speaker A:Oh. Just racks nuts on the. The nut racking bar. Yeah, that's a name of that, I think.
Speaker C:Sorry.
Speaker B:I. I like any scene that has Uncle Rico in it, but a scene I didn't remember until watching it today is when they're like, hey, we need to get some like, you know, something that has like our name on it. Like make like an official like badge or something. So they go sell those things and they go get the, the cuts and she tells them to like think of, you know, you're on the ocean. Like, gets them to meditate a bit. And you kind of see him just kind of like relax perfectly. Like open his eyes, take that picture and he's like, he's like, did you get it?
Speaker A:I think that's the one.
Speaker B:Yeah. Yeah. But like him just being like sitting there, like trying to like get ready for a picture. And then she tells him that he just like kind of. You see his whole facial expression. She's like, opens his eyes, click. Perfect. I found that to be kind of like a little funny part for him for sure. I also like his van a lot.
Speaker A:Uncle Rico's van.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, his little. His camper van thing.
Speaker A:Make a dang case. Ailla.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's good.
Speaker A:That's. There's so many.
Speaker B:Yeah, make. Make it make a quesadilla. Grandma's keeping all the steaks to herself. So you guys, while I'm out of
Speaker A:town watching it this time, now I gotta look it up. But I'm pretty sure that their grandma was Charlie from It's Always Sunny's mom.
Speaker C:Oh, you think so?
Speaker A:OR MAX Mom. Mrs. Mac.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:Yes, you're right. You're 100, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, there's. There's a lot of times this movie and I noticed that when they go to buy the. The suit that he's like, Pedro, what do you think of it? And I'm like. He's asking him because I think his eyes are closed the whole time and I don't know, he's always leading back.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:His like. I think he walks through half this movie with his eyes closed for quite a bit of it.
Speaker C:The facial expressions in this film aren't top notch. The way Napoleon DY has his eyes squinted at every. All times. And it's kind of like his mouth is slightly ajar, but his teeth are hanging out. Like they all have that vibe. Every character, all the main characters have this like just dopey like zoned out vibe. To them. Like, there's like a scene where, like, all three of them are just, like, standing next to each other. Like. Like there's no light in behind those eyes.
Speaker B:No. Yeah. I. I remember when I was in high school, I think I ran for, like, treasure or something like that.
Speaker A:Did you really
Speaker B:hand out flowers to the girls? No, I didn't win at all. I didn't even come close. But I like the idea of, like, getting a pinata of your opponent.
Speaker C:Oh.
Speaker A:And then beating the crap out of it. Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's like birding somebody in an effigy. I don't know.
Speaker B:Yeah, and that was pretty good. Plus, I. I saw one. One of the other, like, quick little fun fact things that they had on IMDb was. I guess there's like a newspaper thing talking about how the team came in second in 82.
Speaker A:Well, it's probably the best that town ever did school wise in football. 1982. And this movie takes place in a weird time. Like, I can't tell what the time period is.
Speaker C:Feels timeless. Yeah. It.
Speaker B:Because it's supposed to be in the 90s. Yeah, I guess. But it's. The clothes and everything are not 90s at all. It's like a more 80s ish vibe to the whole thing.
Speaker A:Yeah. And they still landlines and. But there's chat rooms. But you don't. You only see a few cars in the entire movie. And once Uncle Rico's van in there, once the lowrider that Napoleon gets picked up to go to the dancing. There's not a. No.
Speaker B:Who's that in my driveway? It's my ride.
Speaker A:Nobody has cell phones. Like, when this movie came out, cell phones were a thing.
Speaker C:That's true.
Speaker B:Yeah. But they're. I mean, they're in, like, pretty rural Iowa or Idaho.
Speaker A:You. You don't think they have cell phones in rural Idaho?
Speaker B:I think it may not have fully, like, gotten there to where, like, people were. I mean, none of those people look like they were making big money, so maybe they didn't have a bunch of cell phones. A lot of them are going up and using the pay phone across the street and stuff, stuff like that to make calls.
Speaker C:Never know. Just didn't catch on.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:IDO is just lost in time. Which if you know things about ido, they kind of are
Speaker C:ironic. That time machines there.
