Do I love this movie? Jes.

Speaking as the last person in the free world to have discovered this movie, I’m ranking it at the top of my “Must See Again” list of 2005. It’s got everything I need in a comedy: physical humor, very quotable and of course, a Liger.

We first meet Napoleon (John Heder) while he is standing outside of his house waiting for the bus. We are introduced to the hangdog expression of apathy, the open-lipped stance and the impossibly curly clown hair. Who can be this clueless? We soon discover that a parade of lovingly clueless characters are to follow shortly.

Napoleon lives with his grandmother and his brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) in a small town called Preston, Idaho. Napoleon, our hero, is a nerd. Kip, his brother, is also a nerd. Napoleon faces the terrors of high school while Kip faces the online chat rooms of the Internet for eight hours daily. Grandma (Sandy Martin), sole caregiver of the boys, makes only a few appearances in this role before being removed from the movie by mysteriously breaking her “coccyx.” Uncle Rico (John Gries) is introduced to us as the concerned relative (ha!) who comes in to take care of the boys, the oldest of which is thirty-two. Uncle Rico is the ultimate has-been who never was.

Come to school with Napoleon to meet other outcasts. Among the weird kids we find Deb (Tina Majorino), a self-proclaimed Glamour Shots photographer and boondoggle key chain maker. She tries to sell her wares door to door “to earn money for college.” Pedro (Efren Ramirez), my personal favorite, is a new kid at school. He seems to be the only Latin person in the entire school, but it doesn’t seem to bother him, for he shares Napoleon’s apathetic expression. Strangely, no one really picks on him as they do Napoleon, but then he doesn’t cop an attitude like Napoleon does, either. When we meet the “Cool Kids” it’s refreshing that they aren’t all mean and hateful, just mildly mocking. Summer (Haylie Duff), the resident prom queen, is even nice about rejecting Pedro’s dance and Napoleon’s Tetherball invitation. High school could be worse.

Then there are the secondary characters that are with us briefly, but are just as important. Helping to make this movie memorable is Rex (Diedrich Bader), who runs the local martial arts school, primarily teaching his version called Rex-Kwon-Do. Another character with surprising depth for total screen time is LaFawnduh (Shondrella Avery) who becomes Kip’s love interest. The beauty of this movie is its ability to parade a slew of different characters in front of us seemingly randomly, but bringing them together in unlikely circumstances.

The only true “reason” for this movie is the election of Pedro for Class President. He chooses to run against Cool Girl Summer Wheatley. As Summer begins her speech, we are certain that she is certain that she’s got the presidency in the bag. With the help of her Happy Hands crew, she puts on a skit that seems to be a shoe-in. However, Pedro vows to fulfill everyone’s wildest dreams and his campaign manager has a skit of his own to help Pedro become “El Presidente!” However, this is secondary. The fun of the movies is the characters.

If you are bothered by stereotypes, this might not be the movie for you. Napoleon seems to be full of them, but we still can’t help laughing. Grandma looks like a lumberjack. Napoleon wears “Peter Pan” clothing and snow boots. Kip is elfin and mumbles, looking every ounce the weakling he’s supposed to be. Uncle Rico is sleazy with his 70’s shirts and hair and his long gold chains. Deb makes her own clothes and wears side ponytails. Summer, the popular girl, is blonde and pretty. No surprises in how the characters act or dress, in fact the film revels in it.

Another quirk about the movie is that it uses no profanity. Napoleon gets his frustration and anger across using terms like “Dang”, “Idiot”, and “Freakin” throughout and it is hilariously familiar. Quirkier still is the time period of this movie. We see present day conveniences such as Internet chatting, but the phones still have long cords. Napoleon is using a Trapper Keeper straight out of the 80’s, yet he’s dancing to Jamiraqui. I think we can safely assume it is plunked down in Present, but with some throwbacks.

One thing I loved about Napoleon is that though he is a nerd, he’s isn’t downtrodden. He’s still talks back and stands up for himself. For instance, when Don is mockingly asking him what he did last summer he answers curtly, “I already told you I was hunting wolverines in Alaska!” He throws an orange at Uncle Rico’s truck when he interferes in Napoleon’s life and then manages to best Uncle Rico when he chases Napoleon down. When Kip tells him to come downstairs and try to hit him, he does. He just goes with the flow.

Of course, it all ends happily. Rico gets some hot woman (his jealous ex?) who rides up to his van on a bike. Kip gets a hip new makeover and the girl. Pedro wins class president. Napoleon gets Deb, after offering her a delicious bass. What could be better?

If you like a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and you like seeing people get hit in the face with steaks, you must see Napoleon Dynamite. You'll be amazed by his skills.