Speaker B:Oh, God, the stupid time machine thing.
Speaker A:Another little.
Speaker B:Turn it off. If you would have asked, I would have told you.
Speaker A:But do you see Kip's look on his face when he doesn't turn it Off.
Speaker C:He wants to leave it on for a bit.
Speaker B:Yeah, He.
Speaker A:He is like making Napoleon Dynamite sterile.
Speaker C:He's. He's being malicious.
Speaker A:Yeah. The non. Main characters in this movie too make so that couple that Uncle Rico is selling Tupperware to, and he pulls that boat out and she goes, I want that. She has to have this model schooner.
Speaker C:She doesn't care about the Tupperware at all.
Speaker A:Did you see how disgusted she was with her husband? But he couldn't tear the Tupperware in half.
Speaker C:Y was seems so disappointed in him. Yes.
Speaker B:Couple good, good polls. Tries to get it. Doesn't he say, I can't do it? She just looks at him like, it
Speaker A:reminded me of that sketch on. I think you should leave. When they go to the magician, and the magician makes fun of Tim Robbins, and then they get home and his wife's like, oh, you. You let that him. You let him insult you with your little baby dick. Just like, we'll stay married for the kids. But you can't hear. It's like, I'll never respect you because the magician ruined his life. That's what it reminded me of.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker B:It's exactly that vibe.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah. That guy got no love in that night.
Speaker A:No. Ever again.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker A:Well, maybe he couldn't tear a Tupperware bowl with his hands.
Speaker B:Yeah. But maybe he did, because he did. If he did make the purchase and he got the. The boat. Oh, the boat. Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, he had to probably buy two, so get two boats. Dueling schooners.
Speaker C:You can't just get one schooner.
Speaker A:No, you have, like, bookends. You need to, like, bookend your life with those things.
Speaker C:Yeah. Buy one at the beginning of your life and then one at the very end.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:As soon as you're bored, that's the first thing you get.
Speaker A:I want that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's those little things that make me laugh.
Speaker C:I love the. When Napoleon's trying all the milk and he's like, this one has bleach in it. And they're like, yep, that's exactly right. This cow's been getting in the onion pasture. Yeah, you're right.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker C:A weird thing. So much like, little moments that I feel like I never. I don't remember each. Didn't I rewatch? I go like, oh, that's pretty funny.
Speaker B:I don't remember that.
Speaker A:There a lot of just little things that make this movie what it is. It's a. It's a very good movie.
Speaker B:Yeah. A lot of little pieces you can pull out, enjoy even, like, as their own Separate little thing without needing to see the whole. The whole thing. The dance itself is what a lot of people remember. It's fun. The fun routine and stuff like that. But, like. Yeah, it's. It's got just so many, like, little individual parts and like. Yeah, I think at the time that came out, it's super quotable. I don't think I hear anybody quoting it anymore.
Speaker A:No, it's 20 years old. Right.
Speaker B:I have to get that going.
Speaker C:Yeah, we'll get that started.
Speaker B:Yeah. Gotta come up with some new stuff for the.
Speaker C:Oh, that's fine. The point, too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Napoleon 2 the new breed.
Speaker B:Yuck.
Speaker C:I just don't like that. That subtitle is just like. I feel like it's just a little gross for some reason.
Speaker B:Napoleon Dynamite to the New Breed.
Speaker A:I don't know if you put the two in there. You just do Napoleon Dynamite Cold the New Breed. I think New Breed implies a sequel.
Speaker C:I think you just call it Napoleon the New Breed. So people that all the Napoleon fans of that Napoleon movie, all the people,
Speaker A:the fans of the Apple movies, Apple TV movie, Napoleon, they all come rushing
Speaker C:in to see the second one.
Speaker B:Two Napoleon two Dynamite.
Speaker A:Oh, yes, the Electric Boogaloo.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker A:Did we do it? Did we. Did we get to Napoleon Dynamite?
Speaker B:Pretty sure we did.
Speaker C:Pretty much. Pretty much.
Speaker A:And then we kind of already went through it. But what do we think of Napoleon Dynamite from 2004?
Speaker B:Holds up. Enjoyed it. I. I already told my son that, you know, I said that they missed out. So we'll check it out again when you're, you know, maybe a couple more years ahead. You know, when he's like a senior in high school or something like that. We'll watch it again.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's good. It holds up for sure. I feel like, like I said, the first time I watched it, I did not like it at all. But somehow it still got stuck in my brain. And every time I've watched it since then, I feel like I find it a little funnier each time. It's good. It's really good. It holds up. It's. It was a cultural icon at the time. And please God, Disney, do not make a second one.
Speaker B:This and Hot Rod just finding.
Speaker C:Agree.
Speaker A:Well, that ramp part, it's probably like the precursor to Hot Rod.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's very hot rod right there. It's like a mini hot rod within the Poland Dynamite.
Speaker A:I like it. Good movie. Still good. And of all the movies that we've watched that are re watches for me, which hasn't been many, but the one. This is the one I probably watched the absolute post.
Speaker C:Oh, wow. Nice.
Speaker A:Not because it's like my favorite movie, but it's just a movie that I've seen a lot.
Speaker C:It's easily rewatchable, I think.
Speaker A:Easily rewatchable. Like I said, it's one of those things I just saw. I probably saw it from beginning to end probably a dozen times. But I've probably seen elements of it enough to probably Frankenstein together. Another 15 viewings probably. If I were to guess.
Speaker C:Well, yeah, I think it helps. Like we were talking about, it's kind of like a. A chunk movie. Like it's not like a full blown plot like plot line. It's just a bunch of seg. Like little segments that are all tied together with just being the same characters.
Speaker A:It's not like a big heist movie or something like that where you gotta like see why the heist is happening. And see now Napoleon Dynamite universe heist movie where Napoleon and Pedro and Deb and all them are robbing a bank. I'd watch that too. Disney.
Speaker C:There's now. There you go, Disney. Get Bradford in there too. Why not?
Speaker B:Yeah, about my. About my idea for a purge movie called Purge Heist.
Speaker C:No, no.
Speaker B:And it takes place so like it. I've never seen all the purge movies. I just don't like people go around killing people. I have to get away with whatever you want on that on that day.
Speaker A:For one single day.
Speaker C:Seen them all.
Speaker B:Yeah. For or whatever, however many hours. But wouldn't it be a cool idea if like there's a movie and so like all the other killing is going on but a few people are like, all right, we're going to go and rob this bank right now.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:Because it's. It's legal to commit these crimes. So they pull off this heist. But like they have to like get away from all the other crazy people are trying to kill just anyone because they can and stuff like that.
Speaker C:It's a great idea.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Most time they just do the same thing over and over, bro. We got to survive the Purge.
Speaker A:I kind of have expected Terry Go is a great idea. That's why it was Purge 6.
Speaker C:No, I haven't done that yet. That would actually be good. A nice change. Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, listen up, Disney.
Speaker B:So we.
Speaker C:So we have Napoleon Dynamite might take place in the Purge universe for all I know.
Speaker A:The Purge Averse.
Speaker B:That's what Napoleon Dynamite 2 is about.
Speaker A:The new breed.
Speaker C:Yeah, the new breed.
Speaker B:They're purging. Was it Preston Idaho? Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, they're Slow to take things up. So they didn't do this.
Speaker A:Yeah, they're just getting into the purge now. They got cell phones now and they got the Purge. Well, we know what we thought. What did the Internet have to say, I wonder? On March 27th of 2006, Tricks T R I C K S812 had this to say. It is what it is. That is the beauty of this film. That's. That's title and inaccurate number of dots.
Speaker C:Wow, that's a lot of dots.
Speaker A:It is. It's like a triple ellipses. Which would be a move that tricks 812 might perform. Because I assume tricks is either a skateboarder or a ice skater. That's my guess.
Speaker C:You think so? Not a magician or like some sort of illusionist?
Speaker A:Damn it. Terry Possible.
Speaker B:Or a nighttime worker.
Speaker A:No, he's bringing this.
Speaker C:This really is the wettest podcast we've ever done.
Speaker B:Well, let me try it again. Nighttime worker.
Speaker A:Bro. Go into this film with no expectations.
Speaker C:Oh my God.
Speaker A:Just enjoy it for what it is. Semicolon. A truth look. A truthful look at high school ampersand. All its demographics everywhere that everyone can relate to in some way. Don't try to read anything into it.
Speaker C:Oh my God.
Speaker A:Don't analyze this film. Just enjoy it as I'm sure the filmmakers, writers and actors wanted you to do. Too many movies these days rely on special effects and slash or convoluted plots and subplots resulting in movies. Open parentheses. Too many movies if you ask me, with far too little substance and believability. Napoleon Dynamite is one of those rare open parentheses and getter rarer. I don't know what that means. Close parentheses did not provide any more context or insight. Napoleon Dynamite is one of those rarer and getter G E T T E R rarer.
Speaker C:I think it's a getting rare or.
Speaker B:Or gets gets more.
Speaker A:I don't know, gems that actually makes you pay attention while hitting a chord within you. And ultimately that is what a movie should do.
Speaker C:That's art right there.
Speaker A:Not to take away from the over the top special effects in quotes movies out there. I certainly enjoy those types of movies. It's just I think there needs to be more of a balance between those types of films and the types of movies that while being entertaining also strike a balance between suspending reality for a brief moment in time while also managing to stay believable. Zero found that helpful. Two, not so much. 10 out of 10.
Speaker C:Yeah, I don't know about that review. It's a Little much.
Speaker A:That was a tough one. Lots in there for some reason.
Speaker C:A lot of parentheses. A lot of strange verbiage.
Speaker A:But not to be outdone, on December 30th of 2004, the year this movie was released, Lindsay 5 has this had this to say. Terrible.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker A:I'm a child of the 80s and there is no way this could be considered funny to everyone of that generation. This film was so painful, I thought I might have to gouge out my own eyes.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker A:No discernible plot, no decent dialogue. Definitely not funny. I laughed only at the point where I thought I was going to lose my mind from. From boredom. The actors were good at portraying very strange individuals though. The lead actor. This is funny. The lead actor princes Napoleon and his but and his buddy Pedro were excellent at portraying a couple of spaced out geeks in high school. It was also nice to see Tina Magurina all grown up from her frequent worlds in the early 90s. I don't know who that was. So unless you're extremely bored and have to have a few bucks to blow on one and a half hours of your life, you will never get back. I would urge you not to waste your time on this movie. Save your money and do something more entertaining like watch paint dry.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker A:47 found this helpful. 57. Not so much. 1 out of 10.
Speaker C:This is.
Speaker B:That's one of the higher amounts that we've seen get the.
Speaker A:Not a big enough ratio on the not so much side though.
Speaker B:No, but so like that's like almost like a hundred people chimed in on whether that was good or bad.
Speaker A:Yeah, 104 to be exact when they
Speaker C:gave the movie compliments. Yet it's still one out of ten. Yep.
Speaker A:And they called the lead actor Napoleon. The lead actor is not Napoleon.
Speaker C:Well, he played himself. That just tells you how good of an actor he was. He fell into the role.
Speaker A:Yeah, the role is Born to play.
Speaker C:It was actually the documentary.
Speaker A:Well, we did it, boyos. We got through DTF Y2M5, our most challenging month yet.
Speaker C:Truly difficult.
Speaker A:Keith threw down the gauntlet and we survived. Terry.
Speaker C:We had to go through the labyrinth with a minotaur chasing us down. But yet we still escaped.
Speaker A:The Rom Com Minotaur.
Speaker C:That's what they should call Keith Minotaur. Me and Derek running down the halls as the. The Rom com minotaur known as Keast comes charging at us from behind, chasing us through each movie.
Speaker B:Rom comes Commandor.
Speaker A:I like it. It works for me. I'm just half man, half bull, half Keith. Or half man, half bull. All Keith.
Speaker C:Uhhuh. And also half romcom and half romcom running at.
Speaker A:It's too many halves. Too many halves. Which half come which. Which half wins in that battle? Bull, Keith or romcom?
Speaker B:Me probably Rom.
Speaker A:I was gonna say romcoms.
Speaker C:Well, definitely not the bull. That's me know that.
Speaker A:Yeah. Bulls are weak, ineffectual beasts.
Speaker C:I agree with that.
Speaker B:Good question.
Speaker C:I'm a waste of space.
Speaker B:I'm also the bull, so the bull wins.
Speaker C:Oh, oh, you are bull and Keith at the same time.
Speaker A:No, more like bull from night court.
Speaker B:With bull, you get the horns.
Speaker C:More like a bowl of fruit.
Speaker A:Bowl of fruit.
Speaker C:Something. They can hold many things because Keith is a. He's a many faceted thing. That's why he's a bull. He can hold many things.
Speaker A:I think you mean bowl.
Speaker C:Huh. Bold.
Speaker B:I'm bold.
Speaker C:He is bold too. He's a lot of things.
Speaker A:I said bowl. B O W L. Yeah, I think we're going bold. I don't know what we're talking about anymore.
Speaker B:Spicy flavor.
Speaker A:God, we just gotta rank these goddamn movies.
Speaker C:Should we.
Speaker A:Keith, bust out the spreadsheet.
Speaker C:Keith, I know you open your list,
Speaker A:remind us all what we endured.
Speaker B:Well, we started off romcom month here in D2F, year 2 month 5 with which is all romcoms again with me picking When Harry Met Sally. We followed that up with Terry's Eagle versus Shark. Derek went with Harold and Maude and I finished up with. Well, the Wheel. Finished up by sending me to romcom deity by picking Napoleon Dynamite.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker B:Wow. Very. You know what? I'm. I'm gonna do this a little differently. Number four. Oh, I like Eagle versus Shark.
Speaker A:Eagle versus Shark. Coming at number four.
Speaker B:Number three. When Harry met Sally.
Speaker A:Oh, coming in number three, Harry Met Sally.
Speaker B:Number two, Harold Maud. Number one, Napoleon Dynamite.
Speaker C:Wow. Nice. Okay, nice. Well, I'm gonna do things a little differently too then. Okay, Number three is. No, I'm not gonna do that. Oh, let me get from five to the top because I can't do that in my brain. Number four is going to also be Eagle versus Shark. The number three, I think is Harold and Mod. And then it'll be Harry met Sally and then Napoleon Dynamite is number one. Wow.
Speaker A:Now, I'm going to say right here, I enjoyed all four movies this month to varying degrees. But I'm going to start with number four as well. My number four was When Harry Met Sally.
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:It's the Billy Crystal thing. He's not. Not a big fan. Gotcha. Number three was Eagle versus Shark. Okay.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:Number two was Napoleon Dynamite.
Speaker B:Oh, shocker.
Speaker A:And number one was Harold and Mott. And Napoleon Dynamite's a very good movie. But I really liked Harold and Mod, like, quite a bit. Yeah, like it might be something to fumble before you tumble into the grave, if you ask me. I don't know.
Speaker C:Interesting.
Speaker B:Something terrible. Veto.
Speaker C:Not if I have anything to say
Speaker B:about that,
Speaker C:which I do, mostly. Maybe I won't.
Speaker A:We'll see. All right, we did it. We ranked our movies. We watched our movies. We ranked our movies. Now that means we're on to M6.
Speaker C:That's right.
Speaker A:Wow, it's a Terry month.
Speaker B:We are flying here. We're flying through the year.
Speaker A:A TM TM trademark Terry. Well, Terry, what do you. What are you going to do to us?
Speaker C:This has been a tough decision. You know, Keith really threw off our whole vibe with this month, you know, I know I feel exhausted, so I thought, what better way than to hard pivot back to something that we're. We're a little more accustomed to. And also, I believe it was Derek who made a comment a long, long time ago, and it's always haunted me who he said in the film adaptation. I'm surprised I'm the first one to pick a Nick Cage film. Well, this next month we're doing is Nick Cage films, people.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker B:Nice.
Speaker C:All right, so I'm picking for my pick. Con Air. Oh, no, I've never seen it.
Speaker A:You've never seen Conair? Oh, you're in for a treat, Terry.
Speaker C:I'm excited, Conor.
Speaker B:Greatest movie ever made.
Speaker C:Well, there you go. High praise from Keith.
Speaker B:Oh, Terry, you've. My. My mind is spinning right now.
Speaker A:Yeah, a lot of options spinning, huh?
Speaker C:Huh?
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm. I'm super excited about this month.
Speaker C:Me too. Me too, Derek. It's all because you said that one thing me, for a while.
Speaker A:Leave it up to me to say some dumb. All right, well, we're on to Nick Cage movies. I mean, there's some good ones out there.
Speaker C:Find out. It'll be good. It's my pick. Nick Cage.
Speaker A:Yeah. Well, I guess that leaves us. We're doing it. Nick Cage. Conair. Right?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:I guess that leaves us with nothing to do but to end this the way we end everything.
Speaker C:Indeed. They bring a new style to professional
Speaker B:wrestling that's quickly carrying them to the heights.
Speaker A:The new breed. Sean is the word.
Speaker B:Everybody, just let your wildest imagination run wild.
Speaker A:Now picture this.
Speaker B:The old fossil, the boogeyman and his Gobot friend, the Boogeyman's on his. On his big Harley Davidson here and
Speaker C:the robots over there on his moped
Speaker B:going down the highway
Speaker C:about 40, 45 miles an hour. Now picture this.
Speaker B:Here comes the new brain read on the space cycles.
Speaker A:Thanks for listening to Fumbling Through Film. New episodes drop every Thursday. Got feedback or questions? Email [email protected] you can see our films to Fumble before you tumble into the grave and other musings on letterboxd at Fumble through film. The through is T. Hru. You can also follow Keith on Instagram at kg33lives and on Letterboxd @kg3030. Terry is on Letterboxd @terry2099. Derek is on Letterboxd Derek the number nine and then the word nine. All original music is done by the Dr. Trey of Kansas, Terry. So hit him up for them bangers. Our new podcast logo is done by the delightful and talented Sanjay Vicky Nayak. You can find her on Instagram at Einstein. That's Einstein with a K in there. We'll see you next week as we keep on fumbling dangerously.
Speaker B:I tried and I apologize, everybody. I had some power. Just really struggled.
Speaker A:No one knows.
Speaker C:No one would ever be able to know. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Well, I. Oh, yeah, because I usually. I usually stumble through it. Even when I write it all down.
Speaker A:There's a master editor at hand.
Speaker B:I feel bad. I feel bad. I feel bad for that too.
Speaker A:You do not. No one feels bad.
Speaker B:I'm trying to make it harder for you to edit.
Speaker A:No one knows what it's like.
Speaker C:The only thing I make it my goal to make it as difficult as possible.
Speaker A:I'll tell you what, when I. When I get to editing, I'm like, derek, what the you doing, man? All I do is give you. I talk to myself. All I do is give you so much work. What the hell, man? Shut your mouth for a change.
Episode Theme: Rom Coms Wildcard
The Fumblers are stuck at home while their Grandma is recovering in the hospital. To pass the time and keep their mind off of the fact that there's no steaks, they watch Napoleon Dynamite. One of us spent 4 hours working on the shading of their upper lip, and it may surprise you who it was.
Napoleon Dynamite 2004 - PG - 1h36m
A listless and alienated teenager helps his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while dealing with his bizarre family life back home.
- Director: Jared Hess
- Writer: Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess
- Stars: Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries
Thanks for listening to Fumbling Through Film. New episodes drop every Thursday. Got feedback or questions, email us at [email protected]. You can see our Films to Fumble Before You Tumble (Into the Grave) and other musings on Letterboxd at FumbleThruFilm
You can also follow Keith on Instagram @kg3030lives and on Letterboxd at kg3030
Terry is on Letterboxd at terry2099
Derek is on Letterboxd at derek9nine
All original music is done by the Doctor Dre of Kansas, Terry
Our new podcast logo is done by @einkstein
See ya next week as we keep on Fumblin’